by Ralph Cutcher
Brick House Partners    send email

Something is wrong.

The average tenure for a CMO 2004-2007 is 24.3 months. There are more open positions now at CMO than ever before. Agency client relationships average 2 years. Marketing has lost luster and influence in executive quarters. Something is wrong –Why? There is short-term results pressure, expectations misalignment, and cultural fit misalignment.

What can we do? Re-orient marketing & advertising talent search toward enduring issues, key issues like focus on fit, values and track record, and a transition from This is what we do to This is what we believe.

What’s a simple truth?

We know it intuitively, it matters, but we don’t practice it vigorously.

  1. Talent is table stakes... every assignment has candidates with the right experience. The real difference is the quality of the person and their fit with your company.
  2. The best experience is circumstantial... getting people who have been through what conditions lie ahead of your business means more than category experience. Both are a homerun.
  3. Courage and curiosity are most important... marketing and advertising agency work is lonely, early adopter, leadership work that requires a lot of “I believe…” and “Why does…”.
  4. Expectations are more binding than goals... expectations create emotional commitment and buy-in.
  5. Different staff solutions are good at different times... pause every time a role is open and evaluate whether it’s a good time for something different versus an inertia-based replacement.
  6. Reveal your values... great talent wants a level of humanness and realness and they need to hear and internalize a company’s values.
  7. Practice endurance training... hire people for what’s ahead versus the issue of now and you can reduce the unfortunate short tenure in marketing and agency staff.
  8. It's about selling... to get the best talent you need an impactful, well-rounded selling strategy for every search.
  9. Problems come in small packages... drill deep to find candidates' little deal breakers.
  10. Your current team creates a ceiling for staffing... how you treat them and their capability determines the quality of talent you can attract.