Growth Insights for CEOs

The CEO's Role as Champion of the Unified GTM Operating Model

cmo@chiefoutsiders.com (The Chief Outsider) — Tue, 26 May 2026 20:19:22 GMT

Executive Takeaways

The CEO must be the architect and champion of the GTM model — not its operator.
Only the CEO has the cross-functional authority to make a unified GTM model stick.
If the model only works when you're in the room, it's not a system.
When it's working, your calendar proves it.

Fractional CMO vs Full-Time: Which is Right for you?

vsherman@chiefoutsiders.com (Vickie Sherman) — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:14:34 GMT

Growth Without Guesswork: The Questions Great Vistage Chairs Ask

khayward@chiefoutsiders.com (Karen Hayward) — Fri, 15 May 2026 16:24:17 GMT

From Loyalty Programs to Leadership: What 20 Years in CRM Taught Me About Organizational Growth

anka@chiefoutsiders.com (Anka Twum-Baah) — Mon, 11 May 2026 17:43:23 GMT

Loyalty programs taught many of us how to turn casual buyers into raving fans. My 20 years in CRM and loyalty for brands like Marriott, Amazon, and American Express—and leading a $3B customer platform—taught me something bigger: The same system that keeps customers coming back also keeps your best people from leaving. When growth stalls, most CEOs reach for the usual levers: more demand gen, more recruiting, more channels.

Should I Hire a Fractional CMO?

vsherman@chiefoutsiders.com (Vickie Sherman) — Fri, 08 May 2026 15:09:32 GMT

Stop Hosting Alignment Meetings and Start Building a Unified GTM Operating Model

cmo@chiefoutsiders.com (The Chief Outsider) — Wed, 06 May 2026 14:50:17 GMT

Executive Takeaways

You can't meeting your way out of a system design problem.
Alignment meetings are reactive, CEO-dependent, and fix symptoms — not root causes.
A unified GTM Operating Model creates alignment by design, not by force.
When the system works, the CEO stops mediating and starts leading.

Marketing Leadership for CEOs: An Executive Guide to Growth

mlang@chiefoutsiders.com (Michael Lang) — Mon, 04 May 2026 19:05:52 GMT

This blog is part of Chief Outsiders’ Marketing Leadership for CEOs series, an ongoing examination of the critical dimensions of Marketing (the capital “M” is intentional, as you’ll see) that every CEO needs to understand.

Outsider Insights | You Can't Measure AI ROI If You Can't Measure Marketing ROI

DWerry@ChiefOutsiders.com (Dawn Werry) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 02:30:17 GMT

Outsider Insights

Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.

The AI Training Economy: The Human Expertise Behind the Agent Revolution

nisford@chiefoutsiders.com (Neil Isford) — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:32:45 GMT

The challenge of training AI models on human expertise is not new.What is new is that three college dropouts just built a $10 billion business by productizing that exact problem at scale.

How to Develop Future C-Suite Leaders: A Guide for Mentoring and Succession Planning

anka@chiefoutsiders.com (Anka Twum-Baah) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:59:09 GMT

Ambition is the easy part. The real question is whether your company’s future CEO’s, CFOs, COOs, CMO’s and CROs are already growing inside the business long before you need them.