Insightful CEO Talk

Two striking things in recent Fortune issues.

Marc Benioff on "Force For Change"

To be truly successful, corporate philanthropic programs must be woven into the fabric of the organization. The easiest way to do that? Start from the beginning. Shortly after we started Salesforce.com in 1999, we launched the Salesforce Foundation with 1% of the company's stock. As chief executive, I made a commitment to donate 1% of company profits to the community (through product donations) and 1% of employee working hours to community service. The 1-1-1 model - equity, profits, and employee time - ensured that as our business grew, so would our contribution to the community. By leveraging the energy of our entire ecosystem, we have been able to make contributions that have exceeded expectations.

Michael Dell on Dell's customer-service woes:

The team was managing cost instead of managing service and quality. It's totally the wrong answer. Stop managing for cost. Manage for a great experience.
On rethinking things:
This has been a wake-up call for us. We're using this whole period as a time to reexamine every part of the company. If you ask, "Is Dell in the penalty box?" Yeah, Dell's in the penalty box. Then we'll use this opportunity to fix everything.