Foreword Friday: Perspective
Why getting out, talking to people, and dropping assumptions changes everything
👋 Hey, I’m Grant. Each week I share lessons from the sales leadership trenches. What’s working, what’s not, and what I wish someone had told me years ago.
In this week’s Stretch VP: Weekly:
A new kind of post: Foreword Fridays
Lessons from outside the sales trenches (that apply inside them)
Why getting out and talking to people changes everything
Plus: What a freak accident, hospital stay and a trade show taught me about perspective.
Want to work together? I help founders and revenue leaders build and operationalize the systems and structure behind predictable, scalable revenue. Reply to this email or DM me to explore what that could look like.
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Foreward Friday
I’ve been thinking about this for a while.
5 + years of 100% sales and sales-leadership focused tips, tactics, insights sometimes feels repetitive. I’ll still continue to share lessons from the sales leadership trenches. What’s working, what’s not, and what I wish someone had told me years ago.
But I want to shake up the what/when/how I write about things here.
To me, some of the greatest lessons for sales leadership, selling, and business come from everyday “non sales” observations. That’s why I like sports analogies. Team analogies. Life analogies. Human psychology. I get tremendous value and motivation from history, sports, founders, builders, leaders etc.
I often learn more from “non-sales” books and podcasts than I do strictly sales-focused ones. Maybe it’s my lens, stage of life, or personality type.
In fact - some of my more popular and most shared newsletters are these ones like:
In a nutshell - I’m going to dedicate at least one or two Fridays a month to write about life. And the lessons I’m learning as a 48 year old husband, father, sales leader, founder, coach - and maybe they’ll provide some insight into your personal and professional life as well like they have mine.
I’m calling it: Foreword Fridays. So…here goes my first Stretch VP Weekly: Foreword Friday edition.
Perspective
You want perspective? Walk about. Go talk to people.
I had a crazy past 7 days personally and professionally. I will spare most of the intricate details, but found myself in newer and unfamiliar places than I have in a while.
Personally:
Last week I spent two nights in the hospital with my teenage son after a freak accident. There are too many emotions and complexities that I won’t share publicly here. That’s not the point.
I’m immensely grateful to the countless doctors, specialists, experts, neighbors, friends, and strangers all showing the best of humanity. I was blessed to witness this in a frightening and very uncertain circumstance. (he’s thankfully back home and recovering well)
Professionally:
I also spent two nights offsite at a conference with a vertical SaaS client I’m working with to launch their GTM strategy, systems, motion.
I took note while talking, learning, and observing the nuance of a new industry and vertical. And how most people professionally hope for the same thing: connection, insight, growth, knowledge, and a way to propel their business forward.
New Perspective:
As I often do in these moments of silence on an airplane, or walking to/from place to place, the thing that kept coming up for me was perspective.
If you really want perspective - get out, walk around, talk with people.
In the halls of the hospital, I was able to see others in much more dire situations than ours (thankfully I can even write this), and my heart goes out to those in these situations.
You’ll learn about lives, hopes, struggles, wins, and for me come back more grateful than ever - even in spite of what may be an uphill and yet, winnable battle. As you talk with the healthcare providers, teams, or even others that have gone through similar experiences, you’ll glean insights from lessons they’ve learned in that process - all of which are extremely valuable.
At a trade-show full of seemingly similar companies - one thing was especially insightful for me. Don’t assume anything.
As we talked with companies and genuinely listened to their model, approach, ideal customer profiles, pain points, and solutions, I walked away with new perspectives - and more often than not, a great deal of information and valuable connections we wouldn’t have - had we just kept walking past after a quick glance at the booth or marketing materials.
I continuously kept thinking that nothing beats a curious conversation. Not as a way to pitch, but to understand.
You can learn from others’ experience, past failures or successes. You can spot a new method, approach to implement in your own business or life.
But you’ll never get that insight if you don’t get out, walk around, and talk to people. Not to pitch, but to understand.
In life and business, a curious conversation is a great way to gain proper perspective, and in turn, it seems to help you get what you were after in the first place: New insights or knowledge for a motivating plan and path forward. A way to propel you personally or professionally.
And to me - that was a good reminder. Get out more. Walk around and talk to people. That new perspective will be a welcome breath of fresh air and inspiration.
-Grant
MINDSET
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Thanks for reading!
If this was helpful, forward it to another sales leader who might need it.
Want to work together? I help founders and revenue leaders build scalable sales systems through Stretch VP. Reply to this email or DM me to explore what that could look like. — Grant 👋
About Stretch VP: Weekly
Lessons from the sales leadership trenches on what works, what breaks, and how to build systems behind scalable revenue.
The wins, the scars, and the things I wish someone had told me earlier. Some weeks are tactical. Some are reflective. And some step outside of sales entirely to bring back lessons that matter just as much.
I also work directly with founders and revenue leaders through Stretch VP when deeper support is needed. If you’re building or leading a sales organization and trying to do it the right way, welcome.