“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” This is one of my favorite quotes from a months’ worth of Huddles on how CMOs can be better leaders, which after a bit of winter leaf raking brought me to the metaphor of the gardener.

Just as a gardener knows there is more to a verdant garden ...

With deal velocity grinding down and CFOs resuming their CFNo posture, it is little wonder that marketers are fixated on the old recession-busting trope: “Speed-to-Value.” The notion here is that if you can just convince CFOs that your product or service can deliver cost savings in 3-6 months—or better yet, increase revenue at >3x your cost in less than a year—then all objections will disappear and deals ...

The importance of the relationship between the CMO and their HR counterpart is often overlooked. Whether you call them your Chief HR Officer or Chief People Officer (or something else entirely), they’re an ally in the C-Suite that needs just as much care and attention as that of the CFO or CRO. After all, they’re the person in charge of building the team that will represent the ...

CMOs, by nature or nurture, are an optimistic lot. There’s no other way of explaining their steadfast belief they will be the ones to find success where others failed. They will be the ones to help CFOs see marketing as an investment, not an expense. They will be the ones to educate CEOs and investors that great brands are built from the bottom up, not top-down; not in ...