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Choose Your Words Carefully

Zendesk CFO Elena Gomez followed up a top-notch education (a degree from UC-Berkley\u2019s Haas School of Business) with a series of finance executive positions within some highly impressive companies \u2013 Charles Schwab, Visa, Salesforce and, since April 2016, Zendesk, a customer experience and help desk platform company that's posted remarkable, largely organic, growth in recent years. Despite the elite credentials, Gomez asserts the importance of forging genuine connections with her bosses, colleagues and direct reports. She shares the inspirational speech her boss gave to her when her confidence wavered as a 29-year-old, newly minted VP. Gomez also delivers a candid account of how a near mutiny by her team taught her the underrated value of authentic expressions of gratitude. \u201cOne of my direct reports told me that everyone on my team was going to quit,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI was a brand new VP of finance \u2026 he said: You know, you haven\u2019t said \u2018thank you.\u2019 It just stopped me in my tracks.\u201d