Clara Shih Quotes

Powerful Clara Shih for Daily Growth

About Clara Shih

Clara Shih is an influential American technology executive, entrepreneur, and author. Born in 1980, she was raised in a family that encouraged her curiosity and intellectual pursuits. Her parents, both immigrant scientists from Taiwan, instilled in her the value of education and innovation. Shih's career in tech began early when she co-founded Hearsay Social, a company that specializes in cloud-based social media software for financial professionals. In 2010, Time Magazine recognized Hearsay Social as one of the 50 Best Websites. Shih served as its CEO until 2016, when she became the Chief Marketing Officer at Salesforce, a leading customer relationship management solution company. Shih is also renowned for her book "The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Market and Sell to the Connected Customer." Published in 2010, this book was one of the first to explore how businesses could leverage social media platforms like Facebook for marketing and sales. It became a best-seller and is still widely read today. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Shih is committed to giving back. She serves on the board of directors for Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of Salesforce. She is also an active angel investor, backing startups in various sectors. Shih's life and work underscore her passion for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Her influence extends beyond the tech industry, inspiring many to leverage digital platforms for personal and professional growth.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Embrace the chaos. It's in the chaotic moments that we truly grow."

This quote encourages us to accept and find opportunities for growth within situations characterized by disorder, uncertainty, or confusion. Chaos is not inherently negative; it can foster innovation, resilience, and adaptability when we choose to face it with an open mind and a willingness to learn. By embracing chaos, we expand our capacity for transformation and personal development.


"The world is changing faster than ever before, and those who learn to adapt will thrive."

This quote by Clara Shih emphasizes that we live in a rapidly evolving world, where change happens at an unprecedented pace. The message is that individuals who are capable of adapting to these changes quickly, learning new skills, and being open to new ideas will be most successful. In essence, it's a call to stay agile, curious, and adaptable in order to thrive in the modern world.


"Don't wait for the perfect moment; take the moment and make it perfect."

This quote by Clara Shih suggests that instead of waiting for the ideal circumstances to act, one should seize the available opportunities and transform them into something remarkable or perfect through their efforts and actions. It's a reminder that life doesn't always provide perfect moments; rather, we have the power to create perfection in each moment as it comes along.


"Innovation doesn't happen without risk, and growth doesn't happen without change."

This quote by Clara Shih emphasizes that innovation and growth are directly linked to risks and changes. In other words, to achieve innovation (something new or more effective) and growth (expansion or development), one must be willing to take calculated risks and adapt to change. The message is that stagnation often results from an aversion to risk and resistance to change, so embracing them is essential for progress and success in any endeavor.


"If you can dream it, you can build it. The only limit is your imagination."

This quote by Clara Shih emphasizes that one's dreams and imagination hold the key to creating something tangible in reality. It suggests that if you can envision an idea or goal, you have the potential to make it a reality by putting forth the necessary effort and creativity. In essence, Shih is implying that the only real limit to achieving your dreams is the extent of your imagination.


The whole point of social media is continuity and continual engagement.

- Clara Shih

Engagement, Social, Whole, Continuity

Strong emotional connections between individuals, customers, and salespeople that trust each other will always be 10 times more powerful than the most expensive ad campaign. That's the power social media makes possible.

- Clara Shih

Trust, Strong, Other, Ad Campaign

I believe that rather than it being a case of humans versus machines, the future of financial advice more likely lies somewhere in between, where human advisors leverage artificial intelligence and automation to become smarter and more efficient at doing their jobs.

- Clara Shih

Doing, Leverage, Rather, Smarter

Like many of my fellow entrepreneurs, I didn't create Hearsay Social with my co-founder Steve Garrity because it would be fun and easy, but because we're at our best when faced with enormous challenges.

- Clara Shih

Challenges, Like, Social, Hearsay

When startups succeed, they do so against all odds. In the beginning, you have nothing except for your own talents and resources. By definition, everyone else is bigger, further along, and more established than you. To win, you have to swim upstream early on - and that requires hard work and long hours. There are no shortcuts.

- Clara Shih

Beginning, Own, Against, Startups

I wrote 'The Facebook Era' because I felt like it needed to be written, and I was one of the people who might be qualified to do so. Specifically, my background is that I developed the first business application on Facebook.

