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Growth doesn't happen by chance — it is built CHIEF'S LETTER

Mindit

CEO's column November 2025

  • Nov 7, 2025
  • 3 min read

84% of companies say sales are critical to growth. Yet only 29% have an updated sales process. It’s not technology that’s missing, it’s behaviors. The companies that succeed do three things: systematically train their teams, measure what drives business, and lead sales, not just manage it. 2026 will reward the courage to prioritize culture and capabilities over PowerPoints, and to train more often than just talk about training.



The growth is out there – but so is the risk

There is one thing I see more and more clearly when I meet companies around Sweden, we are not stuck in the market, we are stuck in our own assumptions. Growth starts from within.

It's almost ironic. We talk about growth more than ever, but act as if it will happen on its own. As if customer behavior, competition, and technology are less real than the budget document.


In The Mindit B2B Sales Report 2025, we saw it in black and white:

  • 84 percent of companies say that sales are absolutely crucial to growth.

  • 29 percent have an updated sales process.


It's like saying fitness is crucial but ignoring exercise. And that's where the problem begins.


The ambition is there but the direction is missing

During the year I have met a lot of leaders who express the same frustration; “We know what we want but we can’t get it out in the organization.”


And when you scratch the surface a little, the pattern is clear:

  • You want to work value-based — but sales meetings still end up in product functions.

  • You want to build trust faster — but the presentations are longer than the customer's patience.

  • You want to develop your teams — but onboarding can be done in an intranet and a cup of coffee.


I understand the frustration. It is difficult to achieve tomorrow's results with yesterday's methods, but I also understand the danger. When the will is greater than the ability, a vacuum is created. And a vacuum is expensive.


It's not the technology that's missing, it's the behaviors.

We love talking about AI, CRM, automation and data. But we rarely ask ourselves: “Are we using what we already have?”

In the survey in The Mindit B2B report, many respond that the technology is there but the skills are lacking. And that's no surprise, because without training, technology is just a cost with a nice interface.

Companies without a clear sales strategy lose 8–15 percent in margin in complex deals. Not because the product is wrong, but because the behavior is wrong. Growth is not a question of method, but a question of training.


The lead is closer than many think

We also saw in the report that the companies that succeed really only do three things, but they do them well:

  1. They train their commercial teams systematically , not ad hoc.

  2. They measure what actually drives business , not just activities.

  3. They lead sales , they don't administer it.


It is discipline that separates the successful from the frustrated. Not genius.


As CEO, I see a clear trend heading into 2026

Those companies that dare to move from ambition to direction will gain a lead that others will have a hard time catching up with. And direction is not about more processes. Direction is about capability, culture and courage.


For example:

  • Courage to prioritize behaviors over PowerPoint.

  • Courage to exercise more often than you talk about exercise.

  • Courage to admit the simplest but most difficult thing:

  • We don't grow because we want to. We grow because we do.


Three questions every management team should ask now

  1. What abilities are we missing – really?

  2. How often do we practice what determines our business?

  3. Are we leading our teams, or are we hoping they will figure it out anyway?


Growth is always strategic, but it never becomes real until it becomes everyday.


2026 will not reward those who wait to enter the market.

It rewards those who train to meet it.

Thank you to all the customers and partners who have challenged us, developed us and let us be part of your journey throughout the year. We look forward to a new year where together we close the gap and open the gap.


Mikael Nylund

CEO, MinditThe House of Sales & Leadership



 
 
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