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I closed the must win deal for the quarter. Days later, I was redundant. HR told me it would be "the best thing to ever happen to me". I didn't believe them until I did the work. That process took me from being redundant to leading DocuSign & HubSpot.
I've read hundreds of these now, and increasingly I can't distinguish one senior leader from another by their resume alone. Not because the leaders themselves aren't different, but because the resume has stopped showing me that.
Exactly one year ago today, I walked away from my role as Managing Director JAPAC at HubSpot. I left because I chose to retire. And when I told people, the looks on their faces told me everything.
This morning I attended the APAC B2B Marketing Leaders Forum at Doltone House in Sydney. I was one of only a handful of sales leaders in the room which, in itself, tells you something.
Selling has changed shape, and most sellers are still holding the old one. I said this to IBM Australia's sales team at their H2 Sales Kickoff this week, and I want to unpack it, because none of what's happening to buyers is them being difficult.
Nobody warns you. You get promoted because you were brilliant at the job you're about to stop doing. Then you're handed a team, a number, and a title, and expected to figure the rest out yourself. I've coached enough tech sales managers now to know this...
I closed the must win deal for the quarter. Days later, I was redundant. HR told me it would be "the best thing to ever happen to me". I didn't believe them until I did the work. That process took me from being redundant to leading DocuSign & HubSpot.