CEO @GTM Partners | WSJ best selling Author of MOVE | Co-founder @Terminus @Peak Community

10 years ago, found my true passion: Teaching.

1️⃣ Teaching business – How to build and scale companies.
2️⃣ Teaching leadership – How to align teams for success.
3️⃣ Teaching life – Because business without purpose is empty.

That’s why I combine them all to teach the business of Go-To-Market, leadership, and life.

Built and exited two well known companies (Pardot → Salesforce $2.7B, Terminus → acquired twice).
Written 3 books, including WSJ bestseller MOVE: The 4-Question Go-To-Market Framework.
Created the GTM Operating System, now used by thousands.
Hosted 1,000+ podcast episodes on GTM Made Simple.
Taught 70,000+ students through my LinkedIn courses.

I write daily on LinkedIn around the five core truths about Go-To-Market:

🚀 Trust in NRR.
🚀 CEO owns GTM.
🚀 Systems > Goals.
🚀 GTM is a transformation process.
🚀 Business transformation happens in teams.

175K+ people read my weekly research note on GTM: https://gtmonday.substack.com/
11K+ subscribers follow my personal insights: https://becomingintentional.substack.com/
To Book me for speaking, keynotes: https://sangramhere.com/

I’m on a mission to make Go-To-Market simple—for CEOs, founders, and teams. If you want to bring clarity, alignment, and trust to grow your business, let's talk.

Join my MOVE book companion course for CEOs, founders and GTM leaders 
and GTM Operating System Course (Used in two $100M+ exits, rated 4.5/5 stars

DM me. Let’s build something great—intentionally. Join the MOVEment!

Sangram Vajre

10 years. 3 companies. 1 designer behind all of it.

meet Shannel Wheeler, PMP.

she has designed every brand element of three of my most successful businesses:

→ Terminus (by DemandScience) and thru 5 acquisitions — from zero to $100M+ business
→ FlipMyFunnel — 100K+ community that created the ABM category (as stated by Forrester when Terminus was named as a leader back in the day)
→ GTM Partners — helping 100 GTM execs become financially independent by building $300K+ businesses

every deck. every website. every visual that brought these ideas to life.

that work helped create 1000s of jobs and new markets.

as i came across this photo today, it made me smile and appreciate lifelong friendships that make life epic.

she didn't tell me to do this.

but if you need a branding genius or fractional designer — reach out to her. you'll thank me later.

love,
sangram

Built two $100M+ companies | WSJ Best Selling Author of MOVE on go-to-market | GTMonday Editor with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM Operating System

*** Fractional CMOs and aspiring Fractional GTM Leaders:

as a 2 time CMO turned Fractional GTM Leader building a $7M advisory business in last 4 years, i finally have something put together.

my step-by-step process of how Bryan Brown and I - 2 people team built a profitable fractional business and how we are scaling it in 2026.

plus as of this morning, 70+ GTM OS Certified Partners who joined in 2025 are already averaging $250K+ based on the recent survey.

after 4 long years and helping 70+ GTM OS certified partners achieve their personal and financial dreams, i am finally sharing my learnings in a keynote to PE firms and Marketing Summit:

Title: How to Build Your Fractional GTM Business in 2026

i also went ahead and did a recording of this so i can run thru key ideas in a bit more depth than the keynote.

as of this morning, i packaged it up in a nice little course with slides, videos, and examples of real fractional success stories from people like Tim Hillison Sarah Allen-Short Sue Foley and a few other leaders on how they went from "should i" to "i make more than a traditional CMO and get my life back"

so... who is it for? 

NOT for everyone. it's for serious GTM leaders who want to build a fractional  business of $250K+/year and know that the old playbooks are not working anymore and are looking to find better ways to build your business and transform your life, not just career.

how to get it:
like and comment "Access" and my EA will dm you the link 

timing: 
after my keynote tomorrow at 11 am EST.

love,
sangram
p.s. follow Sangram Vajre on all things go-to-market and if you are in ATL come say hi!

