We are in countdown mode for our 2nd annual CMOs Leading Innovation Conference. This year’s theme is “the need for innovation speed.”
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Marketing leaders from across the US have chosen this conference to accomplish several goals:

Discover fresh new ways to accelerate innovation within their organizations
Deepen peer relationships
Leverage technology to foster innovation and expand customer relationships
Accelerate the migration from “order taker” to “innovator”

With a tip of the hat to talk show impresario, David Letterman, here are 10 reasons why this conference will make marketing innovation CLIC for our attendees–and may do the same for you:

You will spend time outdoors and learn how nature adapts.

As the rapid shift to customer-centricity continues, aligning with the customer journey trumps business as usual. What can you do to make every stage of the customer journey meaningful and memorable? How will you balance offline and online customer messages and interactions?

Trigger events such as the U.S. election season give many of us permission to express our anger. Sometimes, that anger spills over into the workplace and permanently damages our work culture.

As a leader, how do we respond to these bursts of anger? Do we ignore these behaviors, and hope they’re just temporary? Is political upheaval truly the cause of this wave of anger, or an excuse?

The answer isn’t obvious. However, if we choose to ignore these behaviors, it’s just a matter of time until it decimates an otherwise productive and healthy workplace….

Have you ever worked on a triage team? I have. Today’s seismic mobile strategy shifts remind me of the lessons I learned under pressure.

Here’s the story…

We just launched our 4th annual CMO Innovation Trends survey to help senior marketers learn what growth and innovation opportunities their peers are facing in the industry today.

If you are a VP of Marketing or CMO, will you please participate in this 2 1/2 minute survey now?

This survey contains only 9 questions. For participating in this survey, we will send you:

An Executive Summary to help you see how your investments and issues compare to peers
An MP3 replay with key insights and recommendations
A series of short videos with marketing innovation tips from our annual CMO Conference

Go here to complete the survey: http://tinyurl.com/CMOtrends16

Thank you for participating–we sincerely value your input….

As a marketing leader, do you have the necessary know-how to strategically manage a technology portfolio?

As businesses continue the rapid move towards digital, more technology purchases will find a home in the marketing organization.  In fact, The Gartner Group estimates that 40% of technology investments are already happening outside of the IT organization.

You likely have a mix of technology-related projects, ranging from applications or systems that your team is building. These include mobile apps, content management systems, back-end data systems, hosting solutions, CRM, and analysis. …

It takes a leap of faith to unplug and stop moving from crisis to crisis. Yet the rewards are many, especially when you bring that mindset to work. Yes, work.
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Many senior marketing leaders and CEOs whom I’ve met think of their lives as an “either/or” proposition. They are either relaxed and unplugged OR overworked and hyper-connected.…

It’s finally summer here in the Washington, DC region. Now is the time to schedule “innovation vacations” to unplug, reflect, and savor the great outdoors.

Instead of asking you “what’s on your reading list?,” I’m curious to know “What’s on your watch list?”

You will find some cool videos below that we just released. Check out the three complimentary marketing innovation videos below from our annual CMOs Leading Innovation Conference. …

We just hosted the Atlanta CMO Innovation Breakfast.

The purpose of the interactive session was threefold: to outline the fundamentals of marketing innovation, assess the participants’ readiness to foster an innovative culture, and deliver fresh insights to kick-start innovation in their organizations. For four consecutive years, our CMO community has asked “How will we make the shift from order taker to innovator?” We helped participants take away specific action steps to address this persistent issue….

Marketing leaders often ask me “how do you stay centered and focused? What can I do to create more “white space” on my calendar? My schedule is very hectic, and I seldom make time to reflect.” Mindful marketing techniques have really helped me in this area.

I recently sat down with “Shareology” author and Purematter CEO, Bryan Kramer to further explore this topic. We had both discovered that we are mindfulness practitioners.

Check out this 19 minute podcast to hear:

The importance of daily white space
The 3 main sources of my creativity
How removing yourself from your normal routine and surroundings leads to a more creative life
Bryan’s favorite sources of creativity
How over-reliance on technology leads to missed cues and muted intuition
Why pets are one of my favorite mindfulness reminders
The number one question every marketing leader needs to ask to increase their efficacy

Four quotable moments from this discussion include (and feel free to tweet):

“That is what wealth is about… creating discretionary time to do the things you love with the people you enjoy.” —@lisa_nirell #mindfulmarketer

 “You’ve only got now so live and love fully.” —@lisa_nirell #mindfulmarketer

 “When I rely only on technology and data, I seem to always get myself in trouble or miss some important cues.” —#mindfulmarketer @lisa_nirell

 “Create and design the life you really want….