Thought Leadership

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.

After my last blog about some student questions from my class at UCLA Anderson, I am happy to be back to complete the Ten Habits of Highly Effective Chief Marketing Officers.  This post will offer some ideas and suggestions on the all-important but controversial “training” topic. And the CMO’s unique role here.

Habit #7:  Train All the Time

We really have quite a dilemma in business today.  Most employee surveys I see through my clients, and most conversations I have with “middle” managers, clearly show people feel training is a lost art.  Many formal training programs have been cut during the recession,  and it is tough to reinstate them once they are cut.  Meanwhile, with the pace of change in business today, especially in marketing, training is more important than ever.  So what can be done?

My first idea for you is an obvious one, and one that does not cost a penny.  Yet it is not practiced regularly.  It is a simple thought:  train all the time, and expect that from all leaders. Every conversation, every meeting, every visit, is an opportunity to train.  Most of us train by example, and bright, observant people pick that up.  But what I am talking about is to overtly and explicitly use everyday encounters as training moments.

As a young leader, I loved it when people did that with me.  My first brand manager at P&G used to group our brand team together after every advertising agency meeting and ask “What did we learn today?”   “What could we do better?”  ”Are we excited about the outcome?”

I have tried through my career, especially as a CMO, to keep this habit alive.  It adds a few minutes to each meeting or visit, no more.  I also found an extra benefit to the training — which people deeply appreciate as it is an investment in them — and that extra benefit is that outcomes improve immediately.  Right after a meeting ends, when everything is fresh, when I am replaying the meeting outcomes and learning, I find that I revisit something with the team or individual and we make it better.  Immediately.  And if it is a sales call, capturing this learning quickly leads to prompt followup with the customer, and usually better results.

So training all the time does not cost anything but a few extra minutes after a meeting, and it improves results.  Good deal — get on with it!

The second idea I have for you is to formally train your people also all the time.  Obviously your people cannot and should not be in training sessions all the time, that is not what I mean. I mean you need as CMO to be accountable for the capabilities you build in your company, in tough times and in good times.  Great training builds the capabilities an organization needs for competitive advantage.  You must first be clear on these, and then build your training program around it and constantly measure and innovate to be sure you are building the capabilities you need to build.

Pret A Manger, the wildly successful natural and preservative-free fast-food company, is relentless on training against their core capabilities of inspirational team leadership, clear and sincere communication, and passion for, and knowledge of, healthy, organic, easy food. Target trains by ensuring every employee (they call all employees leaders, nice!) knows “why” they are doing what they are doing and how this is linked to their brand ideal and guest satisfaction.  At P&G, we dedicated expert resources to training what people needed to learn for today’s business, while we created the training we felt prepared us for the future.  I had reviews once a quarter to ensure we were seeing results, and building the right capabilities for the future.

Last point:  training, both the kind you can do every day and the more formal training, is perhaps the strongest signal to your people that they are what drives your business.  One of my first visible actions as P&G’s new CMO in 2001 was to dramatically reframe our training, and to get personally involved in its execution.  P&G people got, and loved, the message: building our capability and inspiration will lead us to win with consumers and customers.

This is part six of a ten-part series that will share my Ten Habits of Highly Effective Chief Marketing Officers, based on my experience and what I have learned from others.  See my January 22 entry for Habit #5 — Champion innovation – especially disruptive innovation.

Habit #6:  Setting Your Standards High

The toughest feedback I ever got in a meeting, or from a boss, was that I was “capable of so much better.”   I learned early in my career that one of the most powerful levers we have as leaders, especially as CMOs, is where we set our standards.   And how we communicate these standards to all involved.   Setting your standards means answering questions like:  When is the work of my team good enough to move forward?   What level of performance is acceptable?   When do we say “yes” or “no” to important decisions?

