The CMO Paradox: Why Execution Excellence Matters More than Strategy

This year, I sat in on several CMO and leadership catch-ups, and I kept asking the same question: What separates a CMO who burns out in two years from one who gets promoted?

The answers were consistent: Average CMO tenure runs about 28 to 48 months, shorter than most other C-suite roles. But most people miss the real story: 65 percent of CMOs who leave their roles aren't fired. They're promoted, moving into bigger organizations or stepping up to chief commercial officer or chief revenue officer roles. The ones who fail are remembered for flashy campaigns and org charts that barely survived a quarter.

Most people assume the difference is vision: strategic thinking, the ability to see around corners, the bandwidth to run a large team while building brand and demand generation at once. That's not what I've observed. The difference comes down to how a CMO thinks about the role itself.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Forbes.