Can Your Strategy Overcome Tomorrow’s Challenges?

Turmoil and uncertainty aren’t going away anytime soon. So, as business leaders, we are left with two choices – bemoan this fact or do something about it!

Complaining about reduced budgets, labor constraints, accelerated timeframes on go-to-market strategies, added competition, increased channel options, and the like are futile efforts. There will always be challenges, but there are also tools, processes, and people that can help you overcome these challenges!

Winning companies understand this fact. Their success is built on the ability to analyze where they are today and use that knowledge to find the resources that are going to get them where they want to go tomorrow.

How exactly do they do that?

Topics: Strategy Strategic Revenue Growth Technology Training

How Experts Fill the Knowledge Gap (Including Bill Gates)

I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Some have referred to September as the “New January.” They consider it a time to make good on resolutions.  For that reason, I think this is good to use this season of change to focus on goals, and to realize this year’s potential before you again sing "Auld Lang Syne" for the new year.

It may seem more difficult for an expert, after decades of success, to ‘raise the bar,’ ‘achieve a personal best,’ ‘learn something new,’ or set new goals to excel. Especially for someone who has ‘seen it all.’ Investing time in education paid off in the early years, but 20 years later there are fewer resources or people who can be trusted to provide valuable new insights. As a result, it appears to me that a personal/professional skills plateau is reached, even as better results are demanded.

Carol Dweck: “Many people have told me that when they were promoted to a prestigious position, they suddenly felt, now I have to have all the answers. Now, my period of growth is over. I have to be a fully mature person who knows everything. So yes, at any point, you can fall into that trap. People who become CEOs suddenly feel they have to be gods goddesses, and not people who say, gee; I don’t know. Let’s talk about it. Let’s think about it. Let’s feel our way through this problem.”  - Source: Great article/interview on Harvard Business Review

When does personal development become a factor? I believe more than ever that an improvement in revenue and profits also relies on developing the skills and wisdom of the team and leaders.

Topics: Assessment Training Recruiting Planning Professional Development

My Recommended Book List for Revenue Leaders

Here is a list of my top recommended books every leader who is responsible for growing revenue should have in their library. This list includes books focused on sales, marketing, leadership and personal development.

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read. - Abraham Lincoln

What is my criteria for adding a book as a “favorite”? Such a book keeps me interested and offers a return on investment for the time. The return on the time invested to read the book might be a new idea or something that improves the business in a significant way. These books have influenced not only my business decisions, they have also offered new opportunities for personal development. 

Topics: Leadership Training Sales Training

The Most Important Skills vs the Most Difficult Skills of a CMO

“Fire the sales & marketing team” may be heard behind closed doors from unhappy and frustrated leadership. The simplest solution is to remove the marginal team and dig into the “deep well” to hire and train fresh candidates.

Before you borrow the infamous phrase “Your fired!” to chop up the sales & marketing team into small pieces, consider how the difficulty and change the role of a CMO is undergoing.

Topics: Infographic Events CMO Training