Breakout Briefs
and Breakdowns 

I drove past this soybean field and there it was. A single stalk of corn towering over the beans. Almost taunting them while doing its own thing. There were two or three other stalks scattered nearby. But this particular one seemed especially poignant. At a distance, these "volunteer" cornstalks are practically invisible, blending in with the surrounding landscape. But from my up-close vantage point, this one stood out. And not in a good or positive way. More of a "get out o

One of the iconic SNL skits, More Cowbell, aired over 25 years ago. The skit imagines Blue Oyster Cult recording its famous song, Don't Fear The Reaper, which uses a cowbell in the background. In the skit, the producer incessantly interrupts each recording with: "You gotta have more cowbell." It was a great spoof on one of the most famous percussion parts in rock and roll. And it worked because we've all seen cowbell moments in life. Especially in business. Sometimes the e

The 2026 Indianapolis 500 delivered the closest finish in its 110-year history. Felix Rosenqvist didn’t just win the race. He was living the high line, a strategy that helped him beat David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds. For context, the average human blink takes between 150 and 400 milliseconds. The margin of Rosenqvist's victory was 23 milliseconds. Malukas was understandably emotional afterward because, by nearly every visible performance metric, he had the fastest car all r

Most companies enter a new year with ambitious growth goals but a sense of apprehension about whether, or how, they’ll reach them. That apprehension rarely comes from doubts about employee effort. It comes from uncertainty…and guesswork. Where are leadership’s blind spots? Are the key growth drivers (sales, marketing, brand, and culture) actually aligned? How much of the forecast is based on clarity versus guesswork? These questions open the door to friction, misalignment, an

In many lower to middle market businesses, marketing doesn't receive the expertise and resources it deserves. It's easy for leadership to think (maybe even say), "It's not that hard. We're all consumers. We see hundreds of ads a day. We know what to do to grab attention and sell." But there's a hidden trap in that thinking. When Marketing Feels Like Guesswork When familiarity is mistaken for expertise, even the best intentions of a small business marketing strategy become exp

While a strong brand serves as the foundation for growth, sales is the engine that turns potential into performance. However, companies often view sales as a separate function rather than part of an overall system. In small and mid-sized businesses, sales and marketing alignment is often the difference between stalled or slow performance and predictable growth. Too often, companies depend on "closer" and "hard seller" personalities rather than a structured, relationship-bas