How many of these questions have crossed your mind lately?
Last month, we convened our first Executive Roundtable of 2025; a space created for candid, unfiltered dialogue among sector leaders. The premise was simple: space to talk honestly about what’s happening now, and what it’s really going to take to lead through it.
The insights shared were deeply resonant. A collective wrestling with uncertainty, and a hunger for clarity on what’s next.
The questions weren’t new, and nor is change for our sector. But in today’s economic context, both carry renewed urgency. Here’s what was surfaced.
What are we really planning for, and how confident are we in how we’ll get there?
In today’s climate, projecting revenue (whether earned or contributed) feels less like planning and more like hedging bets. The conversation pointed to a shared concern: how can we commit to targets when behavior is so unpredictable? And more importantly, how can we act with confidence when the pathways to those targets aren’t clear?
This isn’t just about the numbers. It’s about strategy and focus. When financial targets are disconnected from the people and patterns that drive revenue, accountability blurs and decision-making stalls.
What’s needed now is a recalibration. From top-down revenue projections to bottom-up, customer behavior-based forecasting. One that starts not with aspirational revenue lines, but with the relationships behind them.
Are we too focused on getting new people in, and not focused enough on getting them back?
Audience acquisition remains a priority, but retention is becoming the crisis. Traditional models of loyalty, like subscriptions, aren’t rebounding universally and new models haven’t filled the gap yet. First-time attenders aren’t converting. Frequency is thinning. Across the virtual room, there was recognition that retention has become more elusive.
And yet, everyone recognized that keeping relationships active is a desperately-needed compounding revenue engine. In a time when new audience acquisition is expensive and unpredictable, the most sustainable path forward remains the one closest to home: increasing the speed and likelihood of return for those who already know us.
Loyalty is no longer a passive outcome. It must be intentionally built, tracked, and earned; over and over again.
This challenge of over prospecting and under retaining was a central theme in Episode 2 of our new season of Leading the Way; highlighting how loyalty must be actively built and prioritized if sustainable revenue is the goal.
If everyone is tired, how do we still drive performance?
Another reality discussed: internal bandwith. Teams are leaner. Fatigue is real. The high-output expectations of past years remain, but the resources - and energy - that deliver them don’t. It’s a tension familiar to many right now: wanting to do big, bold things while operating with smaller, more stretched teams.
In this context, clarity becomes a currency. What roles are truly essential? What outcomes matter most? How do we reignite urgency without burning people out?
These are leadership questions. And they require leaders to act not just with empathy, but a renewed discipline around execution and alignment, something Seth Godin and I explored in our recent conversation.
Is it time to stop chasing sellouts and start building value?
The market is sending mixed signals. Costs are rising. Ticket revenue is inconsistent. Some organizations are celebrating strong contributed income, while others have gaping holes.
All of this underscores a critical truth: we can’t build future sustainability on soft assumptions or inconsistent demand. Organizations must get sharper about value; not just in pricing, but in perception. When audiences feel urgency and see value, behavior changes. But perception doesn’t manage itself. It must be shaped, signaled, and sustained.
What emerged in this Roundtable wasn’t new information. It was renewed clarity. That we’re not in a moment of reinvention, we’re in a moment that demands recommitment: to acting on what we already know, and aligning our teams, tactics, and targets accordingly. Because without it, we can’t create the necessary revenue runway required to navigate these turbulent times.
Across the sector, many are wrestling with the same questions, often in isolation, without the time or tools to answer them. But change doesn’t happen alone. It happens in community, with clarity, and through shared accountability.
TRG’s work exists at that intersection. We don’t just observe these patterns, we help organizations act on them. With partnership that helps organizations connects plans to real outcomes, building resilient teams, and strengthening the audience relationships that sustain revenue.
We will continue to offer spaces for reflection, challenge, and connection. If you’d like to express interest in a future session, I invite you to register your interest below.
Let’s keep asking, and acting on, the questions that matter most.