Thought Leadership

I am returning to my ongoing blog series on The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Chief Marketing Officers.  This series was inspired by a talk I gave to a client, and I have covered the first nine habits over the past few months.  I hope you have found them to be helpful … here is the final habit.

Habit #10:  Live Your Desired Legacy

This is the culminating habit.   If you are practicing the other nine, this one should be relatively easy to put into practice, to make a habit.  But it still takes deliberation, discipline, and action.

Living your legacy means that you think ahead about the lasting impact you want to leave behind you.  In Habit #2 we talked about being clear about what you stand for, and to be visible inside and outside the organization, acting on your beliefs.  Habit #10 goes beyond that, this is about focusing on what you will be remembered for, what lasting effect you will leave behind.  And if you do not think about that while in your role, and focus on it, it will not happen.

Vineet Nayar of HCL is a good example of a leader who is acting now to leave behind a legacy that will forever change HCL, and maybe even business at large. Tom Peters has said Vineet Nayar could be the next Peter Drucker.   Vineet’s new book “Employees First Customers Second:  Turning Conventional Management Upside Down” is an account of his personal journey to hold himself and his team accountable to employees, so the employees can serve their customers better and fufill the mission and promise of HCL.   That will be his enduring legacy.

My good friend John Pepper, the current Chairman of the Board of Disney, had a clear focus on his desired legacy when he was Chairman and CEO at Procter & Gamble.  He wanted to firmly establish the Purpose, Values and Principles of a rapidly globalizing company so it would never lose its special culture.  And he wanted to enter China and Central and Eastern Europe in a way that would be the foundation for a healthy P&G business for generations, but also the beacon for how businesses should operate in these emerging economies.

Most CMOs are not good at this.  My two examples above are from CEOs.  CMOs think too short term, and don’t fully embrace the lasting impact they can have.  In my consulting I try to work with CMOs to isolate the few things they can focus upon that will make their companies stronger, their employees more inspired and energized, and their customers and partners more loyal.

My practical advice is to write down the 2-3 things that will be your legacy, and do this at about your 6-month anniversary in the role.  You will know enough by then to get it “about right.” Build a plan to achieve it within 3-4 years, and revisit it every six months.  Share it with your colleagues.  Be accountable to yourself and them to do it.

When A.G. Lafley offered me the GMO job at P&G in the summer of 2001, I took about a week and wrote a one page memo on what I hoped to do in the role, what I would leave behind that was better because I was there.  I shared it with him.  It became my guiding light in the role, and essentially did not change throughout my tenure in the role.  And what I am most proud of (and it continues to evolve, a measure of a strong legacy) is that P&G’s approach to brands has forever changed … from a narrow view of their functional benefits to an expansive, life-changing, purpose-driven view of their impact on the lives of the people they serve.

The last thought I will leave with you on legacy is that this process will greatly enhance your satisfaction with your job.  It provides a “north star” for all you do, and also helps you decide when you have done what you set out to do.  Then it is time for a new adventure!

I am returning to my blog series on The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Chief Marketing Officers.  I have already covered the first eight habits, over the past few months.  On to Habit #9: Think and Act Like a Winner — Your Customers Notice.

Several years ago, when I was serving as P&G’s Global Marketing Officer, I took note of an obscure small study on a brand in a European country.  The study essentially revealed that the consumers of that brand sensed that the people behind the brand were not inspired, not happy, not engaged.  And the brand was sick, boring, and declining in market share.

Wow.  I had never explicitly thought of looking at the root cause of a brand’s malaise as the engagement of the team behind the brand.  I would instead look at the product data — are we superior or not on the benefits that matter?  Is our distribution a competitive advantage?  Are we in stock at key times with key retailers?  Is our brand equity stronger than our competitors? Is our awareness at target levels?  Are our trial levels above competitors?

These are all fine and important questions.  But they are merely getting at symptoms of a potentially larger issue, the motivation and inspiration of the team behind the brand, or business.  Because when a team is not engaged, consumers sense this, and they do not want to part with their precious money to buy something that the “creators” of the brand do not believe in.

