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Think Big. Win Bigger.

Think Big. Win Bigger.

By: Dennis Sorenson
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Think Big. Win Bigger. is built on Process Driven Sales and the 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.© 2025 Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Ep 19 - Lead Like a Marine, Grow Like an Operator with Michael McConnell (Part 1)

    Ep 19 - Lead Like a Marine, Grow Like an Operator with Michael McConnell (Part 1)
    6 Oct 2026

    In Episode 19 of Think Big, Win Bigger, Dennis Sorenson is joined by Michael McConnell, Chief Operating Officer of Bird Electric, to explore the leadership lessons Michael carried from his ten years in the U.S. Marine Corps into his career in the infrastructure industry. Michael shares how his military experience shaped the way he approaches leadership, accountability, communication, and developing the next generation of leaders. What does it take to lead nearly a thousand professionals? His answer: "to be a good leader, you have to develop more leaders."

    Michael introduces the OSMIAC framework he learned in the Marine Corps: Orientation, Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration & Logistics, and Command & Control. He explains how he applies it to business today, connecting it to clear communication, repeatable processes, accountability, and trusting teams to execute. Dennis connects these principles to Ambition, Strategy, and Execution, as well as Plan, Prepare, Practice, Play. What happens when growth depends too heavily on the founder? They discuss developing people, building sales as a strategic asset, and creating the systems needed to scale beyond one leader. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Michael McConnell.

    In This Episode:

    (00:00) From Vermont to the Marine Corps to the power grid

    (04:29) What the Marine Corps teaches about leadership

    (09:34) The OSMIAC framework for planning and execution

    (16:19) Field-first decisions, KPIs, and accountability without bureaucracy

    (20:52) Why growth by reputation alone hits a ceiling

    (24:34) Building sales as an asset to the business

    Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! 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: https://castos.com/productions/ Michael McConnell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcconnell-mba-40a46a1b8/ Process-Driven Sales Substack: https://processdrivensales.substack.com/ Dennis Sorenson LinkedIn Cove Group Horizons West

    Chapters
    • (00:00:00) - Introduction and Podcast Welcome
    • (00:01:14) - Mac's Background: From Vermont to the Marine Corps
    • (00:02:18) - Joining the Marines and Entering the Power Line Industry
    • (00:03:44) - From PAR/Quanta to COO of Bird Electric
    • (00:04:18) - Marine Corps Leadership Lessons
    • (00:06:04) - Developing Leaders and Training Officers
    • (00:07:48) - Leading Through People and Succession Planning
    • (00:09:07) - Transitioning Military Discipline into Business
    • (00:10:49) - Breaking Down the OSMIAK Framework
    • (00:14:42) - Command and Control as Leadership
    • (00:16:15) - Field-First Decision Making and Accountability
    • (00:18:09) - KPIs, Backlog, and Sales Strategy Metrics
    • (00:19:59) - Avoiding Bureaucracy While Staying Accountable
    • (00:20:36) - How the Infrastructure Industry Has Viewed Sales
    • (00:21:37) - Founder Limitations and Scaling Beyond Reputation
    • (00:24:31) - Reframing Sales as a Growth Asset
    • (00:26:23) - Closing Thoughts and Part One Wrap-Up
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    27 min
  • Ep 18 - The Role of the Sales Leader: Winning Through Your People

