Five Ps and a Playbook: Adam Hodges on Leading with Consistency
What do startups and Fortune 500s have in common? If you're Adam Hodges, the answer is simple: high-stakes decisions, relentless focus, and a clear playbook. With 23 quota-crushing years and a track record of building elite sales teams, Adam shares the principles and frameworks that have shaped his approach to leadership, coaching, and go-to-market execution.
Q: From Medtronic to early-stage startups, you’ve led at every stage of growth. What’s the biggest difference you’ve seen in commercial strategy across company sizes?
In startups, you're building the engine as you're driving. You embrace first principles thinking—stripping a problem down to its fundamental truths and building up from there. That approach helps avoid assumptions and supports experimentation. Startups also have to be more transparent and agile in decision-making, while larger companies can get bogged down in top-down processes and multiple management layers.
One of the biggest mindset differences is that larger companies play not to lose, while startups play to win. At a startup, you're not just trying to thrive—you’re trying to survive. The stakes are high, and every decision matters. Startups need to be incredibly focused on de-risking the business. With limited resources, you have to make fast, informed decisions and move quickly.
Q: You’ve hit sales quotas in 23 of 24 years. How do you maintain that level of consistency?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work for great companies and with exceptional leaders. But I also attribute a lot of it to five foundational principles I learned early in my career:
People – Surround yourself with positive, accountable people who drive the right actions and behaviors.
Product – It needs to meet a clear unmet clinical need, deliver high quality, and do what it says it will do. Trust with the customer is everything.
Plan – Have a clear strategy and focus, and stick to it daily.
Process – Your sales process should ensure excellence and create repeatability.
Performance – Ultimately, consistent execution is what drives success.
Those five Ps—people, product, plan, process, and performance—have anchored my career.
Q: Is there a go-to-market framework you return to time and time again?
Yes. While everything centers around people, strategy, and execution, I think about GTM in layers:
Opportunity: Understand your total addressable market (TAM), serviceable addressable market (SAM), and the actual served market (SOM).
Unmet Need: Be sure your product or service solves a real clinical or operational pain point.
Product Differentiation: How are you uniquely solving that need?
Value Proposition: Have clear, crisp messaging that includes both clinical and economic value. This is essential in today’s value-based care environment.
Segmentation: Know your audience and why this solution matters to them.
Regulatory & KOLs: Regulatory strategy and working with key opinion leaders help move from early adopters to the early majority.
Commercial Execution: It’s about hiring top talent, choosing the right sales channel, setting pricing strategy, creating demand gen programs, and tracking metrics.
It’s not always in the same order, but those are the elements I build around.
Q: You’ve coached 15 President’s Club winners. What do you look for in sales talent?
It starts with understanding what the role actually needs and building a scorecard for hiring. Then it’s about finding people with character and integrity—people you trust. As Marcus Buckingham said, “You can’t put in what God left out.” You can’t teach competitive spirit or grit.
I use the Top grading approach in interviews: looking at a candidate’s past decisions, how they navigated them, and what they learned. I believe in hiring hard and managing soft—investing upfront to get the right person.
The five traits I look for most:
Motivation – Are they self-driven?
Influence – Can they persuade and build buy-in?
Work Style – Are they consistent, proactive, and high-performing?
Relationships – Can they collaborate across functions?
Strategic Thinking – Do they understand the broader business and think like a leader?
Q: How do you create and sustain high-performance cultures?
Culture is like a garden—you have to tend to it daily or the weeds will take over. Every conversation and decision either moves culture forward or sets it back. There are no neutral days.
Start with clear values that align people to a mission. Focus on a compelling vision. Make sure people know their work matters—front office or back office. That builds meaning.
You also need transparency, authenticity, and vulnerability. People talk about vulnerability a lot now, thanks to Brené Brown, but practicing it takes real risk. Kim Scott’s Radical Candor is a great tool for fostering those courageous conversations.
Finally, empower your team. Recognize great performance. Reward the behaviors you want. And keep your finger on the pulse of engagement—tools like Gallup’s Q12 survey are simple and powerful.
Q: When you’re executive coaching, how do you build alignment and trust?
It starts with listening to understand, not just to respond. Everyone wants to feel seen, heard, and like they belong.
I often ask: Where are you now? Where do you want to be? And what’s in the way? For example, I recently worked with an executive who felt stuck in fear and uncertainty. They wanted to move toward confidence and clarity. That’s a real journey.
Coaching is about empathy, yes—but also about helping people move toward action. Some clients want answers. Others need to discover the truth for themselves. Either way, there has to be a call to action and accountability.
Q: What role does storytelling play in sales performance?
Storytelling is everything. It’s always been part of human history—back to Plato and Aristotle. But now, we also understand how storytelling affects the brain. It lights up neural pathways, releases dopamine, increases focus, and enhances memory.
Whether you’re pitching to a customer, raising money, or motivating your team, the best story wins. Great CEOs and sales leaders are often great storytellers. I’ll never forget when a former CEO, Joe Armey, challenged us to always have a story ready for our customers. That stuck with me.
Q: What’s one common misconception founders have about sales strategy?
The belief that the best product will automatically win. It’s tempting to think “if we build it, they will come.” But many founders treat MVP—minimum viable product—as Maximum viable product. They want to perfect it before going to market.
In reality, you need to get a simple version into the hands of a small, viable audience, learn from them, and iterate. Don’t wait for perfection. Speed to learning is more important.
Q: You’ve worked at an intense pace for years. How do you stay sharp?
It’s a daily discipline. I follow the Harvard Business Review’s Corporate Athlete model, which focuses on:
Physical: Sleep, nutrition, and exercise
Emotional: Emotional regulation and resilience
Mental: Focus and cognitive clarity
Spiritual: Aligning your work with your values
I’d add a fifth: Play. Having fun outside of work is underrated. Research shows that people with hobbies are happier at work. For me, staying sharp means prioritizing a full spectrum of wellness.
Q: Is there a quote that’s stayed with you throughout your leadership journey?
Yes. Simon Sinek once said, “Leadership is not about being in charge, it's about taking care of those in your charge.” That quote has always stayed with me. It reminds me of the Golden Rule we all learned as kids: Treat others as you’d want to be treated. Simple. Timeless. And powerful.
Q: You played NCAA Division 1 football. What’s one lesson you’ve carried into leadership?
I was a preferred walk-on, not a scholarship athlete. I had to fight for every opportunity, and I eventually beat out the starter and played several games before getting injured again.
The biggest lesson? Resiliency. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. That mindset has helped me get through a lot of difficult times, on the field and in the office.
Q: If you could instantly master one new skill outside of work, what would it be—and why?
I’d say digital literacy and AI fluency. I use AI every day now, and I believe it’s here to stay. But we also need to maintain our own voice and not over-rely on it. Those who can balance fluency with authenticity will be positioned well for the future.
Rapid Fire with Adam
Coffee or tea?
Coffee—ideally a pour-over. But most days it's Peet’s Coffee with Laird Hamilton’s superfood creamer. I love it... and I stop drinking coffee by 11 am to protect my sleep.
Best sales win ever?
A team win at Medtronic. We closed the largest PO in company history with a 20-hospital health system in the final week of the quarter. It was a huge lift and a moment I’ll never forget.
Go-to pump-up song?
Anything by Metallica or Guns N' Roses. I saw them live in 1989—it was epic.
One word your team would use to describe you?
Servant leader. I believe leadership is service, and my team has reflected that back to me in the past.
Favorite way to unwind after a high-pressure quarter?
Hanging out with my kids, playing sports, walking our English Cream Retriever Clive, or going fishing on the Harpeth River. Clive’s basically part human.
