Hey Reader,

Welcome to The Middle, your midweek rundown of the most interesting things we've read this week.

Last week we delivered our take on Impacting Unit Economics to 468 SaaS Leaders (nice sign of demand!). We’ve since opened up the recording to our subscribers - you can access it here.

Our Level Up Webinar series continues in May with the Big 3 of Subscription Revenue (ARR, GRR, NRR). You can sign up here.

Now, let's get to the goods...

Jeff

PS: (If you want to sponsor May's Level Up Webinar, send us a reply - we will have ~800 registrants)

You Either Have It... Or You Don't...

Product-market fit (PMF) often feels defined as “You either have it… or you don’t”. But in reality, PMF is malleable as your business strategy shifts.

OnlyCFO shares the financial signs of weak PMF:

While these are signs that early-stage companies are still seeking PMF, they can also indicate trouble for mature ones, too.

Leadership teams in mature software companies: keep a watchful eye, these red flags can creep into your business silently.

Two Things Can Be True

Kyle Asay is an AE-turned-sales leader who provides actionable strategies you can implement.
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He recently shared how he doubled his attainment when he was an AE; his first point stuck out to me:

Two things can be true...

Businesses become stagnant when teammates stop thinking for themselves.
Businesses become stagnant when operations create rules that are too strict.

It works in both directions.

Ops team: provide the right enablement and execution to keep things moving
​Teammates: take a sense of pride and ownership over your work

Who doesn't want a high-performing team?

At some point, you’ve encountered Meyers Briggs, StrengthsFinder, or some other black box personality quiz.
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They can be helpful, but often confusing — too many different acronyms and definitions to remember that it becomes impossible to implement.

I found this diagram from MotivationCode and it stopped me in my tracks for its simplicity (I mean chef's kiss, am I right?).

Let’s focus on one key item from each Dimension:

• Decision-Making Transparency (Leader) - don’t expect your team to make decisions and take accountability if you don’t share your criteria (the "why") for making decisions

• Access to Information (Team) - the best teams find simple hacks to share key information in synchronous and asynchronous (audio notes are your friend) ways

• Commitment To the Vision (Individual) - people often work harder when they’re part of something bigger than themselves