In enterprise sales, customer first has become one of those phrases everyone agrees with and very few teams define clearly. Most leaders want their sellers to be buyer-focused. Most sellers would say they are. Yet buyers can usually tell very quickly whether the person across the table is there to understand their business or simply guide them toward a sale. That distinction matters more than many teams realize. I have always believed that the foundation of a strong business

“Ready for more” is one of the most common phrases used in succession planning. It is also one of the least precise. A CEO says a leader is close. A COO says they are not quite there. A CHRO hears positive feedback, but also some quiet hesitation. The high-potential leader is performing well, working hard, and delivering results, yet the senior team still does not fully see them as ready for the next role. That is where leadership readiness needs a sharper framework. In my wo

When results start slipping, most leaders look first at effort. They assume the team needs more urgency, tighter follow-up, or stronger accountability. So the pressure goes up. Expectations get repeated. The pace increases. But in many cases, the real issue is simpler and more preventable. The team is not clear. This is where execution often breaks down long before anyone names it correctly. People are working hard, but they are not fully aligned on what matters most, what go

1. Why quotas are achieved through people, not dashboards I appreciate a clean dashboard as much as anyone. Pipeline coverage, conversion rates, stage velocity, average deal size, and forecast categories all matter. They help leaders see patterns, spot gaps, and manage performance with more discipline. But a dashboard does not close a deal. A quota is achieved through people making decisions, people building confidence, and people choosing to move forward together. That is wh

A strategy can be smart, well-funded, and widely supported and still fall short the moment it reaches the manager layer. That is where many organizations get confused. Senior leaders leave a planning session feeling aligned and confident. The priorities are clear. The goals are set. The direction makes sense. But a few weeks later, execution starts to feel uneven. Teams interpret priorities differently. Follow-through becomes inconsistent. Urgency rises, but clarity does not.

For many engineering-led companies, the first instinct is to buy leadership talent from the outside. I understand the instinct. For twenty years, I helped companies do exactly that. When the business is growing, the customer work is becoming more complex, and the same few senior technical leaders are carrying too much of the load, outside hiring feels like the fastest answer. Go find someone who has seen the movie before. Bring in a proven leader. Add capacity. Reduce pressur

For many strong functional leaders, delegation starts as a survival tool. You have too much on your plate. The business is moving faster. Customers, peers, and senior leaders all need answers. So you begin handing out tasks . “Can you run this report?” “Can you handle the first draft?” “Can you sit in on that meeting?” “Can you follow up with operations?” That helps for a while. But at some point, task delegation runs out of gas. The next leadership transition is bigger. It i

There was a time when sales differentiation could live in the deck. A sharper feature set, a faster implementation timeline, a more compelling story about capabilities. That window has narrowed. In crowded mid market categories, buyers can compare vendors faster than ever, alternatives look increasingly similar, and every serious competitor can make a credible case. The result is familiar to every VP of Sales: more price pressure, longer decision cycles, and teams working har

Growth has a way of flattering a company right up until it starts exposing what the business is not ready to carry. At first, the signs look manageable. More customers. More complexity. More decisions. More people stepping into manager roles because the company needs coverage now, not because the leadership pipeline is truly prepared. For a while, momentum hides the strain. Revenue can still look healthy. Hiring can still feel active. The team can still convince itself that t

LinkedIn Post WHAT is not enough. The best leaders also talk about WHY, HOW, and BY WHEN. I once worked with a highly talented CFO who had recently been promoted into her significant leadership role. The company had chosen to promote from within rather than recruiting externally, which was a great vote of confidence in her abilities. She was incredibly bright, understood the business inside and out, and her financial analysis skills were exceptional. What she needed to develo

LinkedIn Article In today's fast-paced professional world, understanding how you best process information isn't just helpful—it's essential. But knowledge alone isn't enough. The real challenge—and opportunity—lies in having the courage to act on that understanding, even when it means breaking from established norms or making others uncomfortable. As an executive coach working with leaders across industries, I've witnessed firsthand how this self-awareness, coupled with the b

LinkedIn Post I was struck by a recent article by The Wall Street Journal about tech parents steering their children away from STEM fields and toward the arts and trades. Reading between the lines, I saw a powerful reminder about career fundamentals that apply to all of us, regardless of industry. Throughout our career journeys, we're constantly seeking the alignment of three critical elements: what we're genuinely good at, what we're passionate about, and what will provid

LinkedIn Post Human Relationships and the Rise of AI If you don’t read Scott Galloway , you should. The March 31 Prof G Markets newsletter lead article “AI vs. Gen Z: The Hiring War Has Begun” talks about the 8% plus unemployment rate among Gen Z recent college grads ages 20-25. There are multiple reasons behind this, including the “AI” ization of entry level roles, Millennial manager antipathy to hiring young people, and a wonky economy filled with uncertainty. Out of this

LinkedIn Post Critical Thinking Is the Second Question You Ask Yesterday, during a conversation with the #CFOs who make up the CFO Alliance , a great question was asked: What exactly is critical thinking? Dr. Tim Naddy came back with a terrific response: Critical thinking is the second question you ask. For financial teams, their greatest value is in helping the business sort the signal from the noise—connecting the dots between market trends, operations, and financial da