I had a great conversation this week with Colin Buechler, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Lifesize, a fast-growing video conferencing company, about improving collaboration between the sales organization and the marketing organization. Colin recently added the sales responsibility to his role after guiding the marketing function over the past several years. He has encouraged his team to drop the term “ownership” and replace it with “accountability.” His insight is applicable to the relationships between any two groups or individuals, not just sales and marketing.

Let’s look at these two words according to the Random House Dictionary:

Ownership 1. the state or fact of being an owner 2. legal right of possession; proprietorship

Accountability 1. the state of being accountable, liable or answerable

There is a lot of talk in business journals about getting employees to “take ownership.” The problem with that terminology is it implies I own something and you don’t. This is often used in the context of defining roles and responsibilities. With employment anxiety, owning something is felt to be justification for job security and therefore validates the continued need for a person’s role. It is also used to “keep people off my turf” and conveys an attitude of “I don’t need you.” It leads to extended and contentious conversations that are often unproductive and trust diminishing.

Accountability, on the hand, implies responsibility but not independent authority. It clearly communicates that you have an important role to play and that you take it seriously. It also leaves open the possibilities that you can work with others to achieve the goals for which you are accountable. Stephen Covey says, “accountability breeds response-ability.”

Language is an important tool for building collaborative relationships. If your team is struggling with this issue, try shifting the terminology to accountability from ownership and see if it helps you as it has Colin.

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Why the difference between “ownership” and “accountability” can be huge

I wanted to share a few of the blogs written by CMOs that I follow and add some new ones I hadn’t seen before. What I discovered in researching new ones is that there are very few blogs written by CMOs! I was amazed and a bit disappointed by what I found. Here we are in a year when social media is all the rage and the executives who should be showing the way are absent. Sure, many of them support corporate blogs, but that’s different. And, yes, many CMOs are on Twitter (more on that in another post soon). But come on ladies and gentlemen. Step up!

You are the brand champions for your companies. The change agents for marketing. The ones who say you lead by example. So where are you? I searched Google for “CMO Blogs” and you  weren’t to be found. In fact the Top 10 List of CMO Bloggers returned in the search was published in 2006.

So my hats off to these five CMOs for taking time to share their thoughts in more than 140 characters!

1. Nigel Dessau: Hosted on the AMD blog site, Nigel shares his insights on the business in a personal way. But he also writes separate blog called The Three Minute Mentor, which contains quick, career-related advice and offers answers to common questions.
2. Sam Decker: Soon-to-be former CMO of BazaarVoice, Sam shares his insights on social commerce and digital marketing.
3. Jim Davis: Jim is the CMO of SAS and shares his insights on business, analytics and technology.
4. John Dragoon: When John, CMO of Novell,  takes time to write a post, he really writes a thoughtful piece.
5. Randall Beard: As EVP of Nielsen, Randall shares his insights from his vantage point of seeing lots of media data.

I was going to include Barry Judge from BestBuy but he hasn’t posted in a year (moved to Twitter) and Jeffrey Haylett, but he left Kodak for his book and television future.

Who am I missing? There must be more CMO bloggers out there. Let me know who you follow. Also weigh in on why there aren’t more out there.

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

5 good CMO blogs. Why aren’t there more?

Peter Horst SVP, Capital One Bank

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Peter Horst for years; he’s now Senior Vice President of Marketing at Capital One Bank, and I’ve always found him to be a smart and thoughtful marketing leader. So it was a pleasure to discuss his approach to starting his new role at the bank. Among the key steps he took in his first month was to publish what became known as “Peter’s Principles,” a summary of his beliefs about building and operating a high-performance marketing organization. His four tenets are simply stated but powerful if followed. Peter insists on:

1. Clear Accountability: Be 100% aligned with the clients’ business goals and priorities; share the successes, yet have clear accountabilities; be transparent in your actions.
2. Brilliant Execution: Always be on time, on budget, on strategy, on brand; be highly coordinated and totally aligned; set clear expectations and deliver on them consistently with efficient processes and rapid response.
3. Bold Moves: Bring new and provocative thinking with a clear, strong point of view; continuously test bold hypotheses and make major impacts on the business.
4. Seamless Collaboration: Act as one company, one team and one outcome; have each others’ backs; engage in candid dialogue and constructive yet respectful conflict; no drama, no intrigue, no in-fighting, none!

