In the world’s largest ever marketing leadership study, we found executives who lead marketing outperform those who just do it.

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BY THOMAS BARTA
Marketing Leadership Test: Find your strengths
Take the Marketing Leadership Test. Within a few minutes, find your strength—from the world’s largest study on marketers’ success. Free. Anonymous. Fun! What are your spikes?
Why marketers struggle in a rational world
Marketers are more emotional than many of their colleagues, which makes earning respect difficult, but they can gain influence by speaking the language of logic.
The number one reason why marketers fail
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.
Why effective leaders must manage up, down, and sideways
New research shows: successful executives know how to lead their bosses and colleagues.
Marketing career success: 5 enduring secrets
The best marketers are masters of branding, pricing and communication. But pulling off a great marketing career is a whole other story
How the CMO can add most value
In theory, the CMO role should be exalted, but reality is different. New evidence suggests many CMOs are missing the needs of an important customer: their own company. It’s time to change this.
5 facts about marketing every CEO (and CMO) needs to know
Even decades after leadership thinker Peter Drucker said his famous sentence “the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation” there’s still a—surprisingly lively—debate as to whether marketing’s (and marketers’) role should be exalted. Here are five research-backed facts that prove all marketing skeptics wrong. Marketing and CMOs are crucial for company success! Full stop.
Why CMOs must side with the revenue camp
Influential business leaders are associated with revenue, yet too often marketers are not. They’re missing the point. It’s time for CMOs to get into the revenue camp.
Why skilled marketers fail – and how to fix this
Seventy one percent of CMOs have strong top- and bottom-line impact, but over half are struggling in their careers. Better leadership skills would up the career prospects of many marketers. For our...
McKinsey: Can CMOs and CFOs be friends?
CMOs and CFOs always had a special relationship. Five steps can strengthen the ties between the two.
Insurance marketing: Springboard or career break?
Egon Zehnder: Can a management position in insurance marketing act as a springboard for a career leading to the top? Egon Zehnder International took a deeper look.
Customer focus matters most for growth
McKinsey: It takes a mix of talent to pursue a variety of growth strategies simultaneously. Companies looking for growth should focus on leaders with a capacity to understand customers’ evolving needs.
Egon Zehnder: The CMO, architect of consumer centricity
Egon Zehnder: Markets are merging; smart, self-confident consumers are sharing their views. As the voice of the consumer in the executive suite, today’s CMO must drive customer orientation and innovation, build bridges and bring skills.
CMO 2.0
A new study shows that the CMO role is now becoming an essential function in companies, but there is still a long way to go to achieve influence and control. Spurring CMOs on to take charge!
Future CMO challenges
What are the challenges facing CMOs? What are their worries? What ideas are available to help with these? IBM brings us the latest.
Is there a payoff from top-team diversity?
McKinsey: Between 2008 and 2010, companies with more diverse top teams were also top financial performers. That’s probably no coincidence.
Do firms need CMOs?
A US study has caused a stir: firms with a CMO on the management team are not more successful than firms without a CMO. Do we need CMOs? CMOs now need to prove their worth.