By Brian Shea, Lucrum Partners For years, Strategic Account Management (SAM) has centered on a familiar set of disciplines: Account plans Relationship maps Executive sponsorship programs Quarterly business reviews Growth plans Opportunity management These practices remain important. But after reviewing the themes, sessions, and practitioner discussions emerging from the 2026 Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) Conference, one conclusion became clear: The future of

From James Taylor to Phil Collins, from arena rock to film scores, Sklar became one of the most trusted session musicians in the world not because he was the loudest person in the room, but because he consistently made the entire performance better. For modern GTM leaders, especially those navigating AI disruption, buying-group complexity, and declining effectiveness of traditional pipeline systems, Sklar’s interview offers a surprisingly powerful blueprint for revenue lea

Most executives were introduced to root cause analysis long before they ever entered a boardroom. For many, it started in elementary school science classes. A plant died. Why? Not enough water. Why? The soil drained too quickly. Why? The wrong soil composition was used. Why? The environment wasn’t evaluated before planting. Even as children, we were taught a foundational principle: the visible problem is rarely the actual problem.

Why custom software firms are still selling like it’s 2018, and paying for it in 2026 From 2015- 2018, the world changed for custom software development firms. “Digital transformation” wasn’t a buzzword, it was a budget unlock. Demand exploded. Buyers flooded the market. And for a moment, it didn’t matter how you went to market. If you had developers…If you could deliver…If you responded fast enough…You grew. Then something subtle, and dangerous, happened. You built your GTM

Every year, leadership teams tell themselves the same story: “Q1 is where we test. We’ll adjust as we go.” That story is now dangerous. IDC makes it clear: Q1 is not a learning quarter; it’s where commitments are made, direction is set, and momentum is locked. Which means: If your GTM motion is misaligned in Q1…You don’t adjust in Q2. You absorb the consequences.

Sales leadership is not just about managing teams or hitting targets. It’s about transforming potential into performance. In today’s fast-paced B2B environment, the pressure to deliver predictable growth and higher win rates is relentless. That’s why investing in development programs is no longer optional—it’s essential.