The Future CMO Summit featuring General Motors, JPMorgan Chase, Coach and Mondelez

23:55Have you thought about that yet? You probably haven't. You're not at the end of the program yet, but what do you think you'll want to talk about? I've got a couple things. I mean, one is just around like how we speed up our content process and how we start producing more content, testing more content that like really hit home for me here. And I think it's something that we need to focus a bit more on. And then secondly, to build on your point a little bit earlier, it's like, I think organizationally, how do you ensure your organization is set up for success to be able to deliver at speed for content, but for our marketing overall.

24:26And so I think like two key themes for me has been on kind of content creation and then organizational excellence. Yeah, for me, similar. So two things too as well. One is actually specific content creation, specifically organic social. I think we're looking at it a little bit too much as like the last thing we do after we've done everything else. It's not really an afterthought, but it feels a little bit separate. And actually the conversation yesterday starting me to rethink this, like it's actually way more foundational. like you know it's a testing ground for your creative and we should put out a way bigger volume of contents and really put it at the heart of the ecosystem so that's one thing and the other thing is more organizational so the way we are set up is we're truly like more end-to-end pnl owners so and that's great the model works you know and we've kind of established that model two or three years ago it's the way to go but how do we carve out time within that model to be more focused on these things and to really prepare for the future.

25:24Yeah. You both said organizational design model. Interesting. Yeah. Melissa, General Motors, what do you think? Yeah. I think I touched on this a little bit already and we've sort of been circling around it, but the comfortable with the discomfort and some of that is with speed to market. Some of that is with topics or trends or formats that we might not have thought were on brand or fit the mold, but that you sort of never know where greatness is going to come from to borrow from other brands. And so I think that's a piece of it of, you know, it's sort of a little bit of better done than perfect mentality, given that everything is moving so quickly.

26:01So that would be one. And then number two, I mean, just one of the biggest things, especially being new in this category and new to the organization, is just what other brands can we take inspiration from? So, I mean, sort of hearing about other people's campaigns and things that have worked for them and even others coming up to me and saying, oh, I had this idea. Being able to run with that is really exciting and fun. Yeah, sure. Katie, how about yourself? What are you going to talk about with your boss? I think a few things come to mind. The first is speed, just like having an action towards a bias towards action and being able to move, being nimble and not being afraid to test and learn.

26:35We talked about like the rapid acceleration of content development, how we're turning out content, how we need to maybe not be as precious with the content we're putting out on organic social so that we can learn from the consumer, then take something, adapt it. Maybe that becomes a new performance marketing ad. So that connection of organic to paid was really interesting. So I think speed was something that comes to mind, you know, working for a big company, you definitely have kind of the layers of approval, but how do you really have that startup mentality feel a little scrappy? I think we need a little bit of that.

27:07That's kind of the magic and logic that we talk about as tapestry and bringing that into the fold a little bit more. And then I think the next is around organizational things as well. I think one of the things that struck me in your chat too is we often say, oh, we're on the marketing team. I'm on the global brand team, but we're actually all business people. And so I think that was a reframing that I really enjoyed of I'm not a marketer, I'm a business person. And, you know, it's been shared that more CMOs are becoming CEOs. And so really kind of approaching with my team and the discussions that we're having, the impact of marketing to drive the brand and how marketing is servicing the brand to really achieve those brand goals.

27:45I think that's an important discussion and excited to take that back. So these are things you want to talk with your boss when you're back. And when you now think about your teams that you're going to return to, is it the same thing? Or do you have other things you might want to talk about with your teams, maybe even about yourself and what you might've learned about how you lead while you're talking to others out here in the Berkshires. So anything different you want to talk about with your team, Stephen? I think I'm on a journey there. So I'm a big sports fan, soccer in particular. So I overused the metaphors, but I apply this one always to my own career, which for the past 10 years or so, I wanted to be the playmaker.

28:21So I want to be in a central, decisive position on the field. I want to influence and be decisive in terms of how we play, the rhythm of the game, all that stuff. And it's also what I like about marketing. like you touch all these different things but what i'm realizing is i really have to evolve to being the coach and not the playmaker and that that's hard because i like to be on the field especially when i know i add value and the things that i just like to do but i think my the biggest thing i can do for my team is to actually fully unleash them by being the coach encouraging them being there having their backs in the moments that i do it you know it always turns out great and it's probably more rewarding for everybody involved.

