Who created the method
The People First Method began with one person’s instinct for people.
Long before it had a name, Jon Cline was running it — on hundreds of Salesforce projects and across more than a decade of private cohorts, where he turned struggling consultants into trusted advisors and red accounts into multi-year partnerships.
You don’t have to take our word for it. Over eighteen years, the people who hired him, reported to him, partnered with him, and learned from him said the same things again and again. Below are their words — the evidence that the method was lived long before it was taught.
The thesis
The rare combination the method is built on.
Most technical experts are not gifted communicators. Most gifted communicators are not deep technical experts. The People First Method exists because Jon spent two decades proving that the combination — technical mastery paired with the human skills to lead people through change — is what actually makes complex projects succeed.
That combination is the single most repeated observation across his recommendations. It is also the exact thing the method now teaches.
“In my fifteen years in business only a handful of professionals stand out, Jon Cline is among them. He is the rarest of individuals — he has both the technical skills and the social/communicative aptitude to manage the most complex project successfully.”Dan RobertsRegional Sales Leader, Cisco · client
The arc
A people-first life, long before a people-first method.
The instinct didn’t start on a Salesforce project. It started with a foster kid who learned that the right people, invested at the right moment, change everything — and who spent the next thirty years passing it on.
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The beginning
Foster kid → founder kid
Raised by a beekeeping foster family, then upended. He learned to seek out mentors who changed his life — and to pass on what he learned.
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1996
The first lesson, taught for pay
Running computer labs in college, he earned $80 teaching a stranger to use Windows. “My consulting career began right there.”
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1999–2008
Enthusiast, Inc. — Co-Founder & CEO
Built a web-marketing platform before WordPress existed. Presidential Award winner; sold his interest in 2008.
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2008
Starting over
Sold into the crash and lost the house — then rebuilt from scratch on his foster dad’s creed, “pay what you can,” and moved into Salesforce.
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2010–2020
Built & sold two consultancies
Cirrus (acquired 2013) and WisdomEdge (acquired 2016), then leading delivery pods across 1,000+ projects — learning the value of a team.
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2021–today
People First Method
Fifteen years of private cohorts, distilled into a program that finally makes the intangibles teachable.
In their words
A “people first” method — before it had a name.
Clients and team members described a distinct, repeatable way of working that put people at the center — one they could name, adopt, and carry into their own careers.
Jon’s People First Method™ is a proven and distinctive framework that sets him and his team apart from every organization I’ve worked with… I apply the principles I learned from Jon every day. They’ve become my professional ‘secret sauce.’Jeffrey Loven5x-Certified Engagement Manager, Cirrius Solutions · reported to Jon
Jon combines sharp strategic thinking with a people-first, human-centric approach that elevates both teams and outcomes… he invests deeply in developing those around him, creating high-performing, aligned teams that sustain success well beyond individual projects.Kingsley FinkLead Solution Engineer, Salesforce · 9x Certified
They’ve been instrumental in driving renewal revenue, upselling services, and even turning around red accounts with their ‘people first’ consulting methodology and unwavering commitment to extreme ownership.Chad AndersonFounder & CEO, Cirrius Solutions · 5+ years partnering with Jon
When I first met Jon, back in 2002, he reminded me a lot of Steve Jobs at a similar age… When Jon engages with clients, he becomes part of their culture and takes on their challenges as his own. This is a man you want on your team.Bill KelleyBoard Member, Orbis Electric · client, 2008
Careers built on his mentorship.
A learning program is a natural extension of what Jon was already doing — recognizing soft-skill potential, teaching the intangibles, and watching people he invested in succeed.
There are many people in the Salesforce ecosystem who owe their careers to Jon Cline and I am one of them… a gifted Salesforce architect, a patient mentor, a skilled communicator… imparting the intangible soft skills that have made him a sought-after consultant.David KleinEnterprise Applications / Salesforce Solutions Architect · teammate
Despite my lack of Salesforce or consulting experience, Jon recognized the value of the soft skills I brought to the table… Fast forward six years, and I attribute my success to the leadership, trust, and guidance Jon provided every step of the way.Blake LaurinoTeam Lead, Managed Services, Cirrius Solutions · former colleague
I learned many valuable lessons not only about the platform but also about how to work in a Salesforce role… Jon has a gift of teaching others and has a passion to watch them succeed. His level of technical knowledge is equally matched by his generosity and character.Logan JohnsonSalesforce / HubSpot Administrator · reported to Jon
I have seen him provide incredible sales and delivery value to every client he comes in contact with, and witnessed first-hand the thoughtful dedication to the growth of his team. Jon’s unique gift of insight and passion to serve others is why everyone loves to work with him.Michael Patchen13x-Certified Salesforce Consultant, Cirrius · worked under Jon
Red to green. Small to multi-million.
The method’s claim — that people skills drive project outcomes — shows up in the results clients describe: rescued accounts and engagements that grew many times over on trust alone.
A prime example is their role in helping us expand a key account relationship from an initial $40k project to over $1M in subsequent work — a testament to the quality and trust they help build.Timothy HartingCOO, Cirrius Solutions
Jon has a unique talent for taking smaller projects and turning them into major successes, often expanding them into million-dollar projects over time, all at the client’s request. His strategic approach and focus on creating value are a big part of why.Stephen MyersMBA, U.S. Navy Veteran · client
After too much time and too much money spent with an overseas developer, we were forced to find a more capable and honest developer to rescue our Salesforce app development from disaster… The difference between our first developer and Jon and his team was literally night and day. We could not have done it without Jon.Joseph RosenCorporate Finance / Business Intelligence · client, 2013
It starts with the business question.
Before the technology, before the build — the discipline of clarifying what victory actually means. It is lesson one of the method, and it was how Jon began every engagement.
His approach when beginning any project is a question: ‘What is the business objective you are trying to achieve?’ He then sets out to find and apply the best solution to meet that objective… adept at getting everyone on the same page.Paul JacquesMBA · managed Jon directly
Jon is a unique combination of expertise/knowledge and communication skills… rather than making me feel like an idiot, he has patiently mentored me until even I can apply a plethora of technological innovations to improve our bottom line.“Patient Lee” TomlinsonTEDx Speaker, TV Producer · client
The spine behind the story
Two decades of craft.
20+
years on the Salesforce platform
1,000+
projects delivered
14×
Salesforce certified Solution Architect
10+
years a Toastmaster — the genesis of the program’s culture goals
Jon is also UX-certified in Interaction Design by the Nielsen Norman Group — the rare technologist who studies how people actually experience the systems he builds. The recommendations above are a curated handful; there are more than seventy on record, spanning 2007 to 2026, from clients, direct reports, peers, and the partners who built businesses alongside him. The consistency across two decades is the point: this was never a pitch. It was always how he worked.
Learn the method he built.
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