One of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time, Marc Benioff, the billionaire founder and CEO of salesforce.com, could not have accomplished what he did without finding and promoting great people.

And one of the greatest, Tien Tzuo, offers valuable insights into how to start at the bottom and rise to the top. The Stanford MBA should know -- after all, Tien was salesforce.com's eleventh employee and Benioff picked Tien to be its chief marketing officer (CMO).

In his nine years at salesforce.com, Tien built salesforce.com's original billing system and held executive roles in technology, marketing, and strategy organizations. He built salesforce.com's product management and marketing organization, served as CMO for two years, and most recently as Chief Strategy Officer.

In 2007 Tien founded SaaS billing service provider, Zuora.

In a June 22 interview, Tien articulated five principles he has used to rise to the top and keep going.

1. Organizational structures are artificial. Don't get too caught up in them.

Tien believes that people should stop thinking about impressing those who are above them in the organization and treat them as people with needs that they can satisfy.

As he said, managing up is "really no different from managing down. In fact, start by breaking down all the artificial constructs in your head about organization charts. Treat people as people, whether they are above you or below you. Understand what they need, and figure out how you can help them."

Tien has avoided focusing on climbing up the ladder one rung at a time. "I have never really focused on linear promotions. I think too many people worry just about the next step up the ladder--manager of marketing, director of marketing, VP of marketing--and develop tunnel vision," he said.

Instead, he sees more opportunities in moving laterally to build general management skills. As he explained, "I recommend that people focus on the larger world of opportunities that may be waiting anywhere in an organization and be willing to make lateral moves."

He gave some examples: "I liked to make lateral moves every two years. For example, I started at Oracle as a consultant for two years, moved to a technical sales position for two years, then became a sales rep for two years. Especially in today's world, companies want people who are adaptable and have a diverse set of experiences."

2. Treat people as people. Your boss is just another person with needs, just like the people on your team. Find out what they are and how you can help.

Following this advice led Tien to get what he called his "strangest but most instructive promotion" when Benioff asked Tien to be salesforce.com's first CMO. Explained Tien, "He could have looked outside the organization for an experienced marketer, but instead he chose me, a product guy with no marketing experience."

Tien got the promotion because Benioff wanted someone who understood salesforce.com's challenges and could learn the job. "Marc based his decision on what was best for the organization at the time. He didn't limit people to an area of expertise. He was more interested in someone who knew the issues facing the organization, someone who was adaptable and a learner, and someone who had proved he could get the job done. He knew I could get inside his head, understand the need, and make it happen. In the end, that's what a successful company will value," noted Tien.

3. Always look at the bigger picture to see where the opportunities are.

Tien suggests that in a growth company, the opportunities go to those who are willing to look for them in unconventional places.

As he said, "Most people are too heads down. They put themselves in a box. If you're in a growth company, leadership opportunities abound. What are the company priorities and biggest challenges? What are the strategic initiatives that you can help move forward? Think more broadly about what you do."

He gave the example of his Director of IT who "didn't see her job as just an internal function. She figured out how what she did was valuable to our customers. As a result, we made her CIO."

He recommends that "by thinking outside the box, you can develop a vision for how you can help the company. And by doing well and always paying attention to what else is going on, the opportunities will find you."

4. It's not about seeking promotions. It's about how to be successful so that the promotion seeks you.

After his first raise, Tien realized that "if I simply did more, I would get more, and that is how I have approached every position since."

The key idea here is that as you rise, you need to develop new skills and let go of some of the ones that allowed you to succeed at the earlier role.

"A contributor needs to complete tasks. A manager leads a small team, but it's still about executing tasks. You're just doing some of the thinking and planning for the others. Being a leader is more about direction setting and building the systems and metrics so the organization can operate and measure success. Being a leader of leaders is about coaching others to lead, about finding cross-functional synergies and dysfunctions, and about the broader vision and strategy," he said.

5. Understand your own strengths and weaknesses, and align your strengths with the needs of the company.

Ultimately, Tien believes that getting promoted requires you to take time to meet people in the organization, build relationships with them, understand their needs, and help them see you as someone who can meet their needs.

As he said, "Weave into your routine from day one a habit of really connecting with the people you intersect with at the organization. Do you understand what they need from you? Are you meeting those needs? How else can you help them? When you build these relationships, as opportunities open up, people will naturally think of you as a potential candidate."