29:04So that's something I want to actively bring back and share it with them so they can hold me accountable too. Any thoughts from the three of you to help Steven on that goal? Because no, it's not an uncommon one. To some extent, I think every time you move up in an organization, you have to sort of rethink that. Where's my unique value here? And it probably isn't at your level doing the work. It's guiding, inspiring, removing barriers. That's sort of, any advice? I mean, I share a similar sentiment in terms of goal, as you said, as you move up, how do you, and I mean, it's funny, we talked about brands being willing to relinquish some level of control, you know, relinquishing control, at least of the sort of individual deliverable and of the output.

29:43And it's funny, we sort of all recognize the collective brand needs to do that, but we're more hesitant to do it for ourselves or as leaders. And so maybe that's, we need to take a page out of that book. And then, I mean, the other thing for me is just, you talked about really building the best team and making sure that, you know, you understand your players and that you're comfortable and secure in doing that as the coach, right? You want to feel the best team. And also just like understanding them and what makes them tick and how they're going to respond best to coaching and that type of thing.

30:10You know, I think about that a lot as leaders, because I think I know my own particular style pretty strongly, but that may or may not work for everyone. And, you know, making sure that it works for the team as a unit and not just individuals. You have to create like the right rituals in place to enable that. I think it can be hard for us to relinquish the control. And so I think having the right processes in place with your team so that they are free to run, but you still feel like you have the right checkpoints because at the end of the day, we're accountable still, right? So for me, I've found kind of putting in place some of those things has helped, but agree, I'm still on that journey myself.

30:48You're right. Sometimes it's as simple as those are meetings I will not be joining going forward. You guys run it. Any issues? Let me know. Or you set up, you know, a weekly forum where everyone comes and shares creative. So at least you have eyes on it at some point before it goes out the door. We do, you know, weekly emails where it's highlights from the week as to what different teams did. So I think there's some rituals you can build in. But yeah, it takes time. And I'll just add, I think that that relinquishing of control becomes a lot easier when you all are aligned on that North Star. So we've kind of talked about like building that shared consciousness, having that really be deeply embedded in your team, which gives you the confidence and trust to step out a little bit.

31:26So I think that's something, too, that, you know, we all want to kind of it's easier to do sometimes. But and we can't in this level that we're getting to to be able to teach, but have that trust that we all are marching towards the same end goal and have that strong shared consciousness, I think, allows them to kind of have the freedom to to march towards that. The other thing I often talk about with my team, which it's easy for this to take the back burner because it's like at the end of a stressful week, you've done everything to put everything out into the market, but it's like marketing and marketing.

32:00And it's cliche, but it just hopefully that gives a sense of security and trust that even if something is ultimately, quote unquote, a failure, which I don't think most things are that, you know, there's a learning in that and celebrating the wins and highlighting, you know, the learnings from things that didn't turn out as planned. I can take my own advice, but something I'm often encouraging them to do so they can celebrate us and the team and what we've put forward.

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33:07Danielle, when you return, what are you going to talk about with your team? I think what I will talk about with them is how we do a better job of seeing around corners. I think what I've learned from the last 24 hours is just, you know, knew it, but really drove it home for me, especially last night with Gary, which is just like how much the world is changing and how we really need to be spending the time to make sure we're seeing around the corners. and not just knowing what the latest trends are, but understanding how that is going to impact both our business and the way in which we market. And so I really want to spend some time, especially with my leadership team, thinking about how do we make sure that we are doing that?

33:42And yes, we've talked about carving out time, but I think there's something different we need to be doing as a team to make sure that we're seen around the corner. Yeah. When I became CMO at P &G, my CEO said to me a very profound statement. He said, there are very few people in this company thinking beyond the next two years. Very few. And he said, you have to be one of them. And I think especially you, because we are charged with being understanding consumers, society, trends, culture. So if we don't do it, so I think it's a very powerful and empowering thought. And it's not something people carve out the time to do.

