Last April, I received a surprise phone call:

“COVID has been a real wake-up call for me. I don’t know why I’m working this hard and building my company. I have a family member who needs me more than my employees and clients need me. We need to spend more time together. I’m going to keep a few clients, lay off my team, and shut down the office in Atlanta.”

The pandemic suddenly pushed this client to re-think their purpose….

As marketers, we routinely obsess over the customer journey and how to measure “intent to purchase.” We know too that we do our best work when we’re facilitating micro conversions between a brand and a consumer that are naturally a good fit, rather than forcing a product on an exasperated audience.

We understand intuitively that relationship building, alignment, and value are essential to our vocation.

But how often do we truly lead with purpose and intention, rather than simply deploying tactics?