Partners in EXCELLENCE - Making a Difference
Leadership
True leadership lies in guiding others to success. In ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well. —Bill Owens
Leadership is critical to success, whether self-leadership or organizational leadership. Too often, we confuse leadership and management. Both have their place, but leadership enables organizations to achieve.
We provide a variety of programs to support the development of leaders. Whether it is their role in the organization and how to perform. Developing/implementing strategies, setting performance goals and dealing with performance challenges. Or managing performance and maximizing engagement. Or coaching and developing people in their teams.
Our programs and consulting can be offered at the organizational level, working with people in developing a strong leadership capability within the organization.
We also work at the individual level, serving as coaches or mentors to individuals, maximizing their ability to lead and helping them to move forward in their careers.
Leadership Posts
We Don’t Start With AI!
Companies are spending more on AI than ever before, even as the cost of AI itself has fallen. The price of running an AI query dropped 80 to 90% over the last two years. Total enterprise AI bills are skyrocketing anyway. Average enterprise AI spend rose from $1.2 million in 2024 to $7 million in […]
The Bait, the Book, and the Real Answer
I just published “Old-Timers Are Right About What We Are Seeing. We’re Wrong About Why.” A friend sent me a note in response. He framed it as a CEO’s question, but I knew exactly what he was doing. He was testing me. His note read: “Dave, this is brilliant. You have summarized the change and […]
Old-Timers Are Right About What We’re Seeing. We’re Wrong About Why.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the same conversation, with a number of old-timers in business and sales. People who’ve been doing this for thirty-forty years. The conversation always arrives at the same conclusion. People don’t seem to care anymore. They don’t have the drive. They don’t have the joy. It’s just a job, […]
Managing The Number, Missing The Cause
Win rate drops. Pipeline coverage falls below target. Activity numbers slip. The standard managerial response is some version of “we need to improve win our rates” or “we need more pipeline” or “we need more calls this week.” The number becomes the problem to be solved. In one on ones or team meetings, the discussion […]
What You Can’t Count, You Have To See
Every leader who takes the behaviors of excellence seriously eventually asks: how do we measure them? How do we score curiosity, continuous learning, caring, customer centricity, the ability to deal with change and ambiguity, accountability, discipline, purpose? How do we turn these into something we can track and manage? The question, itself, is the problem. […]
Confident, Decisive, And Wrong!
Every leader I know has more information than they can handle. Dashboards, pipeline reviews, forecast calls, win/loss reports, it never stops. We have more tools and AI to provide more analysis and new insights into this flood of information. Despite this, for the decisions that matter most, those about strategy, people, customers, and execution, it […]
We’re Asking The Wrong Question About AI And Jobs
Every week, we are deluged with articles about the impact of AI on jobs and employment, particularly the disappearance of entry-level roles. Senior executives announce headcount reductions. Analysts publish projections. The concern is real. Data points are cherry-picked; entry-level coding, legal research, consultants dedicated to generating excel charts and powerpoints, accounting/finance, HR, and the list […]
You Can Lead A Seller To Water, But You Can’t Make Them Think!
We’ve built something remarkable in modern sales organizations. Over the past two decades, we’ve constructed an elaborate infrastructure: scripts, playbooks, sequences, talk tracks, battle cards, cadences. We’ve constructed metrics tracking every activity, with performance dashboards providing red/yellow/green signals. We’ve built tech stacks that are the envy of our competitors. These have all been designed, theoretically, […]
Do I Care?
Mitch Little read my recent post on competing to lose 80-85% of our deals and responded with something that stopped me: “Your analysis is spot on. You clearly outline how to succeed. Now how do we light that fire?” He went further: “If people do not truly care, but only go through the motions, we […]
“We Are Competing To Lose 80-85% Of Our Deals!”
Imagine a CRO presenting to the exec or investor team. This CRO is presenting their GTM strategy, and a key statement in that strategy is, “We are competing and hoping to lose 80-85% of the deals we invest in!” We all know what happens. That CRO is sent packing, a new CRO is brought in, […]
Leadership Testimonials
"After reading the Sales Manager Survival Guide and being impressed with David’s expert understanding of sales and relevance to our industry, we engaged David directly for a Sales Manager coaching program. The content was excellent and David’s engagement with our managers was outstanding. I highly recommend David and Partners In Excellence if you want to take your sales to the next level. " Brad Colledge, Executive General Manager
“I was asked to take the role of managing a sales organization. Having no prior sales experience, the task seemed quite daunting. Thankfully, David Brock was there to give me direction and encouragement. Yes, David helped me understand the sales process; however, more importantly, David provided me with firm, but supportive critique that has proved invaluable to me. David never soft-pedaled his approach with me. Instead, he spoke to me as an executive, and expected me to live up to the call. In addition to direction, David provided me with the encouraging words that I needed to believe in myself, and that I could be successful in my new role. “ Scott Dixon, Managing Director
“Dave sets himself apart in the industry with his ruthless focus on preparation and sales discipline. Dave's mentorship and coaching is designed to ensure I focus on the most qualified opportunities, bring exceptional value to each customer interaction, and win more deals. He has been an indispensable mentor and transformational influence.” Mary Grogan Strain, Business Development Manager
“Dave Brock literally wrote the book on sales management! Dave provides critical insights that are thought-provoking and directional. Better yet, Dave not only provides a different perspective, but he also has the ability to work with clients to build solutions that positively impacts sellers and coaches alike.” Jim Wood, Vice President of Sales
One of the greatest gifts a coach can give to a coachee is to help them think more accurately about themselves, about their challenges, and about the various ways they go about solving those challenges. But Dave’s gift is something more. So much so that Dave’s helped me to fundamentally shift the way I think to begin with. This process has resulted not only in increased performance, but in a continual learning process that hasn’t stopped since our first coaching session. It’s an honor to call him my coach and a privilege to continually learn from him, even on the days between our coaching sessions! - Nate Tutas
When I was about to move into my first sales management role I reached out to Dave after I had read his book that really resonated with me. It was fantastic to have Dave as a coach and sounding board during those first months and it really put me on the right track to succeed in the sales management role and also set the foundation for me to progress from that. Didrik Moe, EMEA General Manager