I was particularly struck by that last point. Creating a culture of “no drama, no intrigue and no in-fighting” is not easy, especially in large companies in challenging industries. It starts at the top by declaring a zero-tolerance policy and then reinforcing it with actions on a daily basis. Yet, in the end, it creates an environment that is not only more fun to work in, but one that performs better.

What are your operating principles for building a high-performance marketing organization? If you don’t have any, consider borrowing Peter’s. If you do have a set of principles, please share them with us.

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How to build a high-performance marketing organization: lessons from Capital One Bank’s marketing leader, Peter Horst

Are you feeling any of the following:

• Frustration that the economy and budgets remain challenged?
• Exhaustion from working hard just to stay afloat?
• Dismay that it may take two more years just to get back to where you were two years ago?

If so, you are not alone. So why do I believe that it is time to choose the attitude of optimism for the second half of 2010? Not because I have a crystal ball that significantly better economic conditions are just around the corner, because I don’t. It’s because the change in perspective from half-empty to half-full can effect your outcome more than you think.

Sports psychologists counsel their player to turnaround their performance by simply walking with their heads up instead of staring at the ground in the “woe is me” posture. This basic act has a physiological effect on the athlete that improves their mental and physical acuity, which ultimately impacts how well they perform.

The same is true in business. Focusing on assets and opportunities over shortcomings and obstacles makes it easier to see what’s possible and channel your energies in that direction. A great ambassador of this philosophy is Bert Jacobs, co-founder of Life is Good. I spent an evening with Bert at an Inc 500 event a few years ago and was impressed by how he turned a simple idea into a terrific company. If you want a bit of encouragement from him, watch the video embedded on the article page of this post.

I recently used a song at our “half time” meeting that will be my theme song for the rest of the year. Bing Crosby and Dr. John have both sung these lyrics:

You’ve got to accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative. Don’t mess with Mister In-Between.

As a marketing leader, you set the tone for your organization. Your positive energy can be contagious. Your sense of what’s possible, encouraging. Your hope for the future, inspiring. As you set out for the second half of this year, which half of the glass will you be focused on?

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

A case for optimism

I’ve been following a debate that was prompted by a column in Entrepreneur Magazine by George Cloutier, The Turnaround Ace. The title, “Your Company Is not a Democracy: The most effective leaders are benevolent dictators who hold employees accountable,” sums up his point of view. Here are a few of the more provocative assertions:

• Let your employees respect but fear you
• Tell your employees: “Don’t think — obey”
• The only opinion that counts is that of ownership
• It’s not your job to dispense praise, affirmation, hugs and cookies to your staff

He does make some good points. Provide clear direction. Reward success. Hold people accountable. Fire poor performers.

A contrary perspective was provide in the post “Biased Justification for Poor Leadership” by Mike Henry. Mike asserts being a tyrant is not being a good leader. “Employees are declaring independence, leaving jobs and going on their own, because of tyrants just like this. If I have to wrangle cats or mow yards for a living, I’d do it to keep from working for another one of these ‘my way or the highway’ types.”

So my question for you is this. Do dictators make good marketing leaders? Do clarity of direction, speed of action, ruthless accountability and dispassionate decision-making outweigh inspiration, collaboration and employee engagement? Which style is most likely to yield positive company outcomes during difficult times? Have you worked with a dictator before? What was your experience? The company’s experience?

Mine was not pleasant! Working in an environment of fear was not productive. The “tyrant” was emotionally unstable, which created a high degree of uncertainty and a desire to get out as soon as possible. Fortunately for me, the “tyrant” was thrown out by the CEO before I had to leave. But the experience made a lasting impact on me.

How about you? What’s your story?

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Do dictators make good marketing leaders?

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Thus began a proclamation that changed the course of world history. It is hard to imagine today what conditions must have been like for people to risk everything for a cause in which  they believed so deeply. We take for granted the freedoms we have today that the first Americans were willing to fight and die for. So on this Fourth of July I wanted to reflect on a few lessons marketing change agents can learn from our founding fathers.

1. Having a clear purpose is unifying: The Declaration of Independence set forth the goal of  “dissolving the political bonds” and provided the clarity for why that purpose was just and worth fighting for. Companies that are centered on a “purpose beyond making money” find that they have a compelling and unifying reason for employees and customers to be enthusiastically engaged.