#CMO #fractional #GTM

$13M CEO: "our ICP is broken."

me: "who built it?"

CEO: "marketing."

me: "that's the problem."

CEO: "what do you mean? ICP is a marketing thing."

me: "no. ICP is a business thing. when marketing builds ICP alone, sales ignores it. product doesn't know it exists. CS is left cleaning up bad-fit customers."

CEO: "but... our marketing team should know our customers."

me: "do they sit on sales calls? do they see the CS tickets? do they know which deals close fast and which ones drag for 6 months?"

CEO: "that's not their job."

me: "exactly. that's why ICP can't be their job either."

CEO: "so what are you saying?"

me: "i'm saying you need to be in the room. you, your CRO, your CMO, your CS leader. ICP is a GTM decision. not a marketing exercise."

CEO: "i don't have time for that."

me: "you don't have time to define who you're building the entire company around?"

CEO: "we're already selling. we just need marketing to fix the targeting."

me: "you're not going to like this… but i don't think we're a good fit."

CEO: "what?"

me: "you want us to fix your GTM. but you're not willing to be part of the fix. that never works."

we walked away from that deal.

and i'd do it again.

because here's the truth:

ICP is not a marketing job.

CEO has to part of this process and it's the foundation of all your GTM.

and when the CEO won't sit in that room, nothing we do will matter anyway.

did i make a mistake by declining to do advisory for this company?

love,
sangram
p.s. if you are CEO and wants a GTM OS Certified Partner to do planning that is expert in your industry, just dm me and i will connect you!

$11M CEO: "i need to hire a CMO, right now."

me: "why?"

CEO: "we need to scale."

me: "you can't afford it."

CEO: "what do you mean?"

me: "hire a seasoned fractional who's been there, done that. 10-20 hours a week. pair them with an implementer to get things moving. scale to $20M+, then think about full-time."

CEO: "i don't believe in fractional."

6 months later, the same CEO calls me back.

they'd fired two full-time CMOs.

now they wanted a referral for a fractional (since we have a GTMarketplace for match making for founder to fractional)

look — i get it. hiring full-time works when you have everything in place.

but sometimes you don't need a full-time exec.

you need a smart, experienced person who's been there and done that.

someone who can move fast, set the foundation, and not burn through your runway while you figure it out.

fractional isn't a backup plan.

for a lot of companies, it's the smarter first move.

your take?

love,
sangram

my 15-year-old son just made 100 sales calls.

got cursed at. hung up on. told to never call again.

then he asked me the question every founder eventually asks: "papa, why is nobody buying?"

here's what broke my heart — and taught us both everything:

he built this beautiful AI website builder. automated booking. slick interface. the simply works.

his pitch was perfect: "i'll build you an AI-assisted website that handles everything automatically!"

business owners' response? 

click.

not because he's 15. not because the product was bad.

because he was in problem-market fit, not product-market fit.

huge difference.

𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 = selling painkillers to people with migraines
𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 = selling vitamins to people who feel fine

my son was selling vitamins.

"AI-assisted website" sounds cool to us tech folks.

to a plumber who gets clients from word-of-mouth? 

it's like offering to upgrade the engine on a car that runs perfectly fine.

the brutal truth i had to tell him:

most business owners don't wake up thinking "i need an AI website."

they wake up thinking "i need more customers" or "i'm losing jobs to competitors."

if your first 100 calls feel like pulling teeth...

you're not bad at sales.

you're solving the wrong problem.

find the migraine first.

then build the painkiller.

my son pivoted his pitch last week. instead of "AI website," he now leads with "what if you never missed another customer call?"

