by Thomas Barta | Dec 27, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Change leaders know how to bridge gaps. Gaps in technology. Gaps in belief. Gaps caused by fear. Supporters build your confidence. They love your idea—and perhaps even you. They are happy to follow. They are your energy source. Everybody in the business of change...
by Thomas Barta | Dec 7, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
I’ve got good news. Until December 1st, our publisher, McGraw-Hill and 800-CEO-READ offer a 40% bulk discount for our marketing leadership book The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader. Here’s the deal: for 25+...
by Thomas Barta | Nov 28, 2018 | Interviews
In this interview, I spoke with Yukiko Yamaguchi, the global CMO of Panasonic’s Connected Solutions Company, to explore the practical secrets of CMO leadership. Here are the key ideas. Read the full interview here. Overcoming Challenges: Yukiko, as a woman in a...
by Thomas Barta | Nov 5, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
To fix marketing’s perception problem, marketers must overcome the fear of forecast, measure what matters, and make selling a purpose again. A couple of days ago, a friend complained over dinner: “Our profession’s reputation is in tatters. People once respected my job...
by Thomas Barta | Oct 29, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Many leaders still spend most of their time in the office, but the most important part of their role – creating organizational change – requires face-to-face contact with those outside their department. I’m writing this column from home. Five years ago, we converted...
by Thomas Barta | Oct 27, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Want to lure the world’s best talent into marketing? We need to step up the profession’s standing first. Dear chief marketing officers, the marketing brand isn’t doing well. Latest news: you are losing market share in a key target group – talent. A survey by Marketing...
by Thomas Barta | Oct 4, 2018 | Interviews
In this Forbes interview with Alicia Tillman, CMO of SAP, on key insights into successful CMO leadership were discussed: Work-Life Balance: Alicia emphasized the importance of taking time off for self-reflection and rejuvenation despite the challenges of being a CMO...
by Thomas Barta | Aug 20, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Marketers want a positive, do-good brand purpose but if they do harm before doing good, all integrity will be lost and brand purpose will go straight out the window (from my Marketing Week column). When Ms T entered Auckland’s LynnMall Shopping Centre,...
by Thomas Barta | Jul 24, 2018 | CMO Central
For the most talented global marketers—with clear board potential, applications are now open for the 2019 Fellowship, a (free) 9-month mentoring, coaching and learning programme, I’m leading together with The Marketing Academy and McKinsey. The program, is eared...
by Thomas Barta | Jul 13, 2018 | Interviews
In this Forbes interview with Kristin Kelley, CMO of Randstad North America, several key insights into successful CMO leadership were discussed: Adaptability to Change: Randstad’s ability to adapt to the changing world, driven by technological advancements,...
by Thomas Barta | Jun 19, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Agencies, like brands, need consistency. Agencies used to have access to the C-suite within brands but that’s no longer the case. It’s time for agency leaders to step up and rebuild agency C-suite relevance again (from my Marketing Week column). David...
by Thomas Barta | May 29, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Facebook’s current data woes point to a bigger challenge: leaders must stop delegating responsibility and take charge of marketing communication again. Communication could be marketer’s most powerful tool. But it’s complicated. Facebook is plagued by questions...
by Thomas Barta | Apr 13, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
The recent #MeToo campaign is a reminder of the important role we all have as leaders: building confidence. Tarana Burke has a point. When the #MeToo campaign brought her own long-standing sexual abuse movement back into the spotlight, uman rights activistBurke said:...
by Thomas Barta | Mar 22, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
When marketers fail, both they and their organizations suffer. Yet many marketing officers still haven’t built the key foundation for success: alignment with the CEO. That’s perplexing. This should be marketing’s golden age. Social media, smart...
by Thomas Barta | Mar 13, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Have you ever experienced reduced budgets, a loss of career momentum, or a lack of traction in your company? If so, you could be at risk of a serious career disease (from my Marketing Week column). Take the time to familiarise yourself with the symptoms...
by Thomas Barta | Feb 27, 2018 | Essential reading, Marketing Leadership
Strong team leadership isn’t enough. New research shows that, for success, leaders must also excel at managing upwards (boss) and sideways (colleagues.) Most of the leadership advice aimed at senior functional managers is how to build, align, energize, and...
by Thomas Barta | Feb 6, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
What a Super Bowl night! In the end, it was a hard-fought victory for the Eagles. Off the field, another battle raged on between Budweiser, Coke, Kia, Pepsi, Squarespace, P&G, and many others: the nation’s top brands fought for customers’ attention. But after the...
by Thomas Barta | Feb 4, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
Success in a customer-facing role is all about mobilizing two groups of people that most leaders overlook: their bosses and their colleagues (from my Marketing Week column). Leadership. If there were a prize for the world’s most overused word, I’d give...
by Thomas Barta | Jan 29, 2018 | Interviews
In this Forbes CMO leadership interview, I explored the secrets of successful marketing leadership with Arnd Pickhardt, former CMO of Lidl and winner of the ‘Visionary Marketer of the Year’ award. Arnd highlighted the unique power of a CMO to quickly...
by Thomas Barta | Jan 22, 2018 | Marketing Leadership
The digital future is bright—the future is complex. And it nags on executives’ confidence. The new currency of expertise is having an overview. Technology has penetrated almost every corner of the business. For the most part, that’s great news. What do customers want?...
