Your Own System

Early in my consulting work, I visited a company. This company hosted a day-long strategy session. My job was to present customer findings, helping the merchandising and marketing and creative folks understand why customers were not achieving their potential.

After I shared my findings, the Marketing Professional gave a presentation about the future of marketing at that company. I prepared myself for an hour-long discussion of the innovations this person planned on implementing.

The presentation lasted maybe 10-15 minutes.

The Marketer essentially read from a white paper from a research brand, and even with that level of corporate malpractice the Professional sampled ten points of nonsense down to one point that he planned on implementing in the upcoming year.

It was the most tepid presentation I've witnessed in the twelve years I've been a consultant.

The Marketing Professional did not have his own system. He was reliant upon a third party for ideas. He had no confidence, no answers ... he had no clue. The research brand he paid, however, they knew how to monetize his lack of confidence.

The New Marketing Leader must have their own system ... a set of practices and concepts that seamlessly fit together and have been used previously to generate success. The New Marketing Leader communicates the system with enthusiasm, causing skeptical co-workers to buy into the system.

Tomorrow I'll address areas in the Great Eight, sharing with you the moments over more than three decades in my profession that shaped the system I advocate.

Now, if you are a sports fan, this article (click here) will prepare you for what is coming ... in particular, the article discusses "grafting" ideas on to a solid foundation. That's what I'm looking for from you, the new Marketing Leader.