CRM Insights: Why CRM Systems Fail and How to Fix Them

When Companies Start Using AI to Build Their Own CRMs

March 13, 2026

A Head of Capital Markets sat across from me a few months ago, frustrated that his team was trying to

The Board Question Every CEO Dreads: “Why Aren’t We Using AI?”

March 6, 2026

A CEO sat across from me last week, visibly exhausted after a board meeting. “They’re asking why we’re not deploying

The Year After Go-Live: Why CRM Success Turns Into CRM Struggle

February 27, 2026

A CIO asked me to audit their CRM six months after go-live. On paper, everything looked fine. Salesforce was live, users were trained, adoption was at 87%. But when I asked to see their actual workflows, the real story emerged. The system they built didn’t match how the team actually worked, and nobody had the authority to change it.

When Leadership Stops Trusting the CRM

February 19, 2026

A CRO stopped opening CRM dashboards and started asking for pipeline reports in Excel instead. His forecast accuracy was declining, deals marked 90% probable weren’t closing, and the numbers didn’t match what his VPs said in meetings. That’s the moment a CRM stops being a system of record and becomes performance theater.

The Shadow CRM

January 22, 2026

Sales reps reference spreadsheets during customer calls. Leadership asks for “the real numbers” instead of pulling CRM reports. Top performers have built their own tracking systems that nobody talks about in meetings. That’s a shadow CRM—and it’s a symptom, not the problem.