While speaking at the Adobe Digital Summit last month, I enjoyed meeting Maureen Goldman. She expressed interest in my newest book
photo courtesy of Siteworx
Here are the key insights from our discussion:
1. It’s essential to identify which marketing habits and initiatives in your organization have become mindless. Many members of my marketing community feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and adrenaline-addicted. Where are you allowing the digital revolution to make you operate in react mode? It is possible to break through the digital cacophony to find your center and make informed decisions—if you are willing to ponder this question.
2. Mindfulness is not a religion; it’s a way of being. Mindfulness is defined as non-judgmental awareness. It is about staying focused on the task at hand without judgement. Mindfulness reached a tipping point in the U.S. in early 2014, when Time featured a cover article on the linkages between meditation and neuroscience. We are now witnessing a backlash against overdoing, overspending, overeating, and overworking. Mindfulness practices allow us to experience a new way of living and working.
3. Remain objective when identifying the root cause of your digital campaign effectiveness. It reduces stress (suffering) and organization dissonance. Buddhism, a philosophy which is rooted in mindfulness principles, was designed to minimize, and eventually end, human suffering.
Find ways to track your success at every stage of your digital campaign through short stand-up team meetings. When needed, make mid-course corrections, and over-communicate the impact of each stage with your stakeholders. Two thoughtful CMOs who embody this approach are Rob Pinkerton of Morningstar, and Jascha Kaykas-Wolff of Mozilla. Their agile marketing culture has helped them launch powerful lead generation and product launch campaigns.
Mindfulness teaches us how to step back, and be the observer of these campaigns. Some “campaign fatigue” and disappointment is bound to happen, because today’s digital marketers are treading in unproven waters. On average, CMOs of mid-market and large companies may be managing 20-40 different digital tools in their marketing stack. This is a tall order. Recognize that you are not the campaign. You are more than the task at hand. You are not your career; the career is a temporary place you go to share your value and gifts.
4. Language either advances or limits our digital marketing impact. What keeps marketers in the role of “order taker” is marketing-speak. These words sneak into our digital vernacular because we hear these expressions in our daily conversations. Words convey a certain energetic frequency. These expressions carry low energy, feel manipulative, and induce anxiety:
- Pitching your product/idea
- Attacking your competition
- Working with “vendors”
- Targeting a demographic
- Penetrating a new market
Dr. David Hawkins, author of Power vs. Force and 7 other books, studied the impact of language for over 50 years. He coined the term “attractor fields” as a framework to help us reach peak performance in our lives.
Hawkins affirmed that aligning our thoughts with “attractor fields” is an effective approach to accomplishing peak performance. In his bestselling book, he presents a personality scoring system that ranges from 0 to 1,000. 0 represents the lowest score, and 1,000 represents the highest level of consciousness and pure awareness. He created this system using applied kinesiology, or muscle testing.
Here are the energy levels outlined by David Hawkins:
- 20: Shame
- 30: Guilt
- 50: Apathy
- 75: Grief
- 100: Fear
- 125: Desire
- 150: Anger
- 175: Pride
- 200: Courage
- 250: Neutrality
- 310: Willingness
- 350: Acceptance
- 400: Reason
- 500: Love
- 540: Joy
- 600: Peace
- 700 – 1000: Enlightenment
Hawkins believed that moving upward into higher states of consciousness is essential to make meaningful progress in one’s life. Level 250 is an important turning point in our evolution; it’s when we begin to reach new levels of awareness and joy.
When we ignore our thoughts, or use “low energy language,” we may only advance 5 points on the scale in our entire lifetime. However, a focused effort to move into higher states can lead to incredible leaps of awareness within a short time period. (You can learn more about his findings here.)
Do your digital marketing messages focus on making customers and prospects feel guilty, sad, afraid, or proud? If they do, chances are you will never reach the true heart and passion of your intended audience. Mindful marketers exist to improve their customers’ condition.
With greater awareness and practice, it is possible to make subtle shifts in how you think, speak, and approach your digital marketing. You will learn a 3 minute exercise during the podcast—click on the link to hear the 25 minute Siteworx session with Maureen and me. If you are short on time, jump to minute 20 for the exercise.
How can you make your digital marketing more mindful? Share your comments below. I’d love to hear from you.
Copyright 2015, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.
Other posts you will enjoy:
- The Mindful Marketer interview with Anna Patrick, “Meditations in Wonderland,” part 1
- Incorporating Mindfulness Into Your Workplace, Meditations in Wonderland, part 2
- 10 Tips to Save Time and Restore Creativity – and a link to my FastCompany blog