3 actually calls in 5 days.

same product. different problem.

that's the entire game.

love,
sangram

p.s. watching your kid learn GTM lessons at 15 that most founders don't get until series B? priceless. he's now teaching me snapchat... we are even.

undefined undefined

about to keynote at my fist RKO at Ignitium: ABX Orchestration 

amazing energy and excitement for the future.

sharing our research why and how  some teams succeed and others don’t, based on:

1,000+ B2B companies…
1,000+ CEO and leader interviews…

it’s magical when a group of people come together and what they can do.

wish me all the best! 

love,
sangram

No alternative text description for this image

for 4 years straight, this is my travel hack.

of course when you travel, a lot falls on your spouse and kids.

it seems infinitely challenging since it’s not normal and everything seems a bit off at home.

so i have been doing this for about 4 years… and it simply works! 

i leave handwritten cards for my wife, son and my daughter.

for my wife: a scripture verse and that she got this!

for my son: i am counting on you and you can rise up to the responsibilities at home and proud of him. 

for my daughter: i am proud of her and she needs to take care of mom while i am gone and hug her a little tighter. 

they typically read it th night i am out at dinner table.

my prayer is that they have fun and my words might replace some of my presence and being normalcy to their day…

what’s your family hack when you travel?

love,
sangram

*** big news for fractional GTM leaders. 

we just unlocked two tools — free for 1 year as our certified partners are making $250K+/year on average. 

if you want to run a real fractional business — not a chaotic side hustle — you need two things from day one:

1️⃣ a simple purpose-built CRM for fractionals to manage deals and delivery

2️⃣ a prospecting tool to start real conversations

GTM OS Certified Partners now get both at no cost for one full year:

Insightly CRM by Unbounce  — manage deals, clients, and landing pages without the enterprise bloat.

SalesIntel.io — verified contacts, clean lists by ICP, and a repeatable way to fill your pipeline.

why these matter together:

prospecting without a CRM = chaos.
CRM without prospecting = empty pipeline.

75+ GTM OS certified partners are already building their businesses on this foundation.

no duct-taped systems. no "i'll set this up later."

fractional freedom doesn't come from hustle.

it comes from leverage.

who: if you're serious about building a $250K+ fractional business in 2026 or have an existing fractional business that you want to scale. 

how to get it: like and comment "freedom" 

timing: my EA will DM you the details in 24 hrs.

love,
sangram
p.s. i wish i had these tools as we built our little $7M advisory business with just Bryan Brown and i doing it. now 75+ other amazing fractional GTM leaders are building their little business and you can too.

most GTM plans fail by Q2.

ours don't. here's the 6-step process we use every quarter.

step 1: identify your GTM valley of death

every company is stuck in one of three valleys — awareness, conversion, or retention. you can't fix all three at once. pick the one that's bleeding.

step 2: know your stage

are you in problem stage, product stage, or platform stage? each requires a completely different GTM motion. most companies run a platform playbook when they're still in problem stage which is killing the momentum.

step 3: name your top 3 GTM problems

we've identified 15 common GTM problems. pick your top 3. not 7. not 10. three for next 90 days and fix it. focus wins.

step 4: run the MOVE framework with your exec team

this exposes the gaps in how your leadership team thinks about GTM. marketing sees one thing. sales sees another. this gets everyone on the same page.

step 5: answer the 8 GTM OS questions

this puts your entire go-to-market on a single slide. who you serve. how you win. what you measure. one page. total clarity.

step 6: build your 90-day project list

not a 12-month roadmap nobody follows. a focused list of projects that move the needle this quarter.

that's it. 6 steps. every quarter.

give it a shot!

love,
sangram

p.s. we have 70+ GTM OS Certified Partners who can run this process for you who have collectively experience of running this a 1000 times. if you're a CEO or GTM exec who wants a facilitator to help — at least once, if not every quarter — comment below.

i'll match you with a GTM OS Certified Partner who specializes in your industry and segment.

love,
sangram

fractional CMO: "i work with B2B SaaS companies."

me: "which ones?"

CMO: "all of them."

me: "that's the problem."

CMO: "what do you mean? i have broad experience."

me: "broad experience doesn't win deals. specificity does. when you say 'all of them,' buyers hear 'none of them deeply.'"

CMO: "but if i niche down, i'll lose opportunities."

me: "you'll lose the wrong ones. and win the right ones faster."

