Leading in Uncertain Times

Drew: Hello, Renegade Marketers! You know what? It’s time for another Drew on Drew episode where I challenge myself with some of the toughest questions I ever ask anybody on this show. Anyway, we’re doing this because it’s time to talk about leading in uncertain times and man, they are uncertain, but I bet some people are wondering. How uncertain are they?

Drew: Well, Drew, thanks for asking. It is fricking crazy out there. If you have government business at all, it’s quite possible contracts were frozen or canceled. We’ve got tariffs disrupting markets, these macro situations. We’ve got new pressures on businesses to suppress DEI and ESG initiatives. Oh, and AI is disrupting everything. So there’s a lot to talk about here, Drew. So should we dive into some of this?

Drew: What I’m really wondering is how will all of this impact the economy at large? And, you know, I mean, frankly, it’s anyone’s guess, but there’s probably a bigger impact, which is uncertainty. Businesses hate uncertainty, markets hate uncertainty, and specifically CFOs really hate uncertainty. And it’s this moment, these kinds of moments where they roll up like armadillos and kill deals faster than you can say, I don’t know, ESG, which means that B2B companies are going to find it even harder to land new customers as if it was easy. So Drew, the big question of the hour is, what’s a savvy marketing leader to do in uncertain times?

Drew: Okay. Well, nice, easy question. Thanks for that. By the way. The first answer is go micro.

Drew: Wait, what?

Drew: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So it’s uncertainty. So in this moment, we’re going to focus on controlling the controllables. And that starts in an interesting place with yourself, with yourself. I got to keep the hat on for this. Cause it’s just a quick question.

Drew: What do you mean?

Drew: So I talked to a CMO yesterday who was feeling a lot of pressure. Obviously there’s a lot of disruptions, a global company. They’re wondering how things are going to impact. And a lot of the impact is uncertain. So step number one, reinstated the Calm app on their phone and has started to craft a little bit of time. It’s only about 12 minutes to meditate each day for their daily meditation, just to bring a little calm. He’s also blocked his calendar for exercise three days a week, which is three times more than he was doing before. He’s also watching his food intake and maybe his drink intake a little more carefully. All of this in an effort to be sort of present, to be their best selves, to be calm, to be in control, because you can’t be an effective leader if you’re obviously anxious, if you’re stressed out or otherwise sort of indisposed. This is the moment where you’ve got to really lean into your empathy. Well, if you don’t have empathy, well, because you’re so screwed up, it’s going to be a problem.

Drew: Okay. I have to ask, you know, why empathy? I feel like we sort of covered that in 2020. What’s the big deal. This is hard. I’m going to just keep the hat on the whole time. Don’t you think? Okay.

Drew: Employees don’t expect you to have all the answers. But they do expect you to care about them and their individual situation. And a little care can go a long way. Just for example, acknowledging the craziness of the current situation, acknowledging that yeah, their fear may be justified because who knows if the markets are going to go up or down and business is going to improve or not, but you can care about them and you can make time for them and you can do regular updates for them. And it’s interesting as I was talking to another CMO, literally yesterday who talked about a program they initiated a few years ago, where they brought in this company called Accelerate. And the idea here, wait, I know there’s a question first that needs to be asked.

Drew: Okay. We’re talking about micro and helping people and everything, but I think there’s another thing that you want to get to in micro land, right?

Drew: Yes. So the big idea here is micro cultures. You as a CMO can build a micro culture. You can’t control the outside world. You might not even be able to tell and control the whole culture of the organization. That’d be good, but you can create a micro culture within your department. So the CMO, I was telling you about a second ago, before I get ahead of myself, hired this company called Accelerate to help them build their team that respects each other’s point of view, that is committed to each other. That is, so they’ve created a system of accountability and regular check-ins. So when I talked about earlier about the empathy of the leader, this is all systematized now. So they know the CMO knows, oh, it’s a new person. I’ve got to meet with them a certain amount of times in the first year. If they’re an ongoing person, I need to follow up. And at this point they have shared language. So they know what this approach is about. In this case, a woman CMO, had her direct reports fully on board and they built a really strong microculture that can help build resilience in the organization to help build resilience in the department.

