Most people begin the new year fresh. Not sales organizations. In 2026, they’re carrying forward economic uncertainty, aggressive growth expectations and a wave of AI that has already reshaped how sellers work.

“The new norm is uncertainty,” said Erik Fowler, chief revenue officer at Allego, provider of a sales enablement platform, during a recent webinar on the state of sales. “We still have aggressive growth expectations, we still have economic pressures and budget concerns, and we have AI that we all need to rapidly adopt and figure out how it changes our business.”

To succeed in selling, it is vital to understand who your customers are and what motivates them to spend their money. Psychology in selling involves zeroing in on customers’ emotional needs. Putting yourself in a customer’s shoes helps manage your sales pitch. Most individuals buy based on emotion rather than logic. There are six typical emotional responses to a sale and understanding these psychological attitudes relates directly to your marketing efforts.

Automation has a branding problem. Most founders want systems that run without depending on them, but somewhere along the way, “automated funnel” became synonymous with cold DMs, sales-y email sequences and the feeling that no actual human is paying attention.

The good news is this isn’t an either-or problem.

You can automate your lead funnel and still make people feel seen, supported and excited to work with you. In fact, when done well, automation is what creates space for more human connection.

We often hear that leadership is about vision, strategy, and results. While that’s true, the leaders who truly stand out today are the ones who also lead with heart. That’s where emotional intelligence in leadership becomes a game-changer.

Simply put, emotional intelligence in leadership is about understanding and managing emotions—both your own and those of the people around you. It’s about leading with empathy, staying calm under pressure, and creating trust across teams.

Name many of the top traits that come to mind when you think about a successful CEO and words like strategic, emotionally intelligent, and flexible may fit the bill.

But according to experts, one of the biggest indicators of success for CEOs—first-time leaders and veterans alike— is their ability to build a following, and fast. That’s become a critical factor in CEO searches in recent months as more employees are “job hugging” and staying put, while the rate of CEO turnover continues to rise, thanks to pressure to perform amid market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty.

I was 16 years old when I got my first “real” job at a local Jack-in-the-Box. It was not a great gig, for sure, working over a hot grill and dealing with rude, demanding customers. But I was saved from misery by my work buddies—friends who’d crack jokes, commiserate, and pitch in if I fell behind.

Since then, having a work buddy has always been important to me, which is why I’ve cultivated friendships throughout my work career. Those special friends have helped me maintain my focus and commitment to the job and increase my sense of safety and belonging.

Customer experience is the #1 priority for many of ASEAN’s service leaders, yet keeping up with changing customer expectations remains their toughest challenge. How exactly do you meet increasing demands for 24/7 support and tailored interactions while also contending with limited resources and high costs?

These challenges and how to solve them are explored in our latest State of Service report, based on learnings from 6,500 service professionals, including respondents from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

Chief revenue officers — a demanding title with a hefty responsibility to run an organization optimally. From in-house collaborations to leveraging data in decision-making, CROs handle the nitty-gritty of cost operations above and beyond.

The real challenge that can hinder their growth is the lack of up-to-date technological integrations. With the advancement of emerging platforms, we can equip the existing systems with exceptional analytical data processing power hubs. These hubs can perform complex tasks and are even a no-brainer for CROs.

Sales teams operate at their best when each team member is motivated, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the products and services they’re selling. That attitude isn’t something that just happens by chance, but rather is cultivated by managers and employers. Building a better sales culture involves a deliberate strategy and understanding what motivates your salespeople, and it can be a vital aspect of your business’s success.

Leadership grows clearer when you grasp how influence vs authority shapes the way people respond to your direction. Many leaders feel the push to deliver strong outcomes and recognize that real commitment rises when they build trust, connection, and shared purpose with their teams.

In the Maxwell Leadership Podcast episode “Leader Change: From Position to Influence,” Perry Holley and Chris Goede explain how leadership strengthens when influence sets the tone for the relationship.

Leadership is fundamentally an ability to create synergy or an aligned mission; it’s developing stewardship where people feel strong enough to disagree, brave enough to fail, and supported enough to grow. Leadership is about creating a space where people feel safe, appreciated, and can see a glimpse of the future. Good leaders create careers, not just jobs.

At the start of every new year, many of us think about how to make our lives better going forward. Perhaps we want to lose weight or stop drinking or stay off of our cell phones. If only we had more willpower, the thinking goes, we could meet our goals and become happier and healthier people.

But a new study suggests that we could have that backwards. Instead of self-control or willpower leading us toward greater well-being in the future, greater well-being increases our ability to have more self-control for meeting our goals.

Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about the link between trust and the customer experience. I’ve come to the conclusion that if a customer doesn’t trust you, it doesn’t matter how great your customer service or customer experience (CX) is. Customers expect you to deliver on your promises. If you promise overnight delivery, it better show up the next day. If you promise to reach out to them in an hour, you must do so. The moment you don’t do what is promised and/or expected, you start to lose the customer’s trust.

Rarely do I meet a business owner who isn’t looking to increase sales. There’s never quite enough work, right? The backlog only stretches so far — and beyond that lies the abyss.

The truth is, there’s no magic bullet for growing revenue. But there is one report you should be reviewing every single week that will dramatically help: the pipeline report. Do you have one? You should.

The key to building a successful business is growing your customer base. It’s normal for some customers to stop buying from you. After all, people move, and their needs may change over time. But if you’re constantly losing customers, especially if they head to your competitors, you have a problem.

Businesses must avoid getting complacent with current customers. We’ll explore retention strategies to help you engage better with customers and keep them happy, as well as share customer retention mistakes to avoid.

At the Greater Good Science Center, one of the online courses we offer is Mindfulness and Resilience to Stress at Work.
This course includes articles, videos, interactive surveys, and activities and exercises that learners can do to strengthen skills that enhance and sustain their happiness at work. Featured as “Learning by Doing” sections of the courses, these activities include things like engaging in a variety of self-reflection and mindfulness practices.

One of the nicest things about the holiday season is that you’re able to sneak in some me time. That gives founders a chance to unplug and catch up on their reading.

The right book for you depends on your interests, your tastes, and your mood. But with so many options on shelves, where should you start? Inc. surveyed an assortment of founders and business leaders and dug through dozens of lists to find recommendations of some of the best business books around today. If nothing in your backlog of books is calling to you today, any of these could be a good place to start.

Most professionals spend years working toward a promotion. It is seen as the ultimate marker of progress, a clear sign that your efforts have been recognized. Yet for many employees, the moment of moving up does not feel like success. It feels like a setback. A promotion that is supposed to bring pride can instead bring exhaustion, isolation, or even regret.

The truth is that not every career step forward is designed with the individual in mind. Organizational needs often outweigh personal fit. When the two collide, what looks like opportunity can feel more like a punishment.

If you’ve been in sales for longer than five minutes, you know the old rules don’t hold up anymore. Cold outreach is colder than ever. Buyers are savvier. And the “show up and throw up” pitch approach is just a fast track to a closed tab.

Today, the best sales teams are shifting their energy— and fast. The secret isn’t just about more calls or better scripts but about smarter prep. Let’s unpack why sales prep is becoming the ultimate competitive edge and what that actually looks like behind the scenes.

The sales landscape is changing faster than ever. As innovation reshapes the industry, traditional tools and strategies are losing their edge. The future belongs to those who can combine the power of artificial intelligence with the irreplaceable value of human connection.

Success will not come from choosing between technology and relationships — but from mastering both.