A year and a half ago I wrote a naïve post called 5 Things CMOs Need to Realize About Change. I had just accepted a CMO position with a $200M software company, and I was excited to put my wisdom to work. I’d heard that phrase, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” but didn’t believe it. Ready to learn from my mistakes?
In 2022, I’d been happily leading limited-term ABM engagements for five years but was eager to see how it worked over the longer term. So when the CEO approached me offering to provide that opportunity, I jumped at it. I knew there’d be challenges – there always are – but felt prepared to overcome any.
I was right about the challenges, but surprised to find so many in my new company… and naïve in thinking they could be easily overcome.
Here are the 5 things I originally recommended that new CMO’s do (in italics):
1) PICK YOUR MOMENT WELL – Make sure you have enough runway, clout and budget to see the project through. Build the relationships you’ll need, especially the CSO/CRO, before you broadcast your plan or you’ll get push-back.
Hindsight: You can’t always see lipstick on a pig from the fence. The CEO did not offer the opportunity to meet with other members of the leadership team. I should have insisted on meeting them, as well as members of the Marketing and Sales teams. Had I done so, I might have realized that the CEO was alone in his enthusiasm for modern marketing and ABM.
2) PICK YOUR INITIATIVE WISELY – Pick one attainable goal with achievable metrics. Make sure your C-level peers understand the project scope fully and similarly – and have reasonable expectations. If they’re looking for a silver bullet, they might not exhibit patience.
Hindsight: I ignored my own advice here. Assuming I had full backing to transform a traditional marketing team into an ABM center of excellence, I set off at top speed. I upgraded the MarTech, engaged contractors, began integrating/enriching the data, and introduced ABM techniques. To fuel the engine, I generated research-based thought leadership to attract net-new C-suite buyers. It was too much too soon for many team members to digest.
3) COMMUNICATE RELENTLESSLY – Evangelize until the initiative becomes an engrained process. Develop a formal communication plan and include roadshow decks, weekly progress reports and playbooks for training and documentation. Leverage project and change management techniques.
Hindsight: I communicated the heck out of my initiatives – especially ABM – but didn’t realize noone was listening. The other members of the leadership team (most importantly the VP Sales) had never bought in. But because the CEO was gung-ho, they expressed enthusiasm with no intention of changing. Even the long-timers on my Marketing team were serving up smiling passive resistance. I didn’t see it, but the culture was so strong and their methods so ingrained, that the “lifers” were just waiting for me to fail.
4) PILOT AND PROVE THE CONCEPT – Pick a strong initiative leader, a skilled project manager and dedicated workstream leads for data, content, media and reporting. Involve both champions and skeptics. Pilot the initiative with controlled scope. Test and expand carefully, learning and documenting as you go. Then add more pilots running in parallel with additional capabilities.
Hindsight: To counter the culture, I brought in some fresh marketing leaders. One was meant to be my lieutenant and help run the pilots. But the culture ate her for breakfast, too. Her team members froze her out and she soon resented me for it. I should have realized, but was too busy dealing with it myself.
5) MANAGE CHANGE – Celebrate pilot successes, keep communicating the benefits of the initiative, and tell teams how they can help. Reinforce behaviors. Track metrics. Establish internal service-level agreements (SLAs). Analyze, report, adjust, lather, rinse and repeat. Expand with a plan.
Hindsight: I was actively managing change six months into this experiment when my sponsor CEO left the organization. The CFO stepped up to serve as interim CMO, and soon cut my budget and headcount. Six months later a new CEO arrived and stated, “Marketing is the last thing this company needs right now.” My skeptics reinforced this belief and soon my time was up. I should have seen it coming and stopped digging.
Sound like a lot to manage? If you want to make a real impact on your new organization, you’ll find a way. It’s called leadership.
Hindsight: Does this mean I failed as a leader? I prefer to think of it as a learning experience. I learned the power of culture and the importance of fit. I should have been sure of both before diving in and been more careful about laying groundwork. I hope you’ll do due diligence before your next move. Because no matter how brilliant your brain may be, banging it against a wall does no good.