Drew: Okay. That’s an interesting story. You got more on microculture.

Drew: You bet I do. So my son turned me onto this series of fantasy books called The Way of Kings. The first one’s called The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Anyway, you may not be into fantasy or sci-fi, but there’s a story in this book that really got my attention. There’s this group called Bridge Four and Bridge Four is basically a death sentence at the time at the beginning of the book. It’s a horrible job. You are basically putting yourself right in the line of fire so that you can bridge this chasm, literally carry this thing, throw it over a chasm while, so the troops can go over this and go into battle. And the likelihood of dying in this thing was really, really high. And the members of Bridge Four, the generals didn’t care. They were just basically cannon fodder. And this new recruit came in by the name of Kaladin. And he gradually one soldier at a time changed the approach and the culture. And they moved from these victims without any hope to victors. They united over hard work. It wasn’t any easier. In fact, they probably worked harder. But around in these harsh condition, they transformed Bridge Four from a death sentence to a badge of honor. And this, you know, it’s fiction, but it happens in real life too. Great leaders build great teams and sometimes they’re forged in really challenging times. So keep this in mind as you build your microculture and of course it didn’t hurt the Kaladin, the hero of Bridge Four had some magical powers, right? But so do marketers. I mean, they’re wizards in effect.

Drew: Okay. Wait, wait, wait. Aren’t you the guy who wrote on LinkedIn that a post that went viral with a headline? I’m not a miracle worker.

Drew: This is so challenging. Okay, okay, this is part of the theater of, okay, got it. Guilty as charged, but stay with me. Among CMO’s many mandates, one is to build a growth marketing engine, ideally one that is predictable, measurable, and scalable.

Drew: That’s a lot of ables, or maybe I meant that’s a lot of bull. Is that even possible in an uncertain economy?

Drew: Fair, fair question, but let’s put it this way. I won’t cover in this show how you build this predictable, measurable, and scalable growth engine. But I can tell you what it looks like on the other side. You know, you’ve built a growth marketing engine when the PE firm considers marketing an asset of the company, something that increases the value of the company to a buyer. I thought it was really profound. That came up in a conversation with a CMO last week. So, all right, we’re moving on. So we got it. We’re going to build this predictable marketing engine. Easier said than done. It might take a little wizardry, but it is certainly an admirable goal.

Drew: Okay. So is that it for micros? And if so, oh, why is Penguin Sage? Um, what’s next?

Drew: Well, thank you, uh, Drew for that kind, uh, those kind words. I don’t feel like a sage at the moment, but let’s zoom out to the mic, uh, to the macro. Step one, assess your public exposure to the new form of political correctness.

Drew: Wait, what? There’s a new form of PC?

Drew: Yes, indeed. The government is busy scrubbing concepts like D, E, and I and ESG from its website and even removing words like “diverse,” even when they’re applied to something as benign as, say, a diverse range of solutions. And of course, some really large companies like Walmart and Amazon have changed or eliminated their D, E, I policies altogether.

Drew: All right, what’s this have to do with CMOs? And aren’t, you know, once you have the values and you state them, are we being wishy-washy here? And what’s, what’s, what’s going on with this and why are you bringing it up now?

Drew: So here’s what this has to do with CMOs. Among CMOs, many roles besides building the growth engine is to be the protector of brand reputation. And that means making sure that the company doesn’t inadvertently lose government contracts because of word choices on your website.

Drew: Hold on a minute. Are you suggesting that companies change their values and policies as the political winds change? And just drop whatever you believe in in the face of pressure?

Drew: Allow me to offer a nuanced answer.

Drew: Nuance. That sounds like a weasel.

Drew: Okay, tough guy. Here’s the situation. You’re the CMO of a Fortune 1000 company. And let’s say 25 percent of your revenue comes from government contracts. Are you willing to risk those contracts and the jobs related to those contracts? Because the word choices on your website and more importantly, this isn’t your decision. It’s the decision of the C-suite on your board. Your job is to present the options, the pros and cons, to alert everybody to this scenario. So you need to understand not only what the outside will think about it, and you can talk to your customers and you can do your research, but you need to understand how your employees will feel if you change the language on your website, and more importantly, how they will change if you decide to change your policy. But you also need to think about how will your employees feel if 25 percent lose their jobs because you didn’t change a word.

