Marketing Goals & Culture

Marketing goals and culture matter.

Whatever industry you're in, when C-suite leadership makes decisions, we're often not choosing between marketing or technical options; we're making business and culture choices. The culture you establish impacts the quality of work you produce. Marketers discuss the Marketing Stack and how it relates to the culture you're building. Let’s discuss how a better understanding of how Marketers work can positively influence the decisions of the CFO, CEO, and other top executives, whether you’re in-house or consulting. When we make marketing choices, we also make business and cultural choices.

Here’s some knowledge dropped by super bright people, sometimes marketers, often not. Sharing it here to inspire and to illustrate how the brilliant people I interviewed lean into some of these values and principles that drive culture that supports marketing performance.  

Who's at the Table?:

• Listen, Clarify, Debate, Decide. Turn on the rock tumbler—debate polishes both ideas and people. Invite people into the framework, welcome it, model it, encourage it.

• When partners and teammates participate in both decisions and learning, we maintain flexibility.

• Transparent decision-making processes prevent blame and complaint.

Communication & Feedback:

• Don’t assume knowledge. 

• Saying what you want to hear is nice—people sugarcoat feedback to make you feel good today. Sharing what you need to hear is kind—people speak honestly to help you do better tomorrow. Candor is an act of care.

• The power of honest communication is immeasurable, but keep it civil. I want conversations with less heat and more light. 

• Challenge directly, care personally. Share information transparently, openly, broadly, and deliberately.

• The burden of understanding lies with the educator, not the listener.

Work & Priorities:

• What you work on matters more than how hard you work.

• The more you try to do, the less you accomplish.

• Money and time accommodate what we prioritize—your values show in how you spend your dollars and hours.

• If you say yes to this, what are you saying no to?

Innovation & Culture: 

• The best competitive ideas don't come from one big priority or one person—they come from iterations within a culture of innovation.

• Culture equals values plus behavior.

Personal Growth & Wisdom:

• We don't learn from experience; we learn from reflection on that experience.

• Intelligence shows what you know; wisdom integrates what everyone knows.

• Intelligence advances personal agendas; wisdom guides groups toward shared goals. 

Perfectionism & Progress: 

• 90% perfect and published continuously beats 100% perfect and stuck in your head.

• Never ask perfectionism if it's time to share your gift—it will always say 'Not yet.' Give us what's great. Don't make us wait for what's perfect. 

• Perfectionism is fear dressed up in a tuxedo.

Relationships & Belonging:

• The opposite of belonging is fitting in.

Institutions & Systems:

• Providers get paid more for doing something to you than for you. The most expensive and worst outcomes are sometimes shaped by financial considerations rather than understanding the whole picture and embracing holistic care.

• Institutions are ultimately groups of people who have agreed to serve a mission together.

Freedom & Responsibility:

• The most critical measure of success isn't status, power, or wealth—it's how much freedom you have and give others.

• Choosing how to spend your time is a right; using resources to help others gain that right is a responsibility.

Stress & Resilience: 

• Stress gives us access to our hearts and the strength to connect with others. When you view stress as helpful, you create the biology of courage. 

Writing & Storytelling: 

• No stories without data, no data without stories.

Decision-Making & Leadership:

• Data needs to be precise and directional; it doesn't have to be perfect or accurate.

Framework for Better Decisions:

• Are people able to bring their data to problem-solving?

• Is it clear how decisions get made and what success looks like?

• Outputs matter less than outcomes.

• Every decision is an experiment - execute it, share the data, and learn from the results.

You can assign marketing teams tasks, but the culture you foster influences the outcomes and the quality of work you deliver. Having alignment on what success looks like and what you’re offering is the best gift you can give a marketer. Effective marketers begin with a plan that includes clear goals and objectives, followed by well-defined strategies and tactics.