In this episode of the Grow Business Podcast, Cory Mosley and Lon Graham unpack a truth most business owners learn the hard way: Strategic partnerships don’t fail because the idea was bad. They fail because the expectations were vague. And in 2026, vague is expensive. Everybody wants to “collaborate.” Everybody wants to “get in front of your audience.” Everybody wants to “partner.” But a partnership that isn’t tied to a clear business outcome isn’t strategy. It’s speculation. This conversation breaks down how to evaluate partnerships with the same discipline you’d use to evaluate a hire, an investment, or a market expansion—because that’s what partnerships are: a leverage play or a momentum killer. You don’t need more opportunities. You need better filters. In this episode: When to pursue partnerships: only with a clear growth objective A real partnership solves a specific growth problem. It accelerates revenue, expands reach, or builds credibility faster than you could do alone. If you can’t clearly define what it’s supposed to do for the business, it’s not strategic—it’s entertainment. And entertainment is expensive when you’re trying to grow. Defining success is the first principle of leadership Cory makes it plain: defining success is the number one principle for success in sales leadership . Because if you don’t define success, you can’t measure progress. And if you can’t measure progress, you can’t manage the partnership. Partnerships need KPIs, timelines, and a clear “win condition.” Otherwise you’re stuck in the most dangerous phrase in business: “Let’s just see what happens.” Avoid partnerships when roles, ownership, and control are vague Ambiguity feels friendly at the beginning. But it becomes expensive at the end. If decision-making authority isn’t defined, execution turns into friction. If ownership conversations keep getting avoided, the partnership becomes a slow-motion conflict you can see coming but don’t stop. And if you don’t talk about the exit before you start? You’ll eventually negotiate it while frustrated—and that’s when emotion gets expensive.

In this episode of the Grow Business Podcast, Cory Mosley and Lon Graham unpack a hard reality many business owners never see coming: success can become the most dangerous phase of growth . Not failure. Not competition. Not even the economy. The real threat in 2026 is believing that what made you successful will keep you successful. Markets don’t reward experience—they reward relevance . Customers don’t stop spending money in a down economy— who they spend it with changes . And your best year? That’s not a strategy. It’s a memory. This conversation is about identifying when confidence quietly turns into complacency, separating ego from execution, and redefining leadership for a faster, less forgiving market. If your business feels “stable” but not growing, this episode will challenge how you think about success. You don’t need to abandon your past wins. You need to stop letting them drive today’s decisions. In this episode: When confidence becomes complacency Past wins can create a false sense of immunity. Owners who’ve survived downturns often believe they’re untouchable—but ignoring early warning signs, dismissing new ideas, or saying “we’ve always done it this way” is how relevance erodes. Why your best year is not a growth plan Measuring performance against a past peak blinds you to current market conditions. Pricing, positioning, and buyer behavior have changed—and waiting for things to “go back” is how businesses stall out. The danger of tying your identity to the business When feedback feels personal, improvement stops. If your business can’t be questioned, it can’t be improved. Growth requires the ability to examine what’s broken without defending what’s familiar. Replacing ego-based decisions with evidence Instinct alone doesn’t scale. Customer behavior, retention, conversion, and attention matter more than opinions or legacy thinking. What worked before isn’t the question—what’s working now is. Redefining leadership for the 2026 market Leadership today isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating speed, clarity, and alignment—and building teams that challenge ideas instead of protecting egos. Winning leaders teach people how to think, not just what to do.