The best LinkedIn Posts

Why do so many creative and marketing executives DIE? Because they're Delusional, Insecure, and Entitled on how their opinions matter in the creative process, instead of leaning into humility, and curiosity, data, truth, and merit.

agree?

Skills are among the most consequential new tools for AI, and Anthropic just released a very impressive nontechnical Cowork Skill that builds Skills, including doing interviews & providing benchmarks. It independently runs multiple tests of the potential Skill in parallel and lets you react to those tests.

Far better than almost all approaches to Skill building that I have seen so far. I think you still need to add the human touch, but this is a big leap forward.

Reminder: your loudest, most persistent critics are usually the people who feel threatened by your drive, your effort, your confidence, or your progress.

The only people who get to critique you are the ones doing - or who’ve done - what you’re trying to do.

So if someone doesn’t understand what it takes, don’t take their advice.

Most people make bad decisions because they are so certain that they're right that they don't allow themselves to see the better alternatives that exist. Radically open-minded people know that coming up with the right questions and asking other smart people what they think is as important as having all the answers. They understand that you can't make a great decision without swimming for a while in a state of "not knowing." That is because what exists within the area of "not knowing" is so much greater and more exciting than anything any one of us knows.

And there are strategies that you can take to make you more successful given the reality of not knowing--such as triangulation and diversification that can make you more successful. Most people make the mistake of thinking that the best path is to get to higher levels of knowing than are possible to achieve rather than realizing that the better path is to know how to deal well with their not knowing. #principleoftheday

Conventional wisdom says the best way to convince a CFO to invest in brand is with data. I have a better approach.

Most CMOs make the case with attribution studies, web traffic, or share of voice models. The problem is that presenting data to a skeptical executive tends to make them more skeptical, not less. You're inviting the CFO to poke holes in your data, and CFOs are very good at that. Psychologists call this reactance: the more directly you challenge a belief, the harder people defend it. The smarter the executive, the stronger the reflex.

That’s why I think there's a more effective path, and it starts with a question.

THE TECHNIQUE
Next time you're sitting across from a CFO who wants to cut your brand budget and double down on MQLs, don't open with a data. Ask them to walk you through the last time they selected a new platform — perhaps something like Anaplan or Adaptive Insights, or an HRIS.

Ask it like this:
🔷 How did you first hear about the vendor you chose?
🔷 Before you ever talked to sales, what had you already decided?
🔷 Did you download a gated ebook? Attend a webinar? Click a banner ad?
🔷 Or did it come up at an audit committee dinner, or in a conversation with a peer CFO you trust?

Let them answer, without editorializing.

Most CFOs, if they're being honest, will describe something that looks nothing like a demand gen funnel. They'll describe reputation, word of mouth, and a vendor who was already on their mental shortlist before sales ever said a word.

WHY THIS WORKS
When people arrive at a conclusion through their own reasoning, it sticks in a way no slide deck can match. This is called self-persuasion — conclusions we arrive at through our own reasoning feel like convictions, not arguments we were talked into, and convictions are much harder to walk back. You're not changing their mind; you're helping them use it.

WHAT COMES NEXT
Once you've had that conversation, you can make your ask on different footing: "I'm not asking us to abandon measurement. I'm asking us to measure the right things."

For example, brand tracking surveys — even just 100 targeted respondents from your ICP a quarter — will show directional movement in awareness, perception, and preference. That's not the same as proving causation. But it's the honest version of measurement for a process that's genuinely nonlinear, and it tracks exactly the factors that drove your CFO's own last purchase decision.

I explored this topic and many others on the Passetto podcast with Carolyn Dilks — link in the comments.

What's the most effective way you've found to reframe the brand investment conversation with a financially-minded leadership team?

The most important project you will ever work on is YOU.

For years, I believed the traditional path would lead to security.

Be loyal.
Work hard.
Deliver results.

I learned this the hard way after being laid off twice in five years.

I decided I was done with a CEO deciding my fate and chose to work for myself.

And it was the best decision I made.

Here’s what that experience taught me:

💡 Everyone is expendable
💡 Your skills are your real safety net
💡 No company can guarantee security
💡 Your network travels with you everywhere

So, invest in the one asset you actually own.

Yourself. 🩵

This might be the most important career advice in sales.
Because here's the truth:

Your reputation travels faster than you do.
Your name comes up more than you think.
Decisions about your future happen without you.

Every. Single. Day.

Think about it...

That promotion you're hoping for?
Being discussed in rooms you're not in.

That big account you want to work?
Being decided by people you've never met.

That leadership opportunity?
Being influenced by what others say about you.

The uncomfortable truth?

Success in sales isn't just about crushing quota.
It's about having advocates.

People who say "Give them a shot" when others doubt.
People who defend your approach when it's questioned.
People who mention your wins when you're not around.

Here's what ACTUALLY happens when you have real advocates:

↳ Opportunities find you before they're posted
↳ Your mistakes get context, not just criticism
↳ Your ideas get championed, not stolen
↳ Your growth gets fast-tracked, not delayed
↳ Your reputation becomes your strongest asset

But here's the part most people miss:

To have people fight for you...
You need to fight for others first.

That SDR grinding it out? Mention their progress in the team meeting.
That peer who helped you close a deal? Make sure leadership knows.
That manager who coached you? Tell their boss what it meant.

Because advocacy isn't luck.
It's reciprocity.

The rep everyone wants on their team?
They've been building others up for years.

The manager everyone respects?
They've been defending their people consistently.

The leader everyone follows?
They've been fighting battles for others quietly.

Here's what fighting for others ACTUALLY looks like:

When someone's not in the room:
- Correct misconceptions about them
- Highlight their strengths
- Share their wins
- Provide context for their challenges

When opportunities arise:
- Recommend them even if it doesn't benefit you
- Connect them with the right people
- Put their name forward
- Open doors they can't open alone

The magic of advocacy in sales?

It compounds.

Every person you genuinely support becomes part of your network.
Every battle you fight for someone builds trust.
Every time you elevate others, you elevate yourself.

Not through manipulation.
Through genuine support.

So ask yourself:

Who are you fighting for when they're not around?
Whose potential are you highlighting?
Whose success are you championing?

Because the people who win biggest in sales aren't just the best closers.

Be the person who fights for others.
Watch how many start fighting for you.

Your career will never be the same.