34:17And so much of what we've spent time on has been playing a little bit of catch up. And now I feel like we're almost there. And now is the time actually for us to put our foot on the accelerator and see what's coming in the next two years and prepare for it. Katie, how about yourself when you return? What are you going to talk about with your team? I think I'm going to encourage them to spend more time with our consumers. So whether that's going in store or we sometimes have the opportunity to do more deeper in-home immersions, ethnographic research with our consumers. But we've talked about customer centricity a lot and socially formed campaigns that come from consumer insights.

34:51And that really starts with knowing your consumer in and out and being an expert in them so that you can then speak to them in a way that connects with them emotionally on a deeper, more intrinsic level beyond just product. And when you have that and when you have that connection, that human element comes into play and then you've hooked them. So I think that that can happen at all tiers of content. And we talked about it happening on the social and the organic content. But how do then we extrapolate that to maybe some of our bigger brand campaigns and really keep that at the forefront of all of our communication.

35:23So we don't get into stores enough. I think we need to like get out into stores, really spend time with our consumers. And that's what I'm going to bring back. You talked about being a better coach with Steven. How about your, will you talk about that with your team, Melissa, or other things? Absolutely. I mean, I think for me, it invites the, what feedback do they have for me? Right. And, and how do, how do I create a culture and an atmosphere that they can come and sort of say what's working, what's not working and be part of the solution, the forward thinking, what is a way that we can better get in front of the customer?

35:55How can I better support them and the projects and their own growth and development as well? Self-awareness is very important, right? I think for anyone at any point in their life and a goal, obviously being together is to increase the self-awareness of yourself as a leader. I talked a bit about this morning that I was at a different conference also for people who are on the path to be CMOs and a bunch of them weren't sure they wanted that job. So I'd like to ask you from the time you've been here, is there anything about yourself in the self-awareness camp that's dawned on you, that's been reaffirmed?

36:30You know, anything about like, you know, I really do enjoy taking breaks in nature and I have, you know, because obviously we're here in beautiful nature, but something that has been like, hmm, I need to do a bit more of that or I need to be a bit more cognizant of this way I show up? Anything like that come to you while you've been here? One thing for me is this notion of feeling uncomfortable. Even coming to something like this isn't something that is like natural to me, but I've learned so much. And so it's just a reminder that we should actually always feel uncomfortable because it does mean that you're growing and you're learning and you're pushing yourself.

37:08And I think in our day-to-day, if we felt too comfortable, I think it would just mean we were coasting. You know, it's just been a good reminder to me to continue to push outside of my comfort zone, whether it is with the networking, whether it's with channels I'm not as familiar, brands I'm not as familiar with, et cetera. I need to make sure I'm doing that. That's when you grow. Yeah, absolutely. Sort of circling the same theme. And we talked about this this morning. I think you asked, you know, does anyone feel imposter syndrome? And I think it's only natural, right, to, you know, I talked to some of the others in the group about CMOs come from sort of different walks of life these days.

37:43We've all grown up with a different sort of trajectory. You talked about your sort of uncommon journey and this notion of generalist specialist. Did you come from social? Did you come from brand? Did you come from traditional? Did you come from digital? And so I think, you know, there's a reassurance and a camaraderie in we all look a little different. And yet, to your point, we're all sharing similar challenges and struggles and passions and excitement. What you do with it is really what's going to sort of define us as leaders? And can you sort of feel the fear and do it anyway mentality? I'll piggyback on that.

38:16I think I was quite nervous about coming here. It's kind of my first conference and experience of this sort and was very honored and privileged to be here, but it also has met with a little bit of nerves. And I kind of realized that I thrive in cultures where there's a foundation of psychological safety. I think the team at Boehner did an amazing job right away at breaking the ice. Gary's such a pro. We're all here, you know, for a common reason, finding common ground and immediately felt at ease. And Jim, to your kind of keynote this morning, it set the tone for the day. I think that to me was an aha moment.

38:52And how do I foster that at the culture where I work and at coach? How do I create that for my team? Because when that psychological safety exists in that environment, I think then what you can achieve is limitless. So that was a bit of an aha moment. And yeah, I got to do a better job at that. And then telling myself when I'm in these environments, that it is a safe space to be who I am, bring my experiences to the table and not feel intimidated or nervous. Steve, anything with you? Yeah. So I think we sometimes underestimate the power of marketing, both external, but also internal. And I've noticed it within doing the super bowl for the first time ever in riches history for example like it just drives so much pride and enthusiasm and that's what i want to do on a fuel that engine for marketing as a whole to drive that engagement and you mentioned uh having a north star that's something that we've done really well i think when we just like we said instead of like a two three year goal within our categories like this is the five and the ten year goal within the broader snacking landscape that's who we want to be and that's the roadmap and even just simple things like that, it really just helps to energize everybody.

