“WHY CMOS NEVER LAST AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT” BY KIMBERLY A. WHITLER AND NEIL MORGAN, JULY-AUGUST 2017Alignment of responsibilities is the critical area where mistakes are made. It’s common for companies to describe a role in which the CMO is expected to change the overall performance of the firm, but when you examine the job duties closely, it’s clear the CMO has only commercialization functions. In other words, expectations typically far exceed the actual authority given the CMO.
This approach may sound like common sense, but it’s surprising how infrequently it’s followed. Only 22% of the job descriptions we studied mentioned how the CMO would be measured or held accountable, and only 2% had a specific section that clearly articulated job expectations. While 90% made some mention of expectations, they typically were vague. The head of marketing for one technology company, for example, was supposed to “help define and execute an aggressive growth strategy for the company.
What functional responsibility is necessary to realize our vision for the role? Will that level of responsibility really work, given other top management team roles?What types of skills and experience are required? What is really the CMO’s role in the firm? Is there agreement about this across the C-suite? Do the CEO, CFO, CHRO, and the board all describe the position in the same terms?
After answering these questions, the candidate should summarize in writing his or her understanding of the role and the expectations and responsibilities involved with it, and share it with both the executive recruiter and the CEO, asking for confirmation that they are all on the same page.
Kim began her marketing career at Procter & Gamble, where marketers typically have P&L responsibility. As a result, she assumed that all C-level marketing jobs had it. Some years after leaving P&G, she interviewed for an exciting CMO position that the recruiter insisted would be “transformational.” But in the first week at the new company, Kim realized to her surprise that she didn’t have P&L authority.
This article is 6 yrs old and cites a 2012 study!
I enjoyed reading this article, and agree with a lot of the recommendations. The lack of trust stands out to me as a key point to improve and I think econometrician-statisticians can help CMOs turn that around. So I’d recommend they ask for that support.
Can believe this… agencies probably less.
CMO must assure the final result of internal and external changes management and therefore shall assure the coordination of all actors for detection and managing the changes and their interactions. The achieving of this coordination is the key of success or failure.
How about CROs?
That's how long it takes to get found out.