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 2023 Beacon Award recipient, Amy Kellinger, is someone you would love to know. She’s Blackbaud’s VP of global demand gen and event marketing–and an inspiration to our global community.

Making room for the messiness of marketing innovation needs to happen before anyone can perform—or your organization can transform.

In this era of data deluge, suspicion, and endless chatter, I believe that our most successful marketing leaders are rediscovering the lost art of listening.

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

I love the marketing profession, and watching our community members build healthier companies and lives. Why? Because marketing leadership combines head and heart—not just during the Valentine’s Day holiday, but throughout the year.

Collaborative, cross-functional planning requires us to explore new growth strategies. Those strategies should fulfill three guiding principles: they must boost the bottom line, align with our core values, and drive predictable 2023 results.

ChatGPT, tougher privacy rules, and a growing demand for differentiation can decimate well intended thought leadership and content strategies.

We define innovation as applying creativity to significantly improve or transform the stakeholder condition. As our recent cohort has proven, 2023 presents an opportunity to transform much more than the bottom line.

Join Lisa Nirell (Become an Effective CMO) and Robbie Kellman Baxter (Working with Leadership and Boards) for a LIVE conversation about what it takes to thrive at the highest levels of marketing.