I turned 40 last year. I suppose it’s time to grow up. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop skateboarding, using Snapchat, or listening to Taylor Swift, but I’ve been feeling the need for some time to focus, especially with the writing I’m producing. Working on Chief Marketing Officers at Work has shown me what’s possible when you force yourself to work on one thing that is simple and straightforward. My task with the book was to interview 30 CMOs for an hour each and get them to tell their stories. I’ve got 29 interviews complete at this point, so the book is all but done. It wouldn’t have happened this quickly if I had said “I want to write a marketing book,” or “I want to write a specific marketing book…sometime in the next year or two.” With CMOs at Work I knew what the book would be, and I had a deadline. The deadline was the end of the year, so I didn’t quite make it, but it was close enough for me.
What next? Where can I do the most good in the world? There are those things that go without saying, like improving myself as a husband and father, friend, etc. And since I run a business I need to watch over that. But I’ve also been on this journey to build my personal brand. During the past year I redesigned this blog, but I feel like my writing is all over the place. It’s more a stream of consciousness than focused content. When you come here, what do you expect to find? What do you want to find? If you want to know what Josh is thinking, the blog might do a fair job at that. But I’m sorry to say there are only 400 of you subscribed to my email newsletter, so there aren’t too many of you fascinated by my thoughts.
Can I offer something more? Can I reach more people? I think I can, but it means getting focused. It means offering clear value, in a well defined area. What should that be? I’ve been thinking about writing a book about how millennials and post-millennials are changing marketing for all of us. I’ve also been thinking about writing more about how to become an influencer and thought leader–but I don’t feel like I have a strong enough track record yet to talk a lot about this. If I had a best selling book, were getting paid $10K a pop to give talks, and had 100K Twitter followers than I would have more credibility in that area. On the other hand, I can start where I am and talk about what I’ve been able to do. I already do this a bit, but I could make it more of a focus.
But what do you think? I write for myself, but I also write for you. What have I written that speaks to you? What are you looking to accomplish that I can assist you with? How can I grow up and be a more focused adult? Tell me in the comments below.
Great post, Josh. Your wisdom, business savvy, and humility shine through. You were one of the best CEOs I ever worked under… just loved my time at MWI! Your post makes me think I should grow up a bit more (although I’m SOOOOO much older and wiser than you at 42) by stepping more into a role of mentor. Maybe I’ll teach a college class or publish a few tips for people wanting to make their business shine.
Only bit of advice: in all this growing up, stay young somehow. Keep skateboarding. Play with your kids. Try a new sport. I stay young by always finding someone to learn from. I picked up some HTML since I last talked to you… who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Michelle would be proud. 🙂
Anyway, this is an insightful post and makes me think. 9.6 out of 10 on this one. I like the brevity. Chop paragraphs up if you share it elsewhere. Josh, you may not have a billion followers yet, but those of us who do follow you need to hear your messages. Your example keeps us from getting cocky, no matter how awesome we are.
K. Cooke (former Content Manager at MWI)
“’I’ve also been thinking about writing more about how to become an influencer and thought leader–but I don’t feel like I have a strong enough track record yet to talk a lot about this. If I had a best selling book, were getting paid $10K a pop to give talks, and had 100K Twitter followers than I would have more credibility in that area. On the other hand, I can start where I am and talk about what I’ve been able to do. I already do this a bit, but I could make it more of a focus.”
Interesting. There’s a chicken & the egg aspect to that status (thought leader). I would certainly see you’ve reached TL status given your articles and upcoming CMO book.
I’ve made some progress toward my goal 🙂 Now, let’s see what I can do with the second half of the year.