Sales Leaders: remember when growth at all costs was a badge of honor?

We chased revenue like it was the only KPI that mattered—hiring fast, spending big, and accelerating at any price. Then… the fallout. Burnout, layoffs, budget implosions, and, (gasp!), company collapses. That era forced a reckoning. CFOs took charge… CROs agreed with them: Never again.

But in our rush to avoid the mistakes of unchecked growth, we’ve created a new one.

Growth has become a dirty word.

The Pendulum Problem

In sales leadership today, I’m seeing a dangerous overcorrection. Where once we floored the gas pedal without looking, now many teams ride the brakes—hard.

• Investments delayed.
• Opportunities second-guessed.
• Ambitious targets watered down to “safe bets.”

This defensive-minded leadership makes sense in a world that’s been burned by excess. But it’s not a strategy. It’s a survival instinct. And survival instincts are terrible growth plans.

It Was Never Ambition That Was the Problem

Let’s be clear:

Ambition wasn’t what caused the growth-at-all-costs failures.

Indiscipline did.

We chased growth without clear KPIs for sustainable, calculated success. We mistook momentum for progress and hype for value. And when the correction came, many leaders didn’t just fix their math—they abandoned the ambition altogether.

That’s not course correction. That’s course avoidance.

Defensive Growth Carries Risks

Staying cautious might feel responsible, but it carries serious risks:

• Missed Market Opportunities — Slow movers lose share to more calculated risk-takers.
• Talent Attrition — Top sales talent thrives on possibility, not permanent caution.
• Executive Misalignment — CEOs and boards expect leaders who can manage growth, not avoid it.

Even in today’s complex market, timid leadership isn’t safe. It’s stagnant.

CROs & NFL Head Coaches: An Unexpected Parallel

Here’s where a surprising analogy helps.

In the NFL, head coaches often inherit the philosophical DNA of their coordinator roots:

• Offensive Coordinators become head coaches who emphasize creativity, scoring, and calculated risk-taking.
• Defensive Coordinators build around stability, controlling risk, and minimizing errors.

Both approaches can work—but only if aligned to the team’s current roster and competitive landscape.

In business, it’s the same.

NFL Coaching Mindset	Sales Leadership Parallel	Best Fit For
Offensive-Minded	Growth mindset. Willing to take calculated risks, try new plays (markets, GTM motions), and adapt quickly.	High-growth mode. New markets, product launches, scale-ups.
Defensive-Minded	Risk management. Focused on efficiency, preserving market position, and avoiding unforced errors.	Stable growth mode. Mature markets, cost control cycles, profitability focus.

The best head coaches—and sales leaders—know when to dial up offense or defense. The worst stick rigidly to their own philosophy, regardless of market reality.

The Chicago Bears

I’m a tortured, lifelong Chicago Bears fan, and I’ve just watched this principle play out firsthand year after year and fail. Draft a promising young QB and stick them with a Defensive minded coach, only to pivot to an Offensive minded coach after they’ve damaged them.

We just did it again. We moved from a defensive-minded head coach, Matt Eberflus—focused on defense, control and low scoring games, to Ben Johnson, an offensive strategist known for creativity and scoring, right after drafting a franchise QB at #1 overall. The strategy is shifting.

The moment calls for offense. They’re going all in with their QB and choosing to be offense first. They’re going to win the SuperBowl, this post will age well – I’m manifesting.

The point is: different seasons require different leadership styles based on the moment they’re in. The Bears invested in a new QB with their #1 draft choice, they’re investing in offense and it’s time to align the spine toward that identity.

Companies face the same choice based on what they’re seeing in the market.

The Real Blind Spot: Not Knowing What Season You’re In

Too many CROs:

• Misread the market “season”.
• Apply defense when it’s time to push.
• Or go full offense without the readiness or market conditions to support it.

Great leadership isn’t picking a side. It’s calling the right play for the moment. That’s why it’s not one recipe or playbook to rule them all.

The Framework for Smart Growth

So how do we move forward?

By remembering what should have been the approach all along:

Measure

Establish baseline performance. Define what success and acceptable risk look like—quantitatively.

Invest

Target investments toward validated opportunities. Be deliberate, not defensive.

Remeasure

Track early indicators and adapt before minor issues become major failures.

Grow

Not recklessly, but decisively. Growth should be pursued, not feared.

“Measure. Invest. Remeasure. Grow.”

It’s not revolutionary. It’s just rigorous leadership.

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Leadership Means Pressing the Gas—With a Dashboard in View

The best CROs understand that course correction doesn’t mean stopping the car. It means driving with visibility and purpose.

Growth will always involve risk. What separates top-performing teams isn’t that they avoid risk—but that they understand, measure, and manage it. They know when it’s time to be cautious and when it’s time to press the gas.

Now is that time.

Let’s stop letting yesterday’s mistakes prevent today’s opportunities. Don’t let your CFO take the CRO wheel.