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What Winning Actually Requires
[Un]Churned Chapter 010
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This week I had the privilege of learning from a lot of industry greats. They shared advice you really can’t replicate unless you’re looking at the tech world from their vantage point.
Here’s what’s been on my mind this week.
What Consumption-Based CS Looks Like Inside a $100B Company ft. Jared Collins (This Week’s [Un]Churned 🎙️)
CSMs turned data strategists. Consumption-based pricing models. Proactive playbooks. This week on [Un]Churned, Jared Collins, Senior Director of CS at Dell Technologies, deconstructed this jargon salad and transformed it into practical advice for CS teams, big and small.
“CSMs don’t work in a vacuum. They’re not going to be successful on their own…If the AE is the CEO of the customer relationship, the CSM is the COO.” A quote from Jared that rings especially true, considering his Dell Apex team is part of the massive broader whole of Dell Technologies.
He shares how his team focuses on building strong internal and external relationships, and uses data, triggers, and simple playbooks to connect the dots and stay ahead of customer risk.
With over 16 years at Dell, a foundational player in the infrastructure and tech industry, Jared’s perspective on the future of software is one that can’t be ignored. I’ll give you a hint: zooming out on goals and zooming in on technical CSM skillsets are both part of the path ahead.
“Go Win. Go Carry the Day”
This was definitely a ‘pinch me I’m dreaming’ moment. I had the privilege to (virtually) sit down with Robert F. Smith, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, for a company-wide fireside chat about the future of SaaS, his leadership philosophy, and how his commitment to building access to equity in marginalized communities.
He left us with these parting words: “Go win, go carry the day. Win everything, make it happen. Have a great time. This is an amazing time in life, and you guys are at the forefront. Not only keep the lead, but literally go capture it all, because it’s yours to capture.”
Check out the full post, not just for my takeaways, but to see what resonated with the rest of the Gainsight team.
Translating CS for the Boardroom
If you’re headed into your next board meeting with a story about how Customer Success “saved the day”, but have no numbers to back it up, you’re better off declining the cal invite.
It’s a harsh truth, but one that Teresa Anania, CCO at Sophos, provides the cure for in her article, “The Attribution Model That Survives Board Scrutiny.” Drawing on her experience at Autodesk, Zendesk, and now Sophos, Teresa’s developed an attribution model that translates CS impact into financial credibility.
This article is a deep dive into her process, the constraints she encountered, and how you can learn from her experience to build an attribution model of your own.
Evolving to Agent-Led Growth
Mickey Alon, co-founder and CEO of Foldspace AI warns, “The tolerance for "learning curves" has hit zero.” Forcing users to memorize workflows is old news. Giving them an agent to handle execution is what’s next.
If you’re exploring agentic use cases for your product, I highly recommend giving this a read.
Bonus [Un]Churned Episode: 75% of SaaS Companies Will Disappear ft. Brett Queener (Bonfire Ventures)
“It’s irresponsible to not understand what’s possible.” That’s the advice venture capitalist Brett Queener shares on this bonus [Un]Churned episode. He also challenges his past perspective on AI and shares his unfiltered thoughts about the direction the industry is headed in.
His take? Judgement is now the biggest moat (and he’s written all about it in his recent Substack article). Queue up this bonus [Un]Churned episode the next time you have 16 minutes. Otherwise, you’re just being irresponsible.
Wrapping Up
My mind’s still swimming with all the forward-looking conversations I’ve had this week. All I can say is, the bar continues to rise, and we can’t win by playing defense. What are you doing to meet it?
See you next Monday 🧠
— Josh
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