The higher you go in an organization the more important it is that you are clear about your standards.   So when you are a CMO, where you set these standards is critical for your business and organization’s success.  And, believe me, the daily pressure of business will challenge you to compromise your standards, on what results get rewarded, what people get promoted, what innovation makes it to market.  Don’t do it.  Don’t compromise your standards. The great leaders don’t.  Leaders like Mary Dillon at McDonald’s,  Becky Saeger at Charles Schwab,  Michael Francis at Target,  Jim Farley at Ford,  Trevor Edwards at Nike.

I remember three leaders early in my career at P&G who taught me this.   Bob Goldstein, the CMO of P&G when I joined the company in the early 1980s,  always drilled me on my advertising program:  Was it memorable and persuasive enough?  Did I have an alternate campaign in test market?  Was I investing enough?  Neil Kreisberg, a Senior Account Executive at Grey Advertising in the 1980s,  set his standards for his group’s advertising even higher than I did as a junior brand manager on Jif peanut butter.   And Jurgen Hintz, a senior P&G German manager working in the U.S.,  never stopped pushing for discontinuous thinking.  No annual business plan or budget was accepted without a “how high is up” test.

I find in my consulting and in my research that CMOs do not leverage this simple but highly effective habit. And it is a habit that gets practiced every day, in every decision, which means you can make a big difference here immediately.  My advice is to pick a few areas that are very important to your business success,  like what new initiatives you approve,  what people you promote,  what goals you set,  what competitors or companies you benchmark.   Get clear in your own mind what YOUR standards are, and then begin communicating through your words and actions.   You will be amazed at how your organization will respond.

This is part five of a ten-part series that will share my Ten Habits of Highly Effective Chief Marketing Officers, based on my experience and what I have learned from others.  See my January 13 entry for Habit #4 — Get your team right.  And do it early in your tenure.

Habit #5:  Champion innovation, especially disruptive innovation.

This is an especially important habit in these turbulent times, where we are not confident we are out of a recessionary mindset among the people we serve through our brands.

Business history is chock full of successful brands that launched or relaunched during recessions; Google and Apple are two examples.   There is nothing more important a CMO can do in a recession — or anytime really — than to lead the innovation program for a brand or a company.  Usually in partnership with the CTO.    True innovation is impervious to recessions, witness the recent success of Amazon’s Kindle, Motorola and Verizon’s Droid, and the breakthrough results for Avatar.

Leading innovation is too often not a high enough priority for CMOs.   They are distracted by the many short term issues that can consume the best of us. Here is what I have found that has worked for the best CMOs:

– Ensure your forward-looking innovation portfolio is building your value as a brand.  Value is always important, but these days it is especially important. And this is very measurable before your innovation goes to market, so make it important in your pre-launch criteria.   And expedite those innovations that do build value.  When people, consumers, rate your brand a better value than the competition, I guarantee you will grow and achieve market leadership.

– Ensure your innovation portfolio is sufficient to meet your future growth goals.  Sounds obvious, but I am amazed at how many CMOs and CTOs cannot answer that question.   There are a variety of ways to measure this pre-market introduction, and if you do not have those capabilities in place you need to do that.

– Build balance into your innovation portfolio.   Most innovation programs are dominated by incremental product or service innovations,  with 80-90% of the initiatives directed at maintaining the brand’s position in the market.   This would include things like longer protection from a deodorant, more on-time departures for an airline, or an improved taste or crust for a pizza brand (I must say Domino’s is creating a lot of buzz now for an incremental innovation.) You need a balance of incremental innovations like these with a small portfolio of discontinuous innovations.  Discontinuous innovations are things that change the dynamics in a category, create new markets, solve problems in new ways. Clayton Christensen has wonderful insights in this area. Discontinuous innovations are riskier, but great CMOs create and manage a diverse portfolio of innovation … with the obvious benefit of stronger growth and the less obvious benefit of cultivating a culture of creativity and bold thinking.

So, if you are a CMO and you are not championing innovation, start today.  I cannot imagine a higher ROI for your time.