CMO: "how do you know this works?"

me: "because i've watched it work. 5 times. 5 different niches. 5 fractionals building $250K+ businesses."

here's the proof:

→ Alan Gonsenhauser — PE-Backed Companies Over $100M + CMO Coaching

Alan focuses on "PE companies."
he picked $100M+ companies with CMO turnover, board pressure, and scale challenges.
he's a CMO coach specifically for portfolio companies that need strategic maturity, not more tactics. that's a niche inside a niche.

→ Shelli Ryan, APR, Fellow PRSA — Cross-Border GTM + BPO Services

while others stay broad, Shelli went ultra-specific:
helping implement BPO with cross-border companies.
that niche is exploding.
and she owns it.

→ Tim Hillison — Engineering-Led Founders

Tim isn't "GTM for all founders."
he's the go-to partner for engineering-led CEOs who need clarity, confidence, and commercial muscle.
his niche? technical founders who don't speak GTM.
his value? he translates complexity into revenue.

→ Lydia Flocchini — The Queen of Legal Tech (20 Years Deep)

Lydia isn't trying to be a horizontal fractional.
she leaned into who she already is: the most experienced GTM leader in legal tech.
founders listen. buyers trust her instantly.
she doesn't chase business — business comes to her.

→ Sarah Allen-Short — The "Work Doula" for Visionary CEOs

Sarah isn't chasing founders.
she chose to serve a completely different niche:
helping CEOs through growth, change, and chaos — with the frameworks and experience to back it up.
the more she helps, the more people show up.
she created her own category — and it works.

5 people. 5 completely different niches. all winning.

the lesson?

you don't need to serve everyone.

you need to serve someone so well that they can't imagine working with anyone else.

if you are a fractional CMO, CRO or GTM leader, comment your niche below and i will amplify it.

so... what's your niche?

love,
sangram
p.s. give these amazing GTM fractionals a follow!

2026 prediction: small, focused events will outperform big conferences.

here's proof it's already happening.

3 GTM OS Certified Partners — Maria Scheifler, Caitlin Clark-Zigmond, and Newell Falkinburg — are hosting a 90-minute workshop in Denver.

no keynotes. no expo halls. no swag bags.

just 20 GTM leaders working through the 15 most common GTM problems together.

you'll walk away with:
→ your top 3 GTM problems prioritized
→ peer perspectives from leaders in different industries
→ frameworks you can use immediately

small. focused. in-person. high signal.

the pendulum is swinging back from massive virtual events to intimate rooms where real work gets done.

if you're a CEO, CRO, or CMO in Denver — check it out.

link in comments for event and if you think it's a trend, share other events like this.

love,
sangram

i bring work home every. single. day.

but not the way you think.

i don't bring emails, slack, or stress.

i bring the skills.

the same frameworks that helped my two companies scale to over $100M, i've found they work at home too.

so my wife and i built a family operating system.

here's what the Vajre household runs on:

→ "Vajre's always make it thru with God's love, grace and truth" — our family mission statement (every company has mission and core values, why don't my family?)

→ no pay for chores — you live here, you contribute (ownership without entitlement)

→ want to earn real money to buy something?  Read books, serve the community, sell or build something (leaders are readers, does, dreamers and drivers)

→ eat only when mom sits and takes the first bite (mom does a lot, the least we can do is wait for her and honor her)

→ dinner table is tech-free and sacred — memories are made with eye contact (focused convo, no phones)

→ yearly goals + monthly 1:1s date with each kid, weekly 1:1 with spouse — 5 years straight (performance reviews works when done regularly, not once a year)

→ on vacation, only mom has the phone (connection needs disconnection)

we've been doing this for years.

not because we're perfect. we're far from it.

but because the same principles that made my companies great, i wanted to see if that will make my family better and stronger.

we all need an operating system and in absence of it, i have found myself just surviving BUT one day we decided to live like that no more.

mission. ownership. respect. focus. growth. boundaries.

it works in the boardroom.

it works at the dinner table.

so... what's one "work skill" you've brought home?

love,
sangram

1st time when we launched ABM at a $35M company, we thought we had it all figured out.

we didn't.

here's what actually happened:

we picked 100 "dream accounts."
we built personalized ads.
we sent direct mail.
we tracked engagement.

