Engine One: Increasing Market Share — The Hardest Yard in Growth In Part One of our series on The Mechanics of Growth, we established that sustainable growth begins with protecting the base, or solidifying existing clients and ensuring predictable renewals. With that foundation in place, organizations earn the right to activate the first growth engine: […]
Protect This House: Why Sustainable Growth Begins with a Solid Base Across industries, leadership teams wrestle with the same paradox: growth has never been more celebrated, yet it has rarely been more misunderstood. Boards demand it, investors expect it, and strategic plans confidently proclaim it. But when you study the anatomy of companies that grow […]
In posts 1and 2 of our 3-part series on The Year-End Sales Push, we revealed the mechanics behind year-end selling—quantified delay and guided decision-making. In post 3, we expose the silent killer of Q4 deals. Most deals don’t die because the buyer says no. They die because the champion can’t get a yes. Executives rarely […]
In our first post on the Year-End Sales Push, we exposed why deals stall at year-end: the unquantified cost of delay. In this week’s post, we reveal the second truth most sellers never confront. Buyers don’t go dark because they’re disinterested. They go dark because they’re overwhelmed. December is the single most cognitively overloaded month […]
Every December, companies lose millions of dollars not because the market slows down, not because budgets dry up, and not because buyers “need more time.” Deals die because sellers push urgency when buyers desperately need clarity. Research from Gartner confirms that the #1 cause of stalled deals isn’t objection or price—it’s internal misalignment and buyer […]
Let’s assume you’ve read the other blogs in this series. You’ve realized your strategic plan is mostly budgeting in disguise. You’ve stopped rearranging your org chart like a game of corporate Rummikub. And you’ve come to terms with the fact that last year’s SKO was a PowerPoint-palooza with dry chicken and a team that remembered […]
It’s that time of year again: Flights are being booked. Ballrooms are being reserved. Executives are pretending they’re motivational speakers. Yes, it’s Sales Kickoff (SKO) planning season. SKOs should be the ignition point for the year’s go-to-market strategy. They should inspire, align, and sharpen execution. But too often, they deliver fatigue, confusion, and a branded […]
The connection between corporate strategy, sales strategy, and a Sales Kickoff (SKO) is both critical and often underleveraged. When aligned well, these three elements form a closed loop of strategic clarity, executional alignment, and frontline empowerment. When disconnected, they create confusion, misallocation of resources, and underperformance in the field. Let’s unpack the connection through a […]
There’s a strange ritual that happens in boardrooms every fall. Executives gather to review “next year’s plan,” and somewhere around slide 38, someone suggests that what the company really needs is… a new org structure. Cue the whiteboard marker. Circles. Boxes. Dotted lines. Innovation achieved! If you listen closely, you can hear Peter Drucker facepalming […]
Let’s just say it: most strategic planning processes are neither strategic nor particularly planned. They’re mostly budgeting exercises and wearing a strategy hat. They masquerade as thoughtful, future-focused sessions, but in practice, they resemble a mix of political theater, spreadsheet jockeying, and a PowerPoint rehash of last year with minor tweaks. Welcome to Q3 […]