The Growth Agenda - Sales & Marketing Podcast

First 100 Days as CCO: Diagnosis Beyond the Commercial Mechanics

In this article we explore what makes the commercial diagnosis genuinely difficult in the first 100 days as a CCO. Most experienced commercial leaders can get to the mechanical picture fairly quickly. The patterns are familiar and the frameworks exist. What is harder, and what most leaders underinvest in, is everything that lives behind the mechanics. This is what Liza Dava, Partner within Commercial Transformation explores in this article drawing on conversations with newly appointed commercial leaders and advisory experience across industries. You can find a full article - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/first-100-days-cco-diagnosis-beyond-commercial-mechanics-liza-dava-nqoxe/

#50 – Mikkel & Brian: The Growth System – How to "Design Growth" in B2B Companies

Most companies don't struggle with ambition when it comes to growth. They struggle with consistency. In this episode, Brian Andersen and Mikkel Bach-Andersen discuss why growth often falls short — not because of strategy, but because of the system behind it. Based on The Growth System, they break it down into three core layers: • Strategic focus – where to compete (and where not to) • Commercial architecture – how you actually win in the market • Execution capability – how you turn it into consistent results They also get into what typically goes wrong in practice: • "Fake focus" where priorities don't change resource allocation • Commercial models that evolve randomly instead of being designed • Execution that looks busy but doesn't compound If growth feels uneven or overly dependent on individuals, this is a more structured way to think about it. 📄 The full whitepaper [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mikkel-bach-andersen_growth-system-activity-7441773962440716288-UVNj?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACSA4lcB_F3HhGmys1VURAX8wBG-h9iOb-k] is available on Mikkel Bach-Andersen's LinkedIn.

#49 – Martin & Oliver: Kink the Curve – Change Your Growth Trajectory

Most commercial transformations fail, not because the strategy is wrong, but because execution breaks down. In this episode, we explore why changing sales, marketing, and go-to-market ways of working is so difficult in practice, and what leaders can do to improve the odds of success. The conversation dives into the real tensions commercial leaders face: running the business while transforming it, balancing quick wins with long-term change, and aligning leadership, middle management, and frontline teams. The episode builds on insights from Kink the Curve, Kvadrant's book on commercial transformation, written by Martin Nyvang Mariussen and Oliver Lund Storgaard, and offers practical perspectives on how to design and lead change that actually sticks. 📘 Download the book Kink the Curve here: https://www.kvadrant.dk/insights-books-podcasts-articles/commercial-kink-the-curve [https://www.kvadrant.dk/insights-books-podcasts-articles/commercial-kink-the-curve]

#48 - Hannibal & Mikkel: The GenAI Revolution - Scaling AI Assistants in Commercial Operations

Three years into the GenAI wave, many enterprises are still experimenting without seeing real outcomes. In this episode, Mikkel Bach-Andersen and Hannibal Herforth share what is actually working inside large, global B2B organizations. In this podcast they explore how commercial teams can: * Move from hype-driven experiments to measurable value * Build a swarm of narrow assistants that free time for creativity and strategy * Shift from IT-led moonshots to business-owned AI adoption * Create the right governance, guardrails, and change management to scale AI across functions This episode provides a grounded perspective on how to make AI assistants a real source of productivity, creativity, and commercial impact.

#47 - Mikkel & Brian: From Selling Hardware to Software - Making the Shift Possible

What does it take for a hardware company to build a successful software business? In this episode, Mikkel Bach-Andersen and Brian Andersen explore the real challenges behind the shift. From go-to-market models and new buyer dynamics to organizational resistance and incentive design, they unpack lessons from companies like Trackunit and FOSS that made it work and why so many others failed.