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In this post-Dreamforce episode of Salesforce Trails and Trials, hosts Erik, Jon, and Mike dive into the latest announcements from Dreamforce 2025. They discuss the evolution of AI in Salesforce, including Agent Force features, Agentforce Vibes for full-stack app development, and the new Agent Builder with enhanced scripting and observability. The conversation covers practical use cases for AI in org assessments, demoing Agent Vibes, market pressures driving agent adoption, and the importance of security in AI implementations. Tune in for insights on how these tools are making Salesforce more accessible and powerful for developers and businesses alike.

In this episode of Sales Force Trails and Trials, host John interviews US Air Force Veteran and Salesforce expert Andrew Day. Andrew shares his unique path from high school tech projects to military service, post-military career challenges, and eventual success in Salesforce. He discusses the importance of certifications, hands-on experience, and soft skills for veterans transitioning into tech. Andrew also talks about his business, 22Nexus, which helps veterans break into the industry, and offers insights on the current job market, AI governance, and cybersecurity. This inspiring conversation highlights the value veterans bring to the workforce and calls for more support to help them succeed.

Jon, Erik, and Mike discuss opportunities for Dreamforce and lots of other topics including using AI to create navigable minisites for documentation.

In this inspiring episode of Salesforce Trails and Trials, host Jon Cline chats with Kevin Hubschmann, entrepreneur and founder of Laugh.Events. Kevin shares his remarkable journey from an aspiring lacrosse player who got cut from his team to becoming an unexpected student body president, which ignited his passion for entrepreneurship and community leadership. He dives into his early career at an event marketing software company (Splash) where he wore multiple hats including sales, QA, and even product support, all while secretly pursuing improv comedy. Exploring how comedy developed his 'people-first' superpowers like active listening, vulnerability, and risk-taking, Kevin explains how these skills not only boosted his sales success but also led him to pivot into a full-time comedy business during the pandemic. From hosting virtual comedy shows to creating innovative "Laughing and Development" workshops that combine humor with professional growth, Kevin reveals the science behind laughter's role in reducing stress, building connection, and enhancing learning. He emphasizes maintaining human skills in an AI-driven world and shares insights on cultivating supportive work cultures that embrace creativity and shared experiences. This episode celebrates taking unexpected paths, embracing failure as fuel for growth, and bringing more laughter into both work and life.

## Podcast Title Navigating AI in Sales: Opportunities, Job Impacts, and Future Skills ## Short Summary In this episode of Salesforce Trails & Trials, host Jon welcomes guest Mike to discuss how AI is transforming the business landscape, emphasizing augmentation over replacement with analogies like McDonald's (efficiency-focused) versus Chick-fil-A (human-centered). Jon shares personal projects, including using AI to build and secure a custom URL shortener. Guest Erik joins to explore job risks, the need for upskilling, and AI's cognitive impacts, highlighting essential future skills like analytical thinking, curiosity, and lifelong learning in a data-driven world.

Jon and Matt discuss the power of working a problem and gleaning the insights and character along the way.

A journey from trainer to coach and user to shepherd the Salesforce ecosystem.

Jon reviews data from the 2025 World Economic Forum report highlighting the top 10 core skills employers are looking for.

We congratulate Mike on a big milestone and walk through his interactive resume and chosen demo to learn what others might do on their hiring journey. We also discuss ways to lead through the hype without pressuring others.

Join Jon, Erik, and Mike as they discuss recent news items around the Swiss public LLM initiative, ways to leverage packaging beyond the AppExchange, and a few key release highlights among other topics in the conversation. Listen in and subscribe here and via LI @ https://linkedin.com/in/joncline. Show notes always at www.salesforcetrailsandtrials.com.

Jon Cline and Nick Romanos discuss why removing all friction from our physical and digital experiences actually reduces our enjoyment and capacity.

Jon provides a high level overview of technical debt, the negative impact it has on your Salesforce Org, and some symptoms you can recognize when it is impacting your business.

Jack McCurdy and Jon Cline discuss solving the people puzzle in DevOps. This episode first appeared on the DevOps Diaries podcast.

Stephen Klein, a guest on "Salesforce Trails & Trials," shares his 20+ year journey and AI insights. Klein's background includes a fine arts degree in poetry, valuing literature and art for distinguishing humans from AI. His diverse career path encompassed journalism (UMass Daily Collegian editor), early tech at Wang Laboratories, 12 years in advertising (built largest New England agency, European ops), global product/marketing at Dun & Bradstreet, and an MBA from Harvard. He now teaches AI strategy and ethics at Berkeley, his primary expertise. Klein emphasizes wisdom (hard-earned principles from challenges/study) is distinct from knowledge (easily acquired information). He believes ethics and values optimize profit, contrary to the Machiavellian focus on fast gain. Klein critiques the current AI landscape, noting incentives are misaligned as AI is sold for cost-cutting and automation, leading to layoffs. He claims ~80% of industry data is "cooked," acting as a sales funnel for private AI firms and large consulting groups. He likens the current AI craze to historical bubbles like "tulip mania" and the dot-com era, fueled by fear of being left behind. Klein draws parallels to the sugar and tobacco industries' past efforts to distort reality through marketing. Generative AI is unreliable (30-70% hallucination), making full automation unfeasible. Using Gen AI to create more data results in a "recursive" loop, degrading training data and output over time. He states there are no net US job losses from Gen AI; layoffs follow normal 10-12 year economic cycles. The consulting industry profits heavily, with 70-80% of AI pilots failing. Klein advocates for an "augmentation" model where AI "levels up" people for strategic thinking, rather than replacing them. He champions "Co-op AI" or "Reflective AI," where AI partners with individuals for better problem-solving. His company, Curiouser.ai, offers "Alice," a Reflective AI that asks questions to challenge critical thinking and foster self-understanding, combining generative AI with tailored machine learning. Effective AI adoption requires strong CEO leadership, clear vision, organizational unity, and prioritizing people. Klein deems "AI first" the "stupidest idea" as it implies "people last," alienating employees and customers and harming brand reputation. He is optimistic that "people first" companies, investing in their future and workforce, will lead a positive revolution, building businesses and creating jobs. Organizations should consider multi-LLM, open/closed-source platforms, not just IT-delegated tools. I hope this concise summary is helpful! Would you like to review specific aspects of Stephen Klein's career, or perhaps delve deeper into his concept of "Reflective AI" and "Co-op AI"? I can also quiz you on the material to test your comprehension if you'd like!

Jon and Mike catch up on trends, projects, and perspectives while Erik is on vacation.