2. Being principled matters: Declaring that all people are entitled to the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was a bold way to state the principles for which the revolution stood. For leaders of change today, standing for something matters. Principles guide actions and actions speak louder than words. People will follow leaders who take a stand for what is right and who guide their decisions by a set of sound principles.

3. Nothing unites a team like being “all in”: Having a common cause to fight for can be unifying. Once the founding fathers signed their names to the document they knew there was no turning back. Failure was not an option. As Benjamin Franklin stated so succinctly, “We must hang together or assuredly we shall hang separately.”

Edmund Hillary said, “People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.” That’s what our founding fathers set out to do and in the process became extraordinary people.

What extraordinary things have you decided to accomplish?

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

Marketing leadership lessons from July 4, 1776

I just discovered John Moore’s blog, Brand Autopsy, and appreciate his recommendation of a new book by Harvard Business School professor Youngme Moon, entitled Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd. The video that explains the book is engaging and thought-provoking, so I’ve included it on the article page for this post.

I haven’t had a chance to read Moon’s book yet. If you have, what did you think about it?

In an age of fast followers, how long do you believe a brand can truly remain different? Who does this well today?

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

How can you be different?

Fast Company recently published its 2010 list of the most creative people in business. Quite an interesting list of names, some familiar and some not so familiar. Here is the top 10:

1. Lady Gaga, pop artist
2. Eddy Cue, Apple Interest Services
3. Elizabeth Warren, consumer advocate
4. Shiro Nakamura, Nissan
5. Ryan Murphy, creator, producer of Glee
6. Steve Burd, Safeway
7. Chris Anderson, TED conferences
8. Hannah Jones, Nike
9. James Cameron, filmmaker
10. Qi Lu, Microsoft

With 90 others names on the list, a few got left off that I’d suggest adding:

1. From government, Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, for his initiative to improve education systems by rewarding excellence.
2. From entertainment, Steve Levitan, co-creator and executive producer of Modern Family, the funniest show on television.
3. From business, Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, who restored hope that American car companies can succeed.

Creativity is often defined as the ability to create. To create is to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes. Based on these definitions, whom do you admire for their creativity?

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

100 Most Creative People in Business. Who’s missing?

Forbes just had a panel of marketers rate their favorite taglines of all times. It makes for interesting reading, some trips down memory lane and the natural pondering of how I would change the list. Here are the top five:

1. BMW: “The ultimate driving machine”
2. Nike: “Just do it”
3. American Express: “Don’t leave home without it”
4. Avis: “We try harder”
5. Milk Producers: “Got milk?”

This is a pretty strong list. Each tagline is a succinct expression of its brand personality and brand proposition; clarity of these two points allows marketers to help agencies write great taglines.

Here are my opinions on what I consider overrated entries:

1. Dunkin Donuts: “Time to make the donuts” (It must have been a regional campaign because I don’t recall it.)
2. Virginia Slims: “You’ve come a long way baby” (Something seems wrong about cigarettes as special treats.)
3. Hallmark: “When you care enough to send the very best” (A bit over the top for me. Should someone who gets a card care that it has Hallmark on the back?)

I’d replace these three with:

1. Memorex tapes: “Is it live or is it Memorex?” (A strong positioning as the best in its category.)
2. Ford trucks: “Built Ford Tough” (If Chevy’s “Like a Rock” makes the list, Ford should be there as well.)
3. Continental Airlines: “Work hard. Fly right.” (I like how this communicates with both the passengers and the employees in different  ways. It was part of the turnaround of a previously poorly run carrier.)

Now it’s your turn. What should come off the list and what should be added? I know you have an opinion.

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

25 best-loved advertising taglines: do you agree?

Inc Magazine just published the highlights of a new study from IBM on the most important attributes of CEOs in the future. The two most important ones were creativity and integrity. I’ve written previously about both attributes as important qualities for marketing leaders.

The study also highlighted the most important business dimension to focus on: getting closer to the customer. So if marketers excel at creating and communicating value to customers with creativity and integrity, who will be better prepared to lead companies in the future than marketers? In my opinion the era of company performance being attributed to financial cost-cutters is behind us. Those who can lead by creating value for customers will be in high demand at companies around the globe.

From your perspective, what else do marketing leaders need to do to rise to the top spot?

This is a post from Marketing Has Changed by John Ellett. Subscribe to my feed.

Why great marketing leaders will become CEOs of the future