6 months later?

→ 3 meetings booked
→ 0 closed deals
→ $50K+ spent

the board asked: "what went wrong?"

the honest answer? we fell in love with the tactic, not the strategy.

here's what we missed:

1. we picked accounts we wanted, not accounts that wanted us.
no intent signals. no timing data. just logos we thought would look good on our website.

2. we personalized everything except the message.
custom ads with their logo. personalized landing pages. but the value prop? generic. they didn't care.

3. sales wasn't bought in.
marketing ran the show. sales saw it as "marketing's project." when leads came in, follow-up was slow. alignment was broken from day one.

4. we measured activity, not outcomes.
engagement scores looked great. but engagement doesn't pay the bills. pipeline does.

the fix?

we rebuilt ABM from scratch:

→ started with sales and CS input on account selection
→ used intent and signal data to find accounts already in-market
→ aligned on a shared revenue segment, not just MQLs
→ measured ICP-fit pipeline and closed revenue, nothing else

that's when ABM started working.

my lesson: 

ABM isn't broken.
GTM isn't broken.
Marketing or sales isn't broken.

but the way most teams run it? absolutely is.

your take?

love,
sangram

i got rid of all my crazy expensive tech for videos and here’s what i use now:

- iphone for crisper quality video (no lag or worries about quality)
- yeti mic 
- direct light from the sun by facing the window

that’s it!!

what’s your setup? 

love,
sangram

i want to help 100 solopreneurs make $300k+ in 2026.

one catch - you have to have 10+ years of GTM leadership experience.

not a typo. not a flex. a mission.

here's my why.

i became financially free at 41.

and it broke my brain in the best way.

for 15 years, i chased revenue. exits. titles.

built two companies past $100M. got the outcomes everyone says they want.

but when the money stopped being the goal... everything shifted.

work became projects, not obligations.
family became legacy, not "balance."
money became leverage, not the scoreboard.
partnerships became lifelong relationships, not transactions.

i stopped asking "how do i make more?"

started asking "how do i help more?"

that question led me here.

sangram here...

if you're new — i came to America 25 years ago with less than $500.

no network. no playbook. just hunger.

built Terminus to a $100M+ exit. 
wrote a WSJ bestselling book on go-to-market. 
editor of FractionalFreedomFriday with 7K+ subscribers.
editor of GTMonday with 175K+ subscribers teaching the GTM O.S.

but my next chapter isn't about building another company for myself.

it's about helping 100 new solopreneurs build $300K+ businesses.

we're building GTMarketplace — the largest network of certified fractional GTM leaders.

not a job board. not an agency.

a place where PE and recruiting firms  as well as CEOs and founders find proven fractional and interim CMOs, CROs, and GTM operators who've already solved their exact problem.

bcos the smartest execs aren't climbing corporate ladders anymore.

they're building freedom on their own terms.

if you're a fractional leader ready to stop explaining your value...

or a founder who needs GTM expertise without the full-time overhead...

this is what i'm building for you.

welcome to the fractional GTM movement.

love,
sangram

it’s windy.
it’s cold.
it isn’t fair.

that’s what my son told me this morning at his national tennis tournament in Rome, Georgia. 

so i told him what i know best from experience:

there is no perfect day… 
u have to make your day, perfect. 

in life, sports and business… we don’t practice for perfect conditions. 

you just do your best… 

no regrets!

what would you have said?

love,
sangram

"who owns GTM?"

on every podcast. every stage. every exec session — i get asked this one question over and over again.

so i'm here to settle this debate.

this is based on all the research we've done on GTM — the WSJ best-selling book MOVE, and over 1,000 live GTM assessments with exec teams from startups to publicly traded companies.

hint: it's not who you think.

answer in the video 👇

your take...

love,
sangram

CEO of $13M business: "i don't believe in fractional and agencies."

me: "78% of fast growing business CEOs disagree with you."

we just ran this survey at GTM Partners. 

