Category: Growth Strategy

We found another form of AI that can help CEO's and CMO's train for a different future: Appreciative Inquiry.

We’re witness to forces toppling old ways of working and leading. Generative AI, geopolitical turmoil, media misinformation, and hybrid work are fueling concern and confusion about the future.

It is tempting to dust off our desktop after summer holidays, dive into July, and plan new marketing promotions. Let me suggest an alternative. Slow down to move fast by launching an After Action Review (AAR).

The Midlife Innovator cohort (our 9th) will harness corporate and personal wisdom to fuel reinvention and long-term growth.

AI has forever changed how we innovate and collaborate. Move your 2024 growth strategies forward faster at CLIC ’24, happening May 1-2 in New York.

Estimated read time: 5 minutes

I love this time of year when I get to help leaders design their annual kickoff meetings and refresh their vision for future growth.

Sadly, some growth grinches roam these gatherings. Much like the grumpy solitary creature in the film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” some leaders miss the true meaning and mechanics behind this important holiday –the planning season. In 2023, I witnessed how these “bah humbug” habits disrupted investor confidence, demoralized team members, and crushed careers….

Our theme – “The Innovation Songbook” – will help you craft new strategies to outpace competitors, think more strategically, and thrive in the year ahead.

Hype cycles take us—and our stakeholders—on a wild ride. Without strategic guardrails, our brand may be forever damaged. Yet here we are, diving into countless ChatGPT and other generative AI use cases and experiments, skipping the strategic questions and downplaying the consequences of unfettered use.

Marketing innovation is about applying creativity to improve your stakeholders’ condition. It requires us to challenge our established beliefs and assumptions. It often also demands that we learn from our past as a way to inform our future.  We often need to set aside the past, and begin with a clean slate. This process helps us design an empowering narrative to guide us forward. It bolsters our resilience.

That’s the underlying theme of our 6th annual CMOs Leading Innovation Conference (CLIC ’22): “Growth Curves Ahead: The Resilient CMO.”
We’re gathering in historic Charleston, South Carolina at the International African American Museum….

Did you encounter a silver lining from the past pandemic era?

I certainly did. I witnessed an extraordinary number of people who paused, and confronted their existential crisis head-on.

In The Earned Life, Marshall Goldsmith and co-author Mark Reiter meticulously capture the existential moments that we endured. In Section One, Marshall describes how CEO clients become goal-obsessed. It leaves them feeling empty and deflated. He has witnessed these behaviors at the highest levels;…

Hiring an executive coach is a personal choice. Use time to build the right set of screening questions during your vetting process.

  1. Does this coach have a track record of ensuring that my actions, ambitions and aspirations are aligned with my company’s key goals, vision, and values?
  2. Can she point to measurable results from her coaching engagements (versus smile sheets)?
  3. Can I rely on her to help me dramatically grow my external and internal networks, or is she isolated from business communities?

Relationships trump hands-on skills as I climb the career ladder. Will she show me a way to reach beyond the “do good work” model, and help me build a dedicated team of stakeholders?