Our Why
It’s Time for Marketing Leaders to Unite to Drive Global Change.
When I started my career in marketing in 1989, the world was on the verge of global digital transformation. It was such an exciting time to be a marketer. The promise of technology, global connectivity, and a modern digital global society felt almost too good to be true. Back then, marketing had been, for decades, a force for shaping culture, influencing consumer behavior, and driving mass desire for goods and services and a level of unprecedented consumption. Marketing was considered a scientific discipline informed by the world’s foremost human behaviorists proven to make consumers feel things, want things, and to spend without worrying about their own well-being or the broader systemic implications. And damn, were we good! We didn’t necessarily know it then, but now it’s easy to track much of where we are culturally, environmentally, and socioeconomically today back to 20th century marketing techniques. Back then, we could easily become rock stars by developing creative ideas that captured the hearts and minds of people around the world and sent the wealth of corporations to staggering new heights. Back then marketing was much more of a solo sport driven by a handful of creative geniuses. Egos were a dime a dozen and it was rare to actually consider the long-term ramifications of our efforts on our world.
Somewhere around 2008, after having launched my 10th version of Microsoft Office, I had this overwhelming feeling of meaninglessness. I was paying attention to the sustainability movement. I was becoming attuned to conditions in the world that felt unacceptable to me. It felt like I could be using my talents to do more than just growing giant global corporations. Don’t get me wrong, I believe many corporations, like Microsoft, do a lot of good in the world, but this felt different. It felt like a calling. As I meditated on the question, “How can I help,” an answer came. “Harness the power of consumer demand to drive rapid, radical change.” I knew immediately what that meant. The power we as marketers have to shape consumer desires and connect that to commercial activity is one of the most powerful forces in business today. We had the power to lead the way forward. So why weren’t we? For me it was a confidence and skills thing. “Who am I to do this?” “What do I know about transformational change?” And that’s where this journey started.
As we navigate the spincycle of global transformation, driven by the crisis created by our commercial world, many of us share a profound sense of urgency that things aren’t changing fast enough. Conscious business leaders in my world are aware of the fact that it’s going to take a lot more than legislative actions to change our culture, create equality on a global scale, and reverse the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. It’s going to take the same passion, creativity, and discipline we applied to get us where we are now, to actually move us forward. But now, unlike the ego-driven days of marketing rockstars, this will require us to act together rather than seeking a solo stage. It’s time to say goodbye to the greed and desire for status that drove us in those days and embrace a new motivation, global transformation.
This is a massive paradigm shift in how we see our role as marketers, lead from our positions in the C-suite, and show up for our teams. Yet, many CMOs are shrinking back from taking a stand and leading. Given our mandate for driving growth in a marketplace where growth seems illusive, we’re the most vulnerable member of the C-suite often spending more of our time justifying our existence than leading the way towards the future. But what if we could feel confident in our role as leaders? What if we were supported by a community of like-minded change makers taking a stand and leading together? What if we put our collective creative geniuses together and took responsibility for leading the way through?
As storytellers and brand creators, talent cultivators and corporate consciences, market empaths and growth drivers, CMOs bring invaluable perspective and truth-telling to this new way of operating. But being a force for change and navigating this unknown isn’t easy or always intuitive. Innovating the future demands a new kind of approach. We need new capacities for this new world order, new allies to change the game for good.
I’ve been on a long journey seeking the skills and knowledge I need and I’m still growing. In the golden years of my career, I am committed to using my power as a marketer to lead change and to helping others do the same. I want to spend the next 15 years surrounded by change-makers, empowering up-and-coming marketers, and helping to rebuild the world we all want to live in. Over the course of my career I’ve been blessed to learn from visionary transformational leaders who can help us find our way. That team is assembling now and I can’t wait to see who shows up next.
If this resonates with you. Please join me. Together we can leave a legacy of lasting impact.
Mary Gilbert
Marketing transformation leader, executive founder of Infinite Edge Consulting.