78% plan to increase fractional and agencies GTM investment in 2026. 
only 7% plan to reduce it.

71% said their experience was positive—56% called it a major impact, another 15% said fractionals and agencies fill an important gap.

this isn't a fringe experiment anymore. 
it's an operating model shift.

why it's accelerating:

→ GTM complexity is rising faster than headcount tolerance. companies need alignment across marketing, sales, CS, rev ops, and product—but not all of it full time.

→ experience gaps are widening. many CEOs are scaling in markets they've never been in before. hiring a full-time CRO or CMO is expensive, slow, and risky when the GTM motion isn't clear yet.

→ speed matters more than stability. fractional leaders are hired to diagnose, design, and execute—not to play politics or optimize for tenure.

but here's what CEOs still get wrong:

→ hiring a fractional to "help" without giving them real authority
→ treating the role as advisory when the problem is operational
→ expecting full-time outcomes from part-time access
→ using fractionals to avoid hard decisions about strategy, people, or focus

when fractional fails, it's usually because the CEO wanted optionality instead of accountability.

what good fractional leadership looks like:

→ they diagnose fast. ICP quality, pipeline velocity, messaging clarity, ownership gaps—they know where to look first.

→ they design systems, not heroics. the goal is repeatable motions the team can run.

→ they create leverage. a good fractional leaves the org stronger than they found it.

if you're a CEO exploring this model, start by finding someone who's done the work you're trying to do next.

your take?

love,
sangram
p.s. look out for the full research coming out on GTMonday next week

#fractional #GTM #CEO

why would you turn down $25K newsletter sponsorship, again?

we did. last week. here's why.

a CEO reached out wanting to sponsor GTMonday. good company. real budget. easy yes for most publishers.

we said no. again.

we don't even call GTMonday a newsletter. 
we call it GTMonday, a research note, on purpose.

because the moment you take sponsorship money, you owe someone something. your research gets filtered. your recommendations get influenced. your voice gets quieter.

we wanted none of that.

3 years into writing this weekly research note, every framework we share is original. every insight comes from working with real companies. no sponsor approved it. no brand paid for ad placement.

that decision cost us short-term revenue.

but it built something bigger.

so what's the ROI of the research we publish freely for 3 years straight on a weekly basis? 

it led to a $7M+ advisory business.

175,000 people read is each Monday and share it all over the world.

70+ GTM OS certified fractionals have built their own businesses around our frameworks and the GTM OS.

every week we learn about companies that are now running the GTM Operating System, literally!

turns out, giving away your best thinking attracts the people who actually want to work with you.

not clicks. not impressions. no banner ad. real relationships that turn into real business.

so no — we're not looking for sponsors. 

now.. if you have a unique pov, then let's hear it and may be we will feature you for free.

that's the trade-off we made. and we'd make it again.

what do you think? 

love,
sangram
p.s. if you have haven't checked out GTMonday on Substack - just look it up!

Hello! I'm so honored that you want to learn more about me and what I do.

I call myself a Work Doula. I coined the term because after 25 years in sales, marketing, and go-to-market leadership roles, from scrappy startups to Fortune 500s, I realized most leaders don’t need more hustle. They need more support. I help visionary founders, CEOs, and sales/marketing leaders through the messy, magical, sometimes overwhelming world of work and business.

I’ve worked across B2B tech, supply chain, higher ed, government, and nonprofit sectors, and supported everyone from billion-dollar startups to pre-seed founders bootstrapping their first MVP. I’ve been a VP of sales, a CMO, a solo marketer, a consultant, and an analyst. I’ve worked alongside names you’d recognize (Madeleine Albright, Adam Grant, Sangram Vajre) and just as many brilliant people you’ve never heard of who taught me as much or more.

