Our CMO is in the office every other week. This means that energy is running high every other week. The man has a way about him that is motivating, which is good because we have a lot of tough corporate goals to meet. My project in particular tops the list. No pressure here.
My project isn’t the only project however. We’ve got a lot going on and the corporate eyes are watching us closely to see how well we can execute or, as in the case of our biggest project, how well we can get our vendors to execute.
As we prepare to start new projects, more vendors are brought in-house to do their song and dance. Promising us the moon and stars, our team picks their brain to see how well they know their stuff. Because, lets face it, it isn’t about what they say they can do, it’s all about what they actually do. If we fail, heads will roll — OUR heads will roll.
So our CMO explains our objectives and fires off the questions like a pitching machine. His delivery is non-threatening and entertaining. And I sift through his fun little phrases, like “cows and sows,” trying to glean understanding on which ones are merely his unique way of discussing our “super double secret” projects and which are industry terminology that I should become accustomed to.
In our meetings, ten minutes becomes twenty and 1 hour quickly becomes 2 hours. The rule is that “nobody is excused unless they have a note from Epstein’s mother” because there is no place more important. When all is said, it’s time to get it done. We return to our desks and do our best to make it happen.