Growth Insights for CEOs

Should I Hire a Fractional CMO?
Executive Takeaways
- A full-time CMO can cost $1M in year one — before the first campaign ships.
- Full-time CMOs optimize for tenure. Fractional CMOs optimize for outcomes.
- Fractional CMOs bring cross-industry pattern recognition that deepens with every engagement.
- Fractional leadership wins in specific, definable contexts. The next article maps exactly when.
Recent Posts

Navigating Communication from Boomers to Gen Z
Thu, May 4, 2023 — Our friend Traci Philips, an exceptional executive leadership coach in Raleigh, NC recently attended a presentation by someone who called herself a “generational strategist.” Firmly in the camp of the organizational effectiveness crowd, she spends her days crisscrossing the country, visiting organizations where generational dynamics are creating a disconnect and affecting business.

No Stakeholder Left Behind: A Quick Communication Guide for CEOs of Mid-Sized Companies to Use Now
Thu, Aug 27, 2020 — During any crisis, communication from a CEO drives perception of the company and serves as a source of guidance for multiple stakeholder groups. Done well, the content and delivery may impact how quickly an organization emerges. With the global pandemic an ongoing reality, and the added impact of a volatile economy, it’s a crucial time to think about the audiences who need to hear from you as conditions continue to evolve, as well as how and when you’ll communicate with them to achieve your desired outcome.

Communicating in Tough Times: A Strategic Approach
Thu, Apr 23, 2020 — As the saying goes, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” but unfortunately the saying doesn’t tell us how to get going. Thinking about the many types of crisis, from a data breach to a product recall, from a catastrophic weather event to a pandemic, it's clear they are all different with a unique set of challenges, and as such different ways of “getting going." However, they all have one thing in common and that is the need to quickly, clearly and effectively communicate information.
Stay up-to-date with the latest from Chief Outsiders

Why a “Failure to Communicate” is a First Step to Going Out of Business
Wed, Sep 25, 2019 — What Business Execs Can Learn About the Power of Authentic Conversations Mark Coronna, Area Managing Partner & CMO, Chief Outsiders with Matt McKnight, President, McKnight Advisors If you’ve ever seen the Paul Newman movie Cool Hand Luke, you might remember the hard-boiled egg eating contest, but that’s another subject. The iconic line we all remember, after several failed attempts to bring Luke in line, is when the prison warden remarks, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Knowledge, open communications, as well as procrastination are highly linked to business performance. Having hands-on and personal real-time knowledge of what’s going on in your business is a challenge and having the confidence and willingness to do something about what you’ve learned is another.

Email Is Not Always Your Friend – Three Ideas for Better Management
Wed, Sep 11, 2013 — It’s Not Just a Problem of Volume The immense volume of email that many of us receive each day can make email seem like an unbeatable adversary in a battle between responding to messages and getting the work done that we had planned. It is always a bit impressive, therefore, when people come up with a system for dealing with email overload that actually works for them. For instance, Both Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner have developed their own systems for handling email and staying productive rather than email being a constant, nagging drag on his day. Their systems won’t work for everyone, but they are good examples of taking a systematic approach to email.