(Spoiler alert: this is a true story).
This was basically the response one of my contacts received when he offered his services to a colleague, the head of a business unit, guaranteeing growth in their results… without it costing them any time or resources.
Let me explain.
My contact was then a senior executive in a large international company handling multi-year contracts for major global clients.
As is often the case in certain organizations, successful or not, restructuring was in the air.
To avoid being caught off guard, he approached the head of a large business unit where he had identified untapped business potential.
He delivered a compelling pitch outlining how he could bring in additional business (both new clients and expanded business within existing accounts), as he had thoroughly analyzed and mapped the current market coverage of the business unit and the business potential not yet addressed, being an expert in the field with the right introductions at decision-level.
Although convinced by the logic and the data, the head of the business unit explained that, however attractive the proposal was, he simply could not afford to hire him. The budget did not include new positions, and certainly not at that level.
The reply could not have been simpler:
“Just pay me from the additional revenue and margin I will generate.”
The discussion was clear. The benefits were obvious. The path to success was straightforward.
Yet making such decisions quickly in complex organizations is rarely easy.
The head of the business unit asked for time to reflect.
Then the feedback came.
In summary:
“I am convinced that you will generate additional business and that you will not drain my existing resources.
The problem is that we will deliver more than expected.
And that means my targets for the next fiscal year will be even higher.
So, the answer is no.”
Can we blame the head of the business unit?
Several thoughts come to mind:
- “Tunnel vision”: Management by KPIs can quickly reach its limits when targets are expected to increase year after year, regardless of market realities, often by simply applying a growth percentage to the previous year’s performance.
- At what point do personal objectives begin to conflict with corporate objectives?
- How often is the full business potential truly assessed? And once it is, is there a concrete and realistic plan to capture it?
- Every unaddressed business potential within a client or within a market is a red carpet for your competitors.
So, what can be done better?
- Foster a genuine business development mindset, leave no stone unturned and encourage teams to think beyond predefined metrics.
- Assess the full addressable business potential and align it with a realistic, well-structured execution plan.
- Design smarter targets and sales compensation plans, what appears highly incentivizing at first glance can backfire, creating unintended and sometimes counterproductive behaviors.
- Align incentives with long-term value creation, not just short-term numerical performance.
Sustainable performance is not about pushing numbers higher every year at any cost while disregarding where today’s potential lies.
It is about aligning ambition, strategy, incentives, and execution in a way that drives real and lasting business impact.
So, should you aim to achieve your KPIs, or chase potential?