Drew: Alright, it sounds like you’re advocating some website wash, whitewashing. Am I wrong?

Drew: Right now, I’m just advocating that CMOs take charge of the situation, that they manage their brand reputations, that they drive the process and educate the board on their options. For more details on this, you got to see my post on renegademarketing.com called “The Political Tightrope: A CMO’s Guide to Navigating D, E, and I and ESG in Polarized Times.” It includes an evaluation matrix and more. Just read it.

Drew: Okay. I know you waffled there a little bit, but I’m going to let you off the hook ’cause maybe we can move on behind beyond this one. ‘Cause I know some folks are just going to say to you, “Hey Drew, my grandmother always said do the right thing.” Yeah, okay. Why don’t you address that one first?

Drew: Okay. So the real question on the “this is the right thing” is a very tricky thing. Is this the right thing for your customers? Is this the right thing for your employees? Is this the right thing for your shareholders? So you just again, all I’m saying is I’m not saying change anything. I’m just saying make your company aware of the issues, um, that are out there and the options that are available to them so that you can make a decision and you’re not suddenly surprised.

Drew: Okay, fine. Let’s move on. What else? What else on the macro fund?

Drew: Customers.

Drew: What? Customers?

Drew: So listen, even if you don’t have government contracts, it’s quite possible that your customers do. They may already be feeling the pain. I’ve spoken to several CMOs in health tech who have seen government contracts suspended or canceled outright. These companies are scrambling. And if you were trying to sell them an upgrade right now, you, they’re probably not answering your calls.

Drew: Okay. So what’s the play?

Drew: Empathy.

Drew: There’s that word again.

Drew: Yep. There’s that word. What we want you to do is call all your customers and ask them, “Are you alright?” It’s just like the beginning of COVID. If they are really hurting, perhaps this is a good time to say, “Oh, I see what’s happening,” to suspend charges for a few months in exchange for a contract extension. This is a moment to surprise and delight your customers who may be in a lot of pain. And again, there’s a daisy chain here. So your customers’ customers may be hurting, your customers’ customers’ customers may be hurting all, but not from anything that they did, but from these macro forces.

Drew: Okay. What else you got on the macro front?

Drew: Yes! Next keyword after empathy is partners. Call your largest partners and see how they’re doing. Look at your upcoming event schedule and see how you can work together to accelerate deals and lower costs. Partnerships are really, can be really incredibly efficient and this is the moment where you may need efficiencies more than you thought you were going to need them. You can do joint boosts at trade shows and then cut your costs in half.

Drew: Anything else?

Drew: Well, I think that’s enough for today. Don’t you think? I mean, we’ve covered the micro moods. We’ve covered some macro moods. All I can say is take care of yourself and make sure that you’re in your most energetic, receptive, empathetic self, that you’re focused on building your micro culture within your team so that you are bridge for that. You guys are the folks that will survive and thrive no matter what the conditions. And that you’ve looked macro. You’ve prepared your company for whatever reputational issues you might be facing. You’ve reached out, um, to your customers to make sure that they’re not hurting and figuring out how you can help them. And you’ve gone back to your partners and you’ve talked about how can we work together to help each other through these uncertain times. So I think that’s it until next time. Keep those renegade thinking caps on and strong.

Drew: Thanks, Drew.

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Show Credits

Renegade Marketers Unite is written and directed by Drew Neisser. Hey, that’s me! This show is produced by Melissa Caffrey, Laura Parkyn, and Ishar Cuevas. The music is by the amazing Burns Twins and the intro Voice Over is Linda Cornelius. To find the transcripts of all episodes, suggest future guests, or learn more about B2B branding, CMO Huddles, or my CMO coaching service, check out renegade.com. I’m your host, Drew Neisser. And until next time, keep those Renegade thinking caps on and strong!