From payout crisis to global playbooks: Turning comp chaos into repeatable systems
December 15, 2025
Imagine stepping into a new role leading sales compensation and within twenty days, the entire sales org gets paid wrong. That was Gavin Tapper’s “welcome” to this niche space—and it was this high-stakes experience that was a catalyst in shaping him into a global sales compensation leader today. In this episode, Gavin joins Nabeil Alazzam (Founder & CEO of Forma.ai) to unpack how he turned an 18-month payout crisis, years of plan changes, and countless stakeholder debates into durable playbooks he's used to lead compensation at global orgs. Listen in for insights on selling tough plan changes, being "Switzerland" as a sales comp leader, hot takes on attainment data, and what a 1,000-mile bike ride taught Gavin about transformation.
Imagine stepping into a new role leading sales compensation and within twenty days, the entire sales org gets paid wrong. That was Gavin Tapper’s “welcome” to this niche space—and it was this high-stakes experience that was a catalyst in shaping him into a global sales compensation leader today. In this episode, Gavin joins Nabeil Alazzam (Founder & CEO of Forma.ai) to unpack how he turned an 18-month payout crisis, years of plan changes, and countless stakeholder debates into durable playbooks he's used to lead compensation at global orgs. Listen in for insights on selling tough plan changes, being "Switzerland" as a sales comp leader, hot takes on attainment data, and what a 1,000-mile bike ride taught Gavin about transformation.
🔍 In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How an inherited system failure that mispaid an entire global sales org became the foundation of Gavin’s approach to sales comp.
- The three simple levers Gavin uses to diagnose any comp issue
- Why operational trust matters more than elegant plan design.
- How the “Mosaic” metaphor helped secure buy-in for a significant, complex plan change at SKO.
- How to push sales leaders to think in trade-offs instead of wish lists.
- Why attainment data becomes dangerous when used without context—and how to cut it differently for costing, club, and talent decisions.
- And much more!
Resources mentioned:
- Kepner-Tregoe – The New Rational Manager (problem solving & decision making)
- Eliyahu Goldratt – It’s Not Luck (follow-up to The Goal)
- Stafford Beer – Diagnosing the System for Organizations
- Simon Sinek – Find Your Why
- CliftonStrengths (Gallup)
- Insights / Color Profiles for stakeholder communication
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