These days, I coach founders, execs, and leaders at startups and scale-ups (all sizes but I especially love companies under $15M in revenue) who are doing hard things with limited resources and big dreams. I am a certified GTM Operating System partner, so I have the research-backed blueprints to help you build the plane while you're flying it

My coaching is rooted in expertise, transparency, kindness, collaboration, and generosity. I bring the pattern recognition of someone who’s been there and the steady presence of someone who knows how to walk with you through it. 

If you’re facing change, conflict, growth, or big decisions (at work or in life) I’d be honored to support you. Please think of me as the person you call when the stakes are high, the strategy’s unclear, or the next chapter feels uncertain.

🧘‍♀️ Try one of my free “How’s Work” workshops: sasadvisorygroup.com/workshops
📅 Book time with me: sasadvisorygroup.com
💌 Subscribe to my Substack on GTM, leadership & life: workdoula.com

Thanks for reading so far, I'd love to connect.

Sarah Allen-Short

This is literally me. Everyone who lives with me would agree. 

Credit to matt hyams

#entrepreneur #workfromhome

Work doula for visionary GTM leaders doing hard things. 25 yrs in B2B, GTM, tech, startups & scale-ups. I coach through growth, change, and chaos—with the frameworks and experience to back it up.

I got quoted this week in a Financial Times article about how to apply self-help guru Mel Robbins' "Let Them Theory" in management. 

Spoiler alert: I'm not a fan. I am the dissenting opinion. I think "Let Them is an excellent and fairly superficial self-regulation technique but it is not a leadership tool. 

My basic feeling if that it's helpful to you, than use it. But please please please don't let this be a trend where everyone on a management team is reading this book-that-could-have-been-an-article as the next hot thing. It's facile and oversimplified. It risks detachment, uneven workloads, and abdication of responsibility. I linked to my full opinion about it in the comments. 

(BTW if you love it, please feel free to comment! I am all about discussion and exchange of ideas, and I have my opinions but am open to others!)

Yes, we should: 
✅Let go of rescuing.
✅ Let people show you how they operate without you rearranging the whole system to accommodate them.
✅ Let yourself stop sprinting after every dropped responsibility.
✅ Let natural consequences teach what you do not need to over explain.

BUT ALSO…
❌ Do not let harmful behavior continue because you want to seem relaxed.
❌ Do not allow clarity to evaporate because boundaries sound spiritual.
❌ Do not confuse checking out with becoming wise.
❌ Do not outsource your authority to a slogan.

Read the article here: (it's behind a paywall) https://lnkd.in/e6Ke8yTM

#letthem #melrobbins #psychobabble #poppsychology

Open article: Could a self-help hit transform your management style? by ft.com

Could a self-help hit transform your management style?

ChatGPT told me not to use the word "middle-aged" in one of my workshop titles because no one identifies that way, it’s off-putting, and people want to think they're young. 

Am I crazy to think there are tons of people who are very actively thinking about how their careers and work-life balance change in middle age?

Different things motivate me; things have shifted, my ambition has changed, my tolerance for BS and assholes is GONE.  

What do y'all think? Is there something unique that happens in middle age related to work and is that relatable?

#middleage #worklife

We're going to the cottage. 
Here are some Zoom backgrounds for ya, to bring a little of Shane and Ilya to your work day in a measured way. 
IYKYK

#heatedrivalry #imcomingtothecottage #hollander #rozanov

Please, please, we need to stop hand-wringing about the danger of mixing work and politics. We need to release the fear of offending people in ways that could impact our livelihoods. 

How is it controversial or political to say that the federal government should not be executing people in the streets? 

I know it is. I know many of us are risking losing income to speak up. 

My friend Anna is a small business owner. She owns two Burn Bootcamp franchises, and one is in a fairly conservative area. She is STILL publicly opposing an ICE detention facility planned for her community (Hanover County for those in the #RVA area). She is doing it knowing she will likely lose members. She is inviting her customers and neighbors to join her at a public hearing to protest. That is incredible courage. She is putting her mouth and money on the line. She is rejecting the notion that she should shut up and just help people exercise. She’s deducted to the health of her community and that means no ICE on her streets. 

