Helping a growing team stay focused
We helped a premium wellness brand bring a new level of focus to their marketing organization.
Our client was entering a new phase.
A recent change in ownership was creating a new sense of energy and ambition. The board had just hired the company’s first-ever Chief Growth Office—an experienced marketing leader with an impressive track record (and former client of ours).
The brief
The new CGO reached out to us for help in developing a new action plan that would give her new team a clear sense of focus and direction. She wanted help from outside experts she could trust to make sure she didn’t miss anything important. And ensure the action plan was practical and usable.
Understanding the landscape
This wasn’t a typical marketing department. Her team included brand, product marketing, customer acquisition, comms, digital / ecommerce and partnerships. And some functional leads were managing (jointly or separately) key corporate initiatives.
We started by getting the lay of the land. We reviewed dozens of documents—strategies, org charts, work artefacts and more. We spoke to leaders in each functional area to better understand their background, challenges and opportunities. And, finally, we provided some immediate feedback to help the CGO sharper her team structure and express her big-picture ambitions.
Working it out
Next we got work designing a multi-day, in-person working session. Our aim for the session was to create clear action plans across 6 and 12 month timelines. But we had several other goals in mind as well.
Making space
We needed to strengthen team morale and cohesion (many of these new team members worked in different locations and didn’t know each other well). We needed to make room for new, unexpected thinking. And we needed to provide a forum for the CGO to coach her new team towards her vision.
New tools and methods
The final agenda addressed all of these goals. And introduced the team to a few useful concepts and ideas along the way. For example, we familiarized the team with the RACI matrix to streamline work on shared initiatives. And we explored new ways of collaborating with other parts of the organization.
An ongoing partnership
The session went so well that we’ve continued to partner with the CGO. Designing and facilitating subsequent planning sessions. Creating prioritized roadmaps. And helping the team improve the way they do project management.