5 Lessons from the CMO Super Huddle

The CMO role remains the most bespoke in the C-Suite. Some have vast portfolios and should call themselves “Chief Market Officers,” noted executive recruiting legend Kate Bullis. Most don’t. About half report to the CEO. A few “own” ecommerce and a P&L. Most don’t. Some own marketing and comms. Some have enlightened CEOs who understand that marketing is a growth lever. Most don’t!

Part of this comes down to perfecting your leadership and communication. Here’s what we learned at Liz Wiseman’s fireside chat on Impact Players: 

• Look in the Mirror: Understand the forms of the “accidental diminisher” (i.e. Idea Fountain, Perfectionist, Rapid Responder, Pacesetter, Optimist, Protector, Always On, Strategist) and learn how to adjust
• Ask better questions: Keep a set of strategic questions to encourage collaboration and clarity.
• Manage up effectively: Recognize (and adapt to) your CEO’s tendencies—particularly if they unintentionally diminish your efforts.
• Hire for impact: Look for candidates who thrive in ambiguity and uncertainty.

• In a world of short attention spans and competitive noise, sharp creative thinking is essential. CMOs who succeed:
• Own something unique: On our Brilliant B2B panel, Jason Ing shared how Gusto differentiated with its pig mascot, and Chandar Pattabhiram explained how Coupa made itself about money to stand out from Ariba’s focus on network and vendors. 
• Avoid buzzwords: Words like “best-in-class” and “AI-driven” are more clutter than clarity. Learn more about how to fix your home page by following Spiralyze’s CRO Crimes game show on LinkedIn.
• PR Outreach: Our session on PR with Bospar and VentureBeat made it clear: You better be ready to answer why the reported should give a sh*t! Pro Tip: Even in B2B, emotions drive decisions.

The best marketing teams work seamlessly across departments. How?

We heard from a well-rounded panel with Randy Wootton (CEO, Maxio), Marni Puente (CMO, SAIC), Tammy Aguillon (Revenue leader, Google Cloud), and Nat Natarajan (Chief Product & Strategy Officer, G-P).  

• Earn trust over time: Through empathy and consistent follow-through.
• Align around shared goals and data: A single source of truth avoids unnecessary disputes.
• Admit vulnerability: A simple “I was wrong before, I’m smarter now” can build respect and open doors. Likewise, the blame game is a lose-lose for collaborators. 

There was also conversation around educating the C-Suite on marketing—that it isn’t a simple input/output function, and that MQLs and SQLs are meaningless if deals don’t get closed. As such, challenges like “pipeline progression,” “sales enablement,” and “improving close rates” are CMOs’ top priorities. While these aren’t easily solved issues, marketers are finding meaningful ways to support their sales counterparts from discovery through acquisition and retention. 

Few CMOs believe they have sufficient resources to hit their goals. Several highly skilled CMOs quit in 2024 in the face of relentless magical thinking by PE firms. Others describe their 2025 challenge as “dedicating sufficient resources (people + budget) to meet increasingly high goals,” “so many priorities, so few resources,” or simply “doing more with less.”

To make this visceral, one CMO asked, “How can I scale demand and awareness with a budget of only $20,000/month?” 

• With limited budgets and big expectations, the right metrics are crucial. Here’s what our Future of Metrics panelists had to say: 
• Focus on leading indicators: Metrics that predict outcomes, not just lagging results.
• Include retention and upsell trends: Marketing isn’t only about net new customers; growth from existing ones matters too.
• Use anecdotes strategically: Stories can add powerful context to your numbers.

The potential of GenAI is vast, but savvy marketers are focusing on strategy over novelty. Key places to explore:

• Speed positioning: Use GenAI for messaging and targeting tests.
• Build useful tools: GenAI is a game-changer for creating business solutions like workflow optimizers.
• Audit your stack: Ensure your MarTech tools integrate GenAI strategically—not just for show.