INSPIRATION
When I left higher ed for Salesforce, I didn't "apply" 20 times. I built a Value Pitch.
A five-slide deck. Each slide mapped to one of Salesforce's core values. Each one told a story from my career that proved I already lived that value. I sent it before every interview.
By the time I walked in, they weren't interviewing me. They were already working with me.
Here was the gag of it all. It wasn't the slides that did the work. It was what the slides did to the conversation. The recruiter, the investor, the dean, whoever was across the table, arrived with my Value Pitch already in their head. Every question came off my deck. My stories. My framing. My terms. I walked in already knowing the test, because I'd written it.
You stand out by sending proof, not paragraphs.
This isn't just a job-seeker move. The dean pitching a new program builds one. The founder courting an investor builds one. The leader trying to align a new boss in week one builds one. Every room with a decision in it can be pre-framed with one page that says here is how I see this, and here is what I'd do.
The job — the role, the round, the partnership, the deal — has already started. The only question is whether you're showing up for it.
COLLABORATION
Earl made me read two books before he'd even talk to me about Salesforce: Behind the Cloud and Trailblazer, both by Marc Benioff.
Reading the founder's story before you walk into a company is one of the most underrated career moves on earth. You stop sounding like a candidate and start sounding like someone who already lives there. The artifact got built on top of that homework, not in place of it.
Go to the source → [Behind the Cloud · Trailblazer]
▶ The TEF Show — Earl on the artifact. The clip that gets the most replies every time we share it. Watch the clip →
EXECUTION
Your 1% this week. Build one Value Pitch. One page. For one room you're trying to walk into.
I made you something to make it easier.
→ [The Value Pitch — free build-it guide]
12 pages of the exact framework I've used for every leap I've made. Pick your shape (receipts brief, 30-60-90 plan, teardown, or one-page POV). Mine your proof. Build it with AI. Deploy it.
If you build one, reply with the words VALUE PITCH and tell me which room you sent it into. I want to see what you make.
PASS IT ON
Forward this to someone with an interview, a pitch, or a proposal this month. Send them the worksheet too.
THE EXTRA
Another DJ set list for your flow state this week:
— DéRecco
The Invisible Interview · The Invisible Score · The TEF Show