40:01And it speaks to the power of the brands and clear visions. Now we're in the setting, I think I was looking at the brochure today and there's like 50 classes a day here. So you haven't had time for that because you've been doing other things, but I do want to end on a note of what do you, we're in a center of renewal here in the mountains, a spa. What do you do personally to be sure you're renewing yourself? You know, And that is a big word, right? Because there's lots of ways you can do that. And we all have our probably habits and our preferences. But when you feel like you might be getting a little tired, a little stale, or a little fuzzy in the head, what do you sort of do to reboot?

40:40For me, it's sports. Playing, not watching. Yes, playing. So we're watching too, but it's different. So we talked about being in the flow this morning. When I'm on a soccer field or playing tennis, I'm just in the flow. I don't think about anything else. It's about the ball in the moment. my opponent and you know the teammates i just love that i like go to a completely different place mentally i come back and i'm you know the film of the game is still playing my mind and i'm in a completely different place and that's important for you because it takes your mind to something else so when you come back you're more fresh yeah i think so because any other activity you kind of work is always somewhere there even if it's only occupies you know three percent of whatever you're thinking of when you're fully focused on something else i think that's when you recharge.

41:26So it's kind of funny. It's not so much about just relaxing and sitting and doing nothing. It's actually by doing something else in a very focused and active way that I tend to recharge. Melissa, do you drive a Formula One car when you want to relax? You know, I was going to make a joke though about I'm new to auto, but I do find now when I'm driving that these thoughts come to me a lot. And so I'm using like voice notes and things like that because I can't jot notes. Obviously I practice safe driving. I think for me, it is a little bit about and similar to Stephen, sort of how do you get hands and body involved in something else?

41:59That sort of is clarity of mind for me. Get some exercise, get outside. I now live in South Carolina, so I like to enjoy the sunshine down there. And it's funny, I mean, for a group that is probably like so chronically online, I think sometimes it's nice to have a little bit of a digital detox. We're practicing that here and it's been very freeing in that regard. So yeah, I mean, exercise, digital downtime, using my hands. So I like to cook. That's a passion point of mine. So a few of us were joking here that we got the best sleep that we have had, have had in a while. And I think it plays off to what you're saying.

42:36Like last night, we were all in the room having great conversation, having one conversation because that's Gary's rule, having a conversation together. The phones were away. It was an amazing evening. And then we all went to bed. the beds are so comfortable so it's like the the power of the power of restorative sleep i know it sounds silly but in this go go go world i i can say admittedly i'm not getting enough sleep i'm not getting proper sleep i'm up late i'm up early but really resting the mind and kind of having that time to to restore along with the working out eating healthy but sleep is a huge factor in kind of your mental sharpness and how you wake up and kind of approach each day and show up as your best self, like feeling rested and sharp and ready to take on the day.

43:21So yes, going to try to clock a few more hours tonight. Danielle, the last word. Big sleeper. I was a little disappointed I didn't get my eight hours last night, but that's okay. I'm a huge walker. And so for me, especially when I'm trying to tackle a meaty problem at work, even though I live in New York City, I've got two very great park walks that I love to do. And I will just pop in some music and kind of tackle, okay, what is that org chart? What should that look like? What about that social problem? You know, this, that. So I'll put in, you know, three or four miles just to, and sometimes I will listen to your podcast as well, Jim, but that's kind of like my decompression is going for a really nice long walk.

43:59Okay. It wasn't the last question. You brought up the podcast. We've been at this for several years now, trying to help CMOs with their roles. That's the role of this podcast, benchmarking, inspiration, ideas, anything you want us to cover on the show? Any topics, issues, people, industries? I think a common theme that you heard even today was around organizational structure. I know you touch on it sometimes. I think that to me is like how you best set up organizations for success, different types of marketing organizations, especially as the world continues to change. For me, that's something I just want to continue to hear more about.

