Weekend Reading

Do the hard things. To build a great startup, you have to move fast. But you shouldn’t let urgency distract you from tackling big, thorny problems. Doing the hard things is one of the most effective ways to build true defensibility.
Protect your principles. Having clear company principles helps your team make faster, better decisions. It’s easier to act autonomously when you have a clear framework to follow. Failing to protect these values can shift your company towards an “exception-based” culture.
Pay your debts. Every time you make a sub-optimal corporate decision, you create a “debt” that must be paid. This is true across engineering, product, and marketing teams. To avoid debts spiraling, keep track of them and proactively pay them down.
Build a brand. If you’re building a good business, you’ll inevitably attract competition. For consumer companies, it’s essential to create an impactful, differentiated brand. If you do it well, you’ll outcompete better-capitalized opponents.”

Try to be the best at what you do. The money will take care of itself…In business, persistence pays off…Others may have more advantages than you, but no one has more hours in the day than you. No one can outwork you unless you let it happen…Find your workplace tribe…No one cares about your disadvantages. Overcome them…Managers must be managed.

Actions - Once you and your peers have assessed the market landscape and your ecosystem, take action. Incorporate immediate actions into existing sales plans and future required actions into your B2B sales strategy.
Leadership Actions

As with all changes that affect our teams, we must take a leadership role. For example, we must treat economic downturns and the changes that we have to make as a comprehensive change program. As usual, this starts and continues with communication.
Communication. When economics impacts our business, our teams and those within our partner ecosystems need reassurance about the future of the company. In addition, they need reassurance of their personal futures. Share executive team views on the market. Communicate the results of any assessments that have been made and actions that are planned.
Care for your team. Managers must ensure that open and transparent communications are available. Continue to appreciate and recognize employee efforts during what could be a challenging time. A culture of appreciation drives employee engagement and productivity.
Budget. Although sales does not have tremendous discretionary budget, it goes without saying that leaders must reduce all unnecessary spending, including travel, and consider hiring freezes where appropriate.

Position resources toward the market priorities that will drive the best current and future results. For example, some industries such as healthcare may be more recession-proof than others.
Demand engine changes. Shift marketing spend to appropriately drive demand in target segments and nurture those that will be poised to act when recovery occurs. Share Six Tips Marketing Operations Leaders Can Use To Prepare For A Potential Recession with your marketing partners.
Digital routes to market. Consider how buyers may be changing their purchasing behavior. If, for example, they desire self-service, consider if now is the time to invest in digital selling capabilities. Doing so can meet buyer needs and reduce human sales expense.
Seller enablement. Educate direct and partner sellers on new messaging, offerings, packages, etc. In addition, coach them to ensure that they can effectively leverage these resources.
Coverage and quota. Shift coverage to ensure that existing and targeted priorities are effectively covered. Consider changes to quota or incentives to drive action to the highest-potential opportunities and clients. Also, consider how quota or incentives may have to be adjusted if existing targets are no longer achievable.

Once the link between digital capabilities and customer and business metrics has been established, begin to map these digital capabilities to the customer lifecycle, the insurance value chain, and a technology stack.
Demonstrate how digital technologies: Improve product design, marketing and sales, service, and engagement.
Lower the costs of underwriting, acquisition, service, and compliance.

Strategic Foresight - Insights in Business and Technology