Winter Is Coming

I recently had a jam session with a first time CMO who -- at the end of our session -- got super vulnerable and shared, "I've never led a team through an economic period like this. In the last nine minutes of our call, what recommendations do you have for managing anxiety and staying focused?"

Their anxiety was understandable. According to a recent Conference Board report, more than 60% of CEOs expect a recession in their geographic region in the next 12 to 18 months. A year ago that number was 22%.

I used one of our nine minutes to pull together my response, then asked my client to jot down three words: Acceptance, Attitude, and Action. In our remaining eight minutes I shared the following commentary for each: 

Acceptance

After two plus years of 'up and to the right' following the brief 'oh shit' moment at the start of the pandemic, we are now experiencing economic headwinds that aren't ending anytime soon. We're in the middle, between what was and a future state that no one -- and I mean no one -- knows. We search for certainty in the middle, but middles are always messy, and certainty is difficult to find. Accepting this will make it easier for you and your team to adopt a go-forward attitude and focus on the right actions.

Attitude

"How can I learn and grow?" is my go-to attitude for tough situations. If I can learn and grow from a challenge or setback I can help others learn and grow, too. I suggested my client tell their team, "Watch me and the rest of the leadership team. We're going to do some things wrong, but I hope we do a lot of things right. Use all of it as a reference point for when you're leading a team one day."

Action

Be ruthless where you focus your time, and focus it on what matters: customers. Stay close to customers. Earlier in my career I joined a company that shortly before my first day on on the job reported a big revenue and earnings miss. The stock tanked. Leaders departed. A strategic review was launched, and anxiety increased. My response? I did everything I could to help our sales teams work with customers to close deals. Revenue, it turns out, solves a lot of problems. Plus, I loved learning about the problems our customers were trying to solve. There's nothing more valuable.

After the jam session with my client ended I naturally thought of other recommendations -- many around communication, which is so crucial during times of uncertainty. I'm curious what you'd add to the three things I noted above. Please reply to this email with your ideas. I love your comments and feedback; they always fuel my positive.

I'll close with a confession. Despite the title of this month's newsletter, I've never watched a single episode of Game of Thrones. (This month's newsletter will NOT be going to the client who was visibly shaken when I shared this fact with her.) Winter is coming. Or maybe it's not. But with acceptance, the right attitude, and focused actions you and your team can turn down the anxiety dimmer switch and continue to thrive.