If you are waiting for the perfect, risk-free way to speak up, it does not exist. If you are telling yourself this is too “political” for work, that is a fiction. Public execution of dissenters, kidnapping kids, detention without accountability, fear as policy, and the erosion of due process are not abstract isuses and they aren’t just happening in Minnesota. 

Here’s what I want to say. I don’t care who you voted for. I don’t care how much you want to opt out of “politics.” I don’t care if you are avoiding the news for self-care reasons or if you think “both sides are crazy.”I don’t care if you might lose business as a result of speaking out. 

If you are a person with any privilege (racial, gender, economic, whatever) and you think what is happening is wrong, I beg you to speak out so that the collective sound of our voices and the economic power of those of us on LinkedIn can make a difference. My LI network is full of people with power and influence. I beg you to use it. 

You are allowed to change your mind.
You are allowed to say this went further than you expected.
You are allowed to decide that silence is no longer neutral.

Democracy survives when regular people, including business owners, leaders, CEOs, and regular people decide the cost of saying nothing is higher than the cost of speaking.

If a small business owner can risk her income to protect her community, the rest of us can stop pretending this is just “politics” and start calling it what it is.

#iceout #resist #speakup #minnesota

Happy Monday morning after vacation. 🫠  If you’re back at work and already craving space rather than productivity tips, this is for you.

I've hosted 300 people across dozens of free workshops over the last 18 months, and here's the kind of people who typically show up: 

✦  Successful on paper but feel like something’s missing
✦  Navigating burnout, restlessness, or constant change
✦  Facing (and trying to avoid) a tough decision 
✦  Living through a season of change, transition, or quiet questioning
✦  Craving energy, clarity, and relief from the noise
✦  Carrying emotional weight that no one sees
✦  Working in a culture where they feel flattened or erased

If any of that feels familiar, I'd love for you to join me for the Inner Compass for Leaders: a one-hour workday retreat for people who take both their work and inner lives seriously.

The group is small on purpose.
We start quietly. No icebreakers. No small talk. No forced sharing.
You get one uninterrupted hour with timed writing prompts to sort signal from noise. You don’t need to be a writer. Writing is simply the tool we use to think.

In the first quarter, I'm experimenting with themes. They’re also moving to a small paid model to help better manage attendance. You pay to hold the seat. If you attend, you get your money back. Commitment matters.

2026 sessions:
 • January 9. Clearing Space for 2026
 • January 23. Creating Boundaries at Work
 • February 13. Middle Age, New Ambitions
 • February 26. The Evolving Leader
 • March 6. Managing Work Conflict
 • March 26. The March Work Pause

You can see the full schedule and register here:
https://lnkd.in/e4E84avg

Open article: The Inner Compass for Leaders: Mini-Retreat — Sarah Allen-Short by sasadvisorygroup.com

The Inner Compass for Leaders: Mini-Retreat — Sarah Allen-Short

This Friday: join me for a one-hour workday retreat: a slow down that will give you some space to breathe. 

This is for you if:
🐢  You're a leader who feels stretched thin.
 🐢 You have mixed feelings about the new year and are tired of pretending you don't.
 🐢 You sense a shift coming but can't quite name it.
 🐢 You want a gentler, clearer way to approach what is next.

We won't fix your life in an hour. We will help you stop dragging things forward that no longer belong.

Sign up links in the comments!

#GTM #leadership #leader #retreat

Hey... how are we all doing? 
It's been a crazy start to 2026 in the world. 
We're all in such different places personally, professionally, culturally, economically, and politically. 
So how are you doing? I'd love to hear how you're feeling, good, bad, or complicated.

taplio

The Battle

Sangram Vajre

Sarah Allen-Short

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taplio

The Battle

Sangram Vajre

Sarah Allen-Short

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sangram Vajre's LinkedIn Performance

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