During Salesforce TDX, Salesforce’s annual developer conference, the company hosts a special session, “True to the Core.” In this session, developers and community members get a chance to ask critical questions at Salesforce management. On the one hand to get answers to pressing issues, and on the other hand to hold management accountable and test whether Salesforce remains true to its core principles. This year, that led to an embarrassing question: have they forgotten the Golden Hoodie?
A unique concept in the tech world
Our editors attend hundreds of IT events each year, but it’s rare to see a major tech company open a keynote hall, place management in a circle, and allow visitors to ask critical questions. Salesforce calls this session “True to the Core.” Where people work, mistakes are made, and things sometimes get sidetracked. Trailblazers, as Salesforce’s community members are called, can call management on this during this session. Or they can ask that one question that has been burning for a long time.
This session gives a unique insight into how Salesforce operates and underscores how important the Trailblazers are to the company. They work at Salesforce partners and customers, and their daily jobs involve implementing new Salesforce features, programming code, building integrations, and, most recently, developing agents in Agentforce.
Still, there did not yet appear to be an AI agent that keeps management from making mistakes, as the session produced some awkward moments.
Also read: Salesforce sets new standard with Agentforce 2dx: AI agents become proactive
Pricing, SDKs, community programs and forgotten content
For an hour, questions are fired at Salesforce management. Depending on the question, they determine who from the team is responsible for the answer. In many cases, Salesforce clearly explains why a particular choice was made.
For example, there were questions about the cost of AI features, such as why customers have to pay to test agents in a sandbox. This could involve hundreds or even thousands of test simulations. Salesforce indicated that AI simulations require a lot of computing power and that offering them unlimitedly and for free is not an option. However, it is investigating whether testing costs can be lower than those of a normal agent conversation.
Additionally, a Salesforce architect expressed frustration with eliminating the Well-Architected team and the lack of updates to its documentation. This book guided architecture choices and is an indispensable resource for him and his customers. Parker Harris acknowledged that priorities have shifted but promised to look into reviving the concept. This seemed a typical example of something that had fallen into the background and eventually been forgotten.
A developer asked about the availability of a particular Slack SDK that was developed years ago but has not been released. The answer? “Still on the roadmap.”
There were also comments about support for specific community groups and the decreased fun at community events. Salesforce acknowledged the feedback and said it explores ways to bring the “fun” back. Nevertheless, the company continues to invest in its communities worldwide.
The Forgotten Golden Hoodie 🫢
The most embarrassing question of the session came shortly after: why wasn’t a Golden Hoodie awarded during this year’s keynote? Usually, a developer or Salesforce administrator receives this iconic gold-colored hoodie in recognition of a special achievement. This could include exceptional contributions to the community or inspiring career development within the Salesforce ecosystem.
Parker Harris asked the management team who could answer the Golden Hoodie question. They remained silent for a long time. Eventually, they admitted that they had simply forgotten. This was recognized as valuable feedback that will certainly be acted upon. Patrick Stokes indicated that the huge focus on AI has caused this part to be left out, but it wasn’t a choice, like let’s not give away a golden hoodie. At the same time, he pointed out that there were other initiatives, such as a hackathon prior to the event in which the winning team won $100,000. This was rewarded during the keynote.
So, the community remains important to Salesforce, but the Golden Hoodie? For now, it’s still in the closet somewhere.
Salesforce is the only one who wants to take responsibility
This session proves that even at big companies, people make mistakes, and some things end up at the bottom of the priority list. We have no doubt that Golden Hoodie will still be awarded at another event.
What makes this session truly special, however, is Salesforce’s transparency and willingness to be accountable. The company shows vulnerability, listens to the community and does not shy away from difficult conversations.
In fact, more tech companies could take a cue from this and set aside an hour at their conferences for an open Q&A session. How would that work out for other companies? That remains an interesting question. After all, corporate cultures and communities within the tech world vary enormously. For Salesforce management, this session was undoubtedly educational, confrontational, and sometimes painful. But in the end, it contributed to staying true to the company’s core principles— and that’s what it was all about, right?