Twitter’s company culture was once cutting-edge.
Akin to a playground for professionals, its offices were decked out to max out creativity and collaboration. Think rooftop gardens, a DJ booth, and a yoga studio.
But since taking over Twitter last year, Elon Musk has transformed its people-first culture into his own “extremely hard-core” workplace where a massively slimmed-down staff is expected to work “long hours at high intensity.”
Musk's approach to leadership has been heavily criticized, of course, but far from everyone is dismissing it out of hand. Many tech-world leaders are looking at Musk's experience for lessons, and in a new interview, Salesforce’s CEO Marc Benioff has come out as one of the more unexpected tech executives who have been watching and learning—and maybe feeling a little jealous.
Like Twitter, Salesforce plans to "run lean and mean"
"Every CEO in Silicon Valley has looked at what Elon Musk has done and has asked themselves, 'Do they need to unleash their own Elon within them?'" Benioff told Insider.
"That is an existential question that if you are any kind of executive in the company," Benioff. "You have to look at him and say, 'Wow, it's a very unorthodox management style,' but, as I've said, you can't underestimate what he's done."
It’s a far cry from Benioff's previous declarations that Salesforce is one big family, with the Hawaiian word “Ohana” taking center stage in his corporate philosophy.
Earlier this year, Salesforce laid off around 8,000 employees amid tough economic headwinds globally.
At the time, Benioff said, “I wish I offered lifetime employment. But the reality is when you have a big company with 80,000 employees, there are going to be times you have to make a headcount adjustment.”
The layoffs at Salesforce have been mirrored all over the tech industry, with Meta and Google communicating the cuts in a similarly apologetic manner.
But it seems Benioff has taken a U-turn on this soft stance and is now taking cues from Musk’s method.
According to Insider, Salesforce's latest draft business plan includes lifting profit margins over 30% by capping headcount growth; reducing general and administrative expenses, and sales and marketing spending; and cutting back on real estate.
"Run lean and mean" and "Spend like it's yours" are some of the stern words of wisdom the document dictates to employees.
Salesforce’s Q4 success
Benioff’s Musk-inspired approach to efficiency seems to be working, with Salesforce reporting strong quarterly results on Wednesday that exceeded expectations.
The software giant’s revenue climbed 14% to $8.38 billion, and it doubled its share repurchase to $20 billion.
The results were met with a cautiously optimistic response from Elliott Management, one of several activist investors that had been putting pressure on management to improve profit margins and cash flow.
The investment company that manages more than $55 billion of assets said the result “represents progress towards regaining investor trust.”
“The acceleration of margin targets, commitment to responsible capital-return priorities, creation of a business transformation committee, and disbanding of the M&A committee are necessary steps forward,” a statement read, “but much work remains.”
“Salesforce needs a sustainable leadership plan and a board that demonstrates it can provide accountability through proper oversight,” it added.
Since he cofounded Salesforce in 1999, Benioff insists, he’s tackled similar economic turbulence, citing to Insider changes he implemented during the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.
But he remains optimistic that unlike with Musk’s new dawn at Twitter, doubling down on productivity at Salesforce won’t impact its “Ohana” culture.
"Now we're having to make slight adjustments," he said. "And that doesn't mean that our culture changes, it just means that we have to operate a business. That business is business, but business can be the greatest platform for change."
