Peripheral Perspective - Disruption-Proofing

August 15, 2025

Hello, Dear Peripheral Thinkers™!

While finishing up my book manuscript, I added a new story to the content. It’s a story I haven't thought of for years.

And it got me thinking about the results for three different companies and the ripple effect across multiple industries.

What started as yet another opportunity to prove that Peripheral Thinking is perfect for disruption-proofing one company turned into a whirlwind adventure that I’m excited to share with you.

Here's what I’ve proven repeatedly for decades, which I hope encourages you:

“You can be the disruptor or the disrupted. It is YOUR choice.”

Let’s get to disrupting.

All I Need Is 5 People for 5 Days

A million years ago—okay, late ’90s to early 2000s—Siebel Systems was the king of enterprise CRM. They were the go-to for sales force automation, crowned Fastest Growing Company in America by Fortune in 1999.

But this story isn’t about Siebel. It’s about the questions they never asked, and how those blind spots created space for a disruptor.

Let’s zoom in...

$30 Million. 3 Years. 10% Adoption.

One of the world’s five largest wireless carriers had spent 3 years and nearly $30 million implementing Siebel’s CRM. But adoption was… a pitiful 10%.

The C-suite wanted pipeline visibility. The sales team wanted help finding and closing deals. Siebel? It was a sales management tool, not a sales enablement solution.

Nobody asked:

“What will guarantee this initiative fails?”

Had they asked, they would’ve discovered salespeople didn’t need more admin, they needed intel. Current customer data. Industry insights. Actual sales tools.

And the CIO?

He had 6 months to turn this around… or face the consequences.

Enter: My Client

I was working with a content company; scrappy, SMB-focused, and totally convinced they weren’t “big enough” to play with the enterprise giants.

Their platform aggregated data from over 2,000 sources and made it available online. I told you; it was a million years ago.

When I asked:

“Why don’t you sell to large companies?” They had a full playbook of reasons.

So I inverted the question:

“What if large companies were your ONLY market?”

One Button. Two Words. Everything Changed.

I met with the wireless carrier.

Added a small button on the Siebel dashboard.

Click it. Boom! Instant access to the right insights.

Salespeople suddenly had a reason to update their CRM.

Adoption of the content platform passed 90% in 45 days.

Siebel adoption? 77%! Up from 10%.

Both sides said, “Sure. Why not?”

They just needed permission to break their own rules.

One Deal Isn’t Enough

You see? Disruption proofing isn’t playing it safe, and it’s not risky.

It’s challenging assumption.

Yours. Theirs. Everywhere’s.

It’s looking for the uncommon,

To find the undeniable.

Still, my client thought this was a fluke.

“Prove it,” they said.

Challenge accepted.

The Florida Five

I pulled industry, company, and performance data from my client’s tool about the wireless carrier’s largest competitor. #2 in the world.

I found an underperforming regional office in Florida.

I proposed to the Florida Regional VP:

“Give the tool to 5 salespeople for 5 days. No charge.”

A week later, I’m back in her office. She’s stunned.

“Paul… I double-checked everything this weekend. This is insane.”

$7 million in verified new business added to this quarter’s pipeline.

And one rep closed a $500K deal on day 4.

She showed me the pipeline report. From…

You guessed it. Her Siebel CRM.

Here’s the kicker: all five were either new or on the verge of being fired.

“I gave you the worst of the worst,” she confessed.

“Figured if you were that confident, I’d make it interesting.”

“Can I buy licenses today… on my credit card?”

I told her to keep her credit card and the tool for a few weeks.

Then, I asked her to send me her updated revenue forecast.

No Appointment. No Problem.

That night, I flew to the company’s HQ.

The next morning, I walked into their corporate tower.

No meeting, no invite.

At reception, I asked to see the President of Business Solutions.

I dropped my card and a one-page summary of the Florida numbers with a handwritten note:

“What new business have YOU added today?”

A question from a giant banner hanging in their sales department, and my answer:

“$7 million. Yesterday. How about you?”

I sat down.

In no time, I was face-to-face with the business unit president.

A call to Florida for confirmation.

A demo. Some math. And revenue projections.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“You can be the disruptor,” I said, “or the disrupted. It’s your choice.”

Game Over. Game On.

Weeks later, my client had a 3-year agreement for 20,000 global users.

They went from “we’re too small” to

“We helped 2 of the top telecom giants disrupt their market.”

They stopped believing, “We can’t.”

And started living, “Disruption starts here.”

They sold into telecom. Then banking. Then insurance. Then manufacturing.

Eventually, they were acquired by Dun & Bradstreet.

Postscript: Where Are They Now?

The two wireless carriers? Still in the top 10 worldwide.

Siebel? In 2002, 45% CRM market share.

By 2005: Acquired by Oracle at 17%.

Today? Just 1.57% of the CRM market.

Meanwhile, Salesforce, just a pesky upstart back then, now holds the #1 spot with 25.22%.

What’s the Peripheral Takeaway?

Don’t ask, “How do I make what I’m doing perform better?”

Ask,

“What guarantees this fails?”

“What if the opposite were true?”

“What if playing big was our only option?”

And when the answers come… don’t wait.

Don’t over-plan. Don’t build a 24-month strategy.

Just give me 5 people for 5 days.

Let the disruption-proofing speak for itself.

Until next time… I’ll be looking for you in the periphery!

Paul

One more thing(s):

Have an upcoming event? Let’s discuss how I can deliver a memorable message to your audience. https://www.pauldanielsjr.com/speaker
Remember, I’m on sabbatical from posting daily on LinkedIn while I finish my book.
The book manuscript is nearly there. Then all the publishing stuff. I’m excited to share it with you.

Image Credits: Image Creators

August 2025 Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter