As the role of marketing continues to evolve at breakneck speed, here are four leadership constants to guide you.

Here is a guest post from my friend Charles Gold who has been a software marketing executive for nearly 20 years. He serves as CMO at Sonatype, where he has helped propel the company’s growth to category leadership. Charles believes passionately marketing is rapidly becoming *the* thing that distinguishes software market winners.

The four “Cs” shaping electrifying, modern marketing include: conscious content, CMO reporting cadence, courage, and culture.

Given the advances in marketing operations, web analytics, and B2B marketing and sales alignment, CMOs have few excuses to accept second-string status.

Eloqua’s much anticipated keynote speaker was Jeffrey Hayzlett, author of the new bestseller, Running the Gauntlet. Eloqua’s theme of “becoming a modern marketer” permeated the high-energy sessions, and Jeff’s was no exception.

It’s that time of year to review your growth plans, see what’s working, and get rid of what’s not working. So take a few cues (or words of warning) from Tina Brown, who recently shut down the print edition of Newsweek and moved to an all-digital format.

Are marketing executives orbiting the new “data galaxy” out of necessity, or curiosity?

Here is a post from my friend Seth Kahan, author of the upcoming book, Getting Innovation Right. Seth has a wealth of ideas on innovation and leading change. Here are some key considerations as you plan to grow your existing customer base in 2013.

Updating your Twitter feed a hundred times a day won’t get you a single new customer if you’re lacking a critical ingredient: a content marketing strategy. Here are the do’s and don’ts for managing your brand’s social content.

When we arrived in Venice last week, I could not locate a single car. Only gondolas and transport boats peppered the waterfront. The gondolas earn top billing and represent an ancient, longstanding form of innovation and transportation. Will today’s innovations, such as the iPad, endure over 500 years of popularity?