- Clara Shih

Business, Like, Qualified, Specifically

In addition to replacing many jobs, automation will also transform other jobs. Professions involving high touch, personal relationships - such as clergy, dentists, and financial advisors, for instance - face the least risk of automation but will nevertheless be profoundly transformed.

- Clara Shih

Other, Nevertheless, Transformed

Though decisions regarding work/life balance are important and vary widely from person to person, it may not be wise in the long run to optimize for doing the bare minimum at work.

- Clara Shih

Doing, May, Though, Optimize

Rather than wringing our hands about robots taking over the world, smart organizations will embrace strategic automation use cases. Strategic decisions will be based on how the technology will free up time to do the types of tasks that humans are uniquely positioned to perform.

- Clara Shih

Hands, Rather, Strategic, Tasks

Social networks particularly will tend to converge and consolidate over time, especially because they're inherently governed by network effects. So the bigger ones will just get bigger, their value will multiply exponentially, and the smaller ones will become less and less relevant.

- Clara Shih

Social Networks, Smaller, Converge

Great work, professional relationships, and learning experiences compound over time, much the way money does - investing $100 today creates much more value than investing $100 a decade from now.

- Clara Shih

Work, Decade, Over, Investing

My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big. At 15, I worked as a computer programmer at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab. After graduating, I attended Stanford for a degree in economics and computer science.

- Clara Shih

Mathematics, Big, Think Big, Stanford

There is, in fact, nothing easy about being an entrepreneur.

- Clara Shih

Fact, Nothing, About, Entrepreneur

Companies can't delegate social media to the new college grad and think they have it covered.

- Clara Shih

College, New, Delegate, Social Media

Social media teams can and do launch clever campaigns, but game-changing Social Business initiatives are typically driven by management teams.

- Clara Shih

Business, Social, Teams, Social Media

Social media provides the modern-day version of mystery shopping and walking the halls.

- Clara Shih

Mystery, Social, Provides, Social Media

Social media isn't a one-way broadcast; it's a multiway opportunity for dialogue.

- Clara Shih

Social, One-Way, Broadcast, Social Media

'The Facebook Era' articulated a radical vision for how social media would transform media, relationships, and influence, creating new opportunities for businesses in the process.

- Clara Shih

New, New Opportunities, Social Media

Looking back at my first job, even when I was asked to do something seemingly menial, unglamorous, or very difficult, I always went all-in. In my most trying moments with managers I liked the least, I did not give up, complain, or slack off.

- Clara Shih

Looking Back, Very, Least, Managers

The most important thing I've done at work has been to surround myself with amazing people who I trust and empower fully to do stuff better than I could.

- Clara Shih

Trust, The Most Important, Surround

With new technologies promising endless conveniences also comes new vulnerabilities in terms of privacy and security. And nobody is immune.

- Clara Shih

Privacy, New, Immune, Vulnerabilities

The need for strong partners and employees persists throughout the life of a company, but it is especially important in the beginning.

- Clara Shih

Strong, Beginning, Important, Employees

As entrepreneurs, we must constantly dream and have the conviction and obsession to transform our dreams into reality - to create a future that never existed before.

- Clara Shih

Before, Entrepreneurs, Our Dreams

I was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the United States with my family when I was 4. I spent most of my childhood in Chicago. My elementary school had no program in English as a second language, so I was placed in a class for students with speech impediments.

- Clara Shih

Students, United, Placed, Chicago

Data is valuable, so let's be mindful of how we're sharing it.

- Clara Shih

Data, How, Mindful, Sharing

My father, a math professor in Hong Kong, worked as an electrical engineer here. My mother was an art teacher, but once we came to the United States, she went back to school and became certified as a special-education teacher.

- Clara Shih

Here, United, Became, Kong

Many companies talk about customer success, but how many actually put the customer first above all else, always?

- Clara Shih

Always, About, Many, Customer

The immigrant experience had a profound effect on me. It taught me the importance of hard work and the value of being entrepreneurial.

- Clara Shih

Work, Importance, Had, Entrepreneurial

Technologies and specific vendors may come and go, but massive cultural transformations and new kinds of relationships? Those don't go away.

- Clara Shih

New, Away, May, Transformations

My entire life, I have viewed every problem as an opportunity - I've had no choice.

- Clara Shih

Opportunity, Had, Entire, No Choice

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