If your CEO says “double the business,” what has to be true to actually get there?
Michael McConnell, COO of Bird Electric, tells Dennis Sorenson why sales should be the leading edge of the business, and why “operating at comfort” is a critical risk.
Dennis and Michael explore the relationship between ambition and strategy, including how understanding the real potential of a customer or market creates a stronger foundation for deciding what has to be true to reach the next level of growth. They discuss why businesses can get stuck living in “play,” and what it takes to build a scalable growth capability. Michael shares why leaders should view sales as part of the operation, not simply another department. His advice to the next generation? “You don’t have to know everything.”
This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Michael McConnell.
In This Episode:
(00:00) Meeting teams where they are to build commercial rigor
(05:07) Real versus realistic and the discipline of ambition
(09:12) Building strategy backwards from a billion-dollar goal
(15:47) Finite games, infinite games, and living in play
(19:18) Pointing the team toward strength and innovation
(24:10) Scalable growth capability and lessons for the next generation
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About the Show
Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process.
The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time.
Resources:
Produced by Castos Productions
Michael McConnell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcconnell-mba-40a46a1b8/
Process-Driven Sales Substack: https://processdrivensales.substack.com/