I had always believed that happy, motivated people drive better results.  And there is a boatload of research on that.  What I had not connected before this obscure study was that consumers can sense this through the packaging, advertising, in-store presence, partnerships, and distribution.  And consumers want to buy into a winner, they want to part of a team that is trying to make a difference through their brand.

As I like to say — and those who know me have heard me say this a million times — a brand or business is nothing more than the collected intent and behavior of the people behind the brand.  So be sure your team is thinking and acting like a winner — and put attention there first.

I am returning to my blog series on The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Chief Marketing Officers.  I have already covered the first seven habits, over the past few months.  On to Habit #8:  Do a Few Symbolic Things.

Great leaders simplify things.  They focus on the few things that really matter.  They are typically remembered for a few symbolic actions in the areas that matter.

One of my favorite leaders is the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, who was a politician, farmer, inventor, architect, archaeologist, to name a few of his roles … but his two largest symbolic actions defined the man’s legacy.  He wrote the Declaration of Independence and founded the University of Virginia.

Yes, even as 21st century CMOs we can learn a lot from Thomas Jefferson’s life, but I would like to focus on this “habit” of doing a few symbolic things that reinforce your impact, your legacy.

Many of us go through assignments busier than we could ever imagine, only to realize, after a few years have gone by, that we cannot point to what is better because we were there.  That is not a good feeling.

My Habit #8 suggests to you to PROACTIVELY plan a few dramatic, symbolic actions that people will remember.  These actions are not random, they must be strategically reinforcing what your brand/business needs to win, to stand out, to make a difference.  And you must be choiceful — remember Jefferson only had two.

Steve Jobs at Apple is a master of this, and his story is often told so i will not belabor it.  His symbolic actions:  the iPod and the iPhone.  Maybe the iPad.

A few other examples that I like from CEOs and CMOs:

–Jim Farley at Ford introducing the Ford Focus as a new business model for Ford and maybe the industry.  His launch of the “My Ford” system at the recent consumer electronics show in Las Vegas is another good example of a strategic, symbolic action.

–Indra Nooyi and team  reframing Pepsi as a positive force with the “Refresh” initiative.  Also from Indra and team, the Sun Chips renewed purpose of  ”Healthier You, Healthier Planet” is showing the way for a new approach in snacks.

–Patrick Doyle at Domino’s Pizza with the very dramatic action of “coming clean” on the taste and quality of their pizzas, and promising that his new pizzas will exceed raised expectations. No doubt that is what Patrick will be remembered for in his tenure at Dominos.

–David Zaslav and team at Discovery Communications launching the new series “Life“, which took four years to film, in fifty countries, with more than 70 cameramen and women. Dramatically and symbolically showing that the Discovery Network will be in a class of its own in exploring the curiosities of our planet.

–The actions can also be organizational changes or acquisitions; witness Publicis‘ Maurice Levy’s acquisition of Digitas to dramatically move his Groupe into digital competence.

At P&G, during my 7-year tenure as global CMO, I focused on two bold actions.  In 2003, I led a small P&G entourage to the Cannes Advertising Festival, forever changing the standards for P&G and it agencies in consumer-inspired creativity.  Later in the decade I led a movement to elevate the role P&G brands play with their consumers, more closely connecting the brands’ purposes with the company’s purpose.  This I am happy to say has only gained momentum under Bob McDonald and Marc Pritchard’s leadership.

What few symbolic things, or actions, will you be remembered for?  Are they big enough?  Are they reinforcing what your brand/business needs?  Are you proactively and deliberately planning them?  Final thought: while you should be planning your symbolic actions, be open to serendipity.  Bob Isherwood from Saatchi & Saatchi and a few senior Creative Leaders at P&G’s agencies suggested I go to Cannes in 2003; I was smart enough to listen to them and then make it a very symbolic action internally and externally.  And you know the story of Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of independence … he was a reluctant author.