I just returned from a magical 11-day trip to California and Hawaii. I have always enjoyed combining my personal travel with business travel, as it affords me the opportunity to see more of “my people.” It also makes efficient use of my travel time. And let’s face it – travel is not exactly a glamorous experience. I experienced first-hand some of the new rules of travel during a pandemic. You might be planning your summer vacations and cannot wait to get out of the house (and have been fully vaccinated, also). Hope these are helpful.

Ever since the pandemic began, I catch myself becoming impatient, even agitated, when it takes more than five seconds to confirm my order. I expect to not only have a great customer experience. I also expect my product (or dinner) to appear on my doorstep within minutes or hours.

During my recent Mindful Marketer Live Stream, I explored how this phenomenon is re-shaping the rules of customer engagement and marketing.

Arriving at the gigantic, empty mall parking lot felt unsettling and unfamiliar.

Yet I knew the day ahead would get me grounded in the Loudoun County COVID POD (Point of Distribution) process, and the power of community service during a crisis.

This is how my adventures as a novice Volunteer Medical Corps (VMC) member began. One week ago, I reported for my first day of work at the POD.

The experience wasn’t just inspiring….

Do you ever feel like you need to “check your true self at the door” before you arrive at work? Do you put on a crappy happy face for your marketing teams? Thankfully, it is possible to overcome those feelings and do your best work.

As we await an accelerated distribution of COVID vaccines, we simply cannot predict when we will return to a new hybrid work model. And we certainly cannot predict how our customers will behave differently in the post-COVID world. (One thing is for sure: we all share a pent-up longing for hugs and gatherings!) It feels as if we are in a messy maelstrom. We just hosted our Marketing Growth Leaders private cohort last week. The theme was crystal clear: Transition.

Energize Growth and SimpleMind are authoring a post and hosting a LinkedIn Livestream this Spring and am looking for a few select people to showcase.

We will feature brands that deliver value quickly and predictably to customers, members, or clients. Some refer to this as “speed to value” programs.

Here’s the background: In this era of touchless and online experiences, customers no longer tolerate slow or sticky touchpoints. We’re looking to showcase organizations that have been successful at rapidly and consistently delivering the right customer value at the right moment, and who have witnessed a jump in revenues, NPS scores, retention, or brand repute….

It’s estimated that 35% of the world’s top 10,000 companies waste nearly 40% of their daily routines on bureaucracy, bad excuses, red tape, and — my favorite– hanging out with “zombies.”

Common sense needs a comeback and we need to remove those zombies.

When I work with marketing leaders and C-Suite executives during a workshop, keynote, or coaching session, I often describe what happens when you let these “zombies” – projects that nobody is willing to kill off – just roam the halls, eating up valuable time and resources….

By blending the roles of CMO and Product Strategy Officer, leaders across all industries can find new sources of growth and innovation. Lisa recently “sat down” with Robb Lee, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and Chief Product Strategy Officer, for ASAE. Robb has been a Marketing Growth Leaders™ member for the past five years.

In this interview, we explore  the evolving role of the CMO, lessons learned from 2020, and the future of events.…

Here in the United States, we gather on February 7 for Super Bowl LV.

Bah, humbug.

If I haven’t upset you yet, keep reading.

I never use male sports metaphors to tell stories because I simply do not understand the rules–and have too many other hobbies to invest time to learn them.

For today, I’ll break my own rules by sharing an attention-grabbing story about one of my fellow 100 Coaches members, Curtis Martin.

Curtis, an NFL Hall of Famer and top running back, once reveled in the “work hard, play hard” lifestyle….

The January 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris marks a moment of liminality between separation and unity.

And it’s much more than that to me.

It’s a moment to rediscover Optimism.

For me, there were way too many times last year where optimism was fleeting. When the COVID cases and economic swings overshadowed forward movement.

Now, optimism is slowly re-entering the zeitgeist.

For even my most ardent skeptics, I offer you this perspective from one of our world leaders, Dr….