    Ep 18 - The Role of the Sales Leader: Winning Through Your People
    22 Sep 2026
    Why doesn't the process-driven sales system execute itself? Dennis Sorenson draws on lessons from a barbershop and a restaurant floor to show sales leaders what it actually means to point, arm, and monitor their teams — and why culture must be taught, not just defined. "A great system requires great leadership," he explains, arguing that hands-in, hands-on engagement — not oversight from a distance — is what turns a framework into real, repeatable performance. Sorenson unpacks two real relationships — with Fletch, "The Proper Barber," and Tyler, a restaurant manager he calls "the hospitality leader" — to illustrate engaged leadership in practice. Referencing Mike Weinberg's Sales Management Simplified, he breaks down the discipline of pointing, arming, and monitoring a team, and draws a sharp line between micromanagement and genuine investment in people. "Great leaders do not lead from a distance," he says, closing with a challenge: connect ambition, strategy, and execution back to leadership itself, because the system does not execute on its own. In This Episode: (00:00) Recap: the four Ps and three disciplines of process-driven sales (01:14) Great leadership is what makes the whole system work (02:21) Meeting Fletch, "The Proper Barber" (06:30) Tyler, the hospitality leader (08:42) Mike Weinberg's framework: point, arm, and monitor the team (12:12) Hands-on leadership versus micromanagement (14:51) Closing: look for leadership lessons everywhere Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes![Text Wrapping Break]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[Text Wrapping Break] Process-Driven Sales Substack: https://processdrivensales.substack.com/ Dennis Sorenson LinkedIn Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro: Hands In, Hands On Leadership(00:00:25) - Recap of the Process Driven Sales System(00:02:08) - Learning Leadership from Outside Sales(00:03:30) - Fletch the Proper Barber: Teaching Through Doing(00:06:17) - Building Culture Through Coaching(00:07:11) - Tyler the Hospitality Leader(00:08:38) - Sales Leadership Principles from Fletch and Tyler(00:09:23) - Mike Weinberg's Point, Arm, Monitor Framework(00:11:39) - Winning Through Your People and Hero Makers(00:13:00) - Micromanagement vs Hands In, Hands On Leadership(00:14:12) - Connecting Leadership to the Sales System(00:15:25) - Closing Thoughts and Sign Off
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    16 min
  • Ep 17 - Leading Disciplined Execution with Matt Reubendale (Part 2)

    Ep 17 - Leading Disciplined Execution with Matt Reubendale (Part 2)
    8 Sep 2026

    Why do the same sales problems show up in every industry, from staffing to steel?

    Dennis Sorenson continues with Matt Reubendale, Senior Advisor for Enterprise Growth at Horizons West, for part two of their discussion on execution. Where part one covered Reubendale's own journey with GOST as a seller, this episode follows his move into sales leadership, learning to win through his people rather than around them. "The wonderful thing about GOST is that it's insanely simple," Reubendale says, "but they are the rules." He unpacks how he taught, coached, and inspected GOST plans across teams managing anywhere from a few accounts to two hundred.

    The conversation covers what makes a GOST objective "binary, yes or no," why the first plan is always wrong yet still directionally useful, and the weekly ghost call that keeps teams accountable. Reubendale shares how leading a team with 50 to 100 accounts each forced him to apply tiering inside GOST, and why Horizons West teaches the same system to every rep regardless of territory size. Why does the system solve the same problems everywhere? "That's been the biggest lesson," Sorenson says. This episode closes the three-part execution series.

    In This Episode:

    (00:00) From individual contributor to leading through your people

    (03:00) Understanding what your people actually want before building the plan

    (05:45) Where sellers struggle first: making goals and objectives binary

    (11:22) Why the first plan is wrong, and still directionally correct

    (13:23) Living in the plan: how a leader puts their hands in GOST

    (15:23) Build once to use many, and the weekly ghost call

    (20:32) What a leader gains from sitting in on ghost calls

    (23:45) Managing 50 to 100 accounts with tiered GOST plans

    (28:31) Closing the three-part execution series

    Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! 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 Watch Part I with Matt: https://youtu.be/3GP9M2wPJlg Matt Reubendale LinkedIn

    Chapters
    • (00:00:00) - The Discipline of Execution and the Ghost Framework
    • (00:01:21) - Matt Rubendale on Think Big Win Bigger
    • (00:01:58) - The Sales Manager Who Changed My Career
    • (00:06:34) - The Process Driven Sales Coach
    • (00:08:37) - In the Elevator With Philanthropist
    • (00:10:03) - The Process of Execution at Salesforce
    • (00:18:38) - Have Ghost and Execution Made a Difference at Teradata?
    • (00:20:58) - Describing the Ghost Plan
    • (00:24:16) - The Future of Teradata's Strategy
    • (00:27:28) - Teradata's Vision and Strategic Plan
    • (00:30:10) - The Importance of Execution and Ghost
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    37 min
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