So you want to be a CMO?

[New year, new blog.  I'm cross-posting here from a blog I started called "Do You Have A Second?"  It's a career-related blog; in my time as a manager, mentor, peer, and employee, I received my fair share of good and bad advice.  The name comes from the phrase that you often hear when someone wants to share a piece of candid feedback with you.]

Back in October, I was a privileged fly on the wall of Forrester's CMO Leadership Board meeting in Chicago.  The guest speaker was Greg Welch from Spencer Stuart, talking about what makes a good CMO.  Greg should know - he handles some of the highest profile searches around.

Some things you may know already:

• CMO tenure is way down - almost 23 months, about half of CEO tenure.
• These are $1mm jobs that are really general manager roles that come with high stakes and expectations.
• New chief marketers need to build bridges and prove that marketing delivers value, doesn't just spend money.
• A key question: does your marketing team look like your customer base?

CEOs are looking for a fit at the intersection of job (i.e. responsibilities), organization (i.e. cultural elements), and personal qualifications (i.e. competencies).  The top skills required for success?

• Leadership - influence and impact.
• A track record of results - no excuses.
• General management and P&L experience.
• Innovation experience.

So how do you get there?

• In the short term, create a list of your 100 goals in life.
• Develop a personal board of directors.
• Gain experience with a blue chip company in an industry that you like.
• Network now.
• Get an international assignment.
• Go through a sales rotation.
• Participate in an acquisition.
• Manage your career aggressively.
• And finally (maybe the toughest one for this day and age) don't change companies too frequently - loyalty counts.

Thinking through this advice, I feel it's important to figure out WHY you want to be a CMO.  If you like creating ads but don't like numbers, shoot for VP of Advertising and love your job.  If you enjoy focusing on a single market, work towards managing a regionally-focused subsidiary company.  If you have brilliant ideas but don't want to manage people...become a consultant!