44:36Love that. So personally, I like to work a future back. So I wonder if there could be some kind of episode about, you know, futurist or whatever, like 10 years from now, what does the landscape look like? It's good. I love that. I am fascinated by the relationship of time and productivity. Like, so time is finite, but as you move up more and more, you know, is in your purview, is on your plate, how do you work more efficiently? How can you do the same for your team? How do you rethink your time and where it's best that you place your time and your value to drive the most results. So I think that that's a really interesting concept and one that I'm kind of taking away from this weekend to digest and hopefully give some thought to as I approach my role, which now has an expanded scope of how do I better manage my time and still drive productivity with everything that is currently at hand.

45:26I guess really, I mean, we've circled a lot around just where, and I mean, I know you ask your guests about this, but sort of unexpected places for inspiration, whether it's another person in a different walk of their life, outside of the brand world, outside of marketing, you know, how do you look for inspiration in unexpected places? How has that shaped, you know, their marketing outlook or some unexpected lesson they took back to the brand maybe? That's a great point. You know, I teach a class in Cannes every year and this year to lead off the class, it's a marketing class, right? It's for CMOs or next gen CMOs one step away.

45:59I'm bringing in the team that brought us the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics. Wow. That's awesome. Which to me was like one of the most creative ideas I've ever seen in my life with all sorts of barriers to execution. How did they do it? And so on brand, like for that city and that culture. Yeah. But I think it was brilliant. And I think there's a lot we can learn from how that, where that idea came from, how they developed, executed, measured. So that's going to be our opening act in the program because level of inspiration, it's unexpected, but I think there's going to be so many lessons for us because we're all trying to do that, right?

46:36Do something important and breaks through and causes people to be moved. And I'm sure there were a lot of mistakes they made along the way. So like, what were they? How did they learn from that? And it rained. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How do you prepare for everything? Yes. And they owned it too because there was a little bit of pushback also at some point, but they fully owned it. They didn't walk away from it. Well, thank you all for taking time away from the pool, the gym, the spa, a coffee with some some colleagues. I really appreciate it. It's been wonderful. Thank you. This was great. Thank you so much.

47:03Thank you, Jim. That was my conversation with Melissa, Danielle, Katie, and Stephen. It was a good one. Three takeaways from this one for your business brand and life. The first one, this is kind of an evergreen takeaway, but we absolutely don't talk about it enough. It's important to bring the outside in, spend more time outside your four walls, outside your industry, outside your normal circle of advisors and friends. These four talk so much about how much they're getting from each other in the conversations, sharing their tensions, sharing their issues, and getting counsel from them. Bring the outside in.

47:36Second takeaway, these are all leaders who someday just might be CMOs. In fact, that's the reason they were at the summit. They all talk about the evolution of going from being in the game, on the field as a player, to being more of a coach. That's a tough transition. Some people don't make that and therefore do not become the CMOs they could be. It's so powerful to think about how you evolve from a player to a coach. There's a lot of great lessons and insights in that topic. And third takeaway, importance of recharging through slowing down and also to participate in an activity which takes your mind away from a daily work.

48:11When your mind goes away from what you're wrestling with every day, you often come back refreshed and with some new insights. So it's important to recharge through slowing down. It's also important to recharge through sometimes amping up with some passion that you love. That's it for this episode of the CMO Podcast. If you found this helpful and entertaining, I would be so grateful if you could share our show with your friends. And I would be super happy if you subscribe so you can be updated as we publish new episodes. And if you really want to help, leave us a five-star rating and a positive review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

48:48The CMO Podcast is a Vive original production. Episodes of the CMO Podcast are produced by Vive. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of our sponsors or its personnel, nor do our sponsors advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes. Hi, everybody. I'm Andrea Sullivan, the CEO of Vive, and we have produced the CMO podcast with Jim Stengel for many years. And I'm sitting in his seat right now. It's so exciting. I wanted to tell you a little bit about one of our programs. It's called Vive by Vayner.

49:28It's a 12-month program that's designed for C-suiters and founders. And we want to help people to grow their businesses, but also to grow themselves. And so we bring in people from Shark Tank to talk to our founders, but we also focus on wellness. We want to make sure that people are leaning into becoming their best selves, their best and happiest selves. So if you are someone that wants to learn how to grow your business and grow yourself, check us out at Vive.co. That's V-Y-V-E dot co. We'd love to talk to you.