Let’s go to the moon!’ …is a great and lofty goal, but it doesn’t mean much if you or I say it. Why? Because, just guessing, you don’t have an actual plan for how to do that, or the means, for that matter. Point is, you need an actual plan, with real numbers and defined goals, and set time frames in order to achieve your goals. My guest this week, the CMO of GTMhub, Jeremy Epstein gets this and is passionate about the usefulness and importance of OKRs in the marketing department to help teams build plans to get them to where they want to go

“Google is usually held up as the poster boy/girl/non-binary person for OKRs, because in the in the Bible of the OKR industry is what’s called ‘measure what matters.’ John Doerr introduced OKRs to Google. OKRs have this deep history going all the way back to Andy Grove at Intel, based on Peter Drucker. By my calculation, OKRs will be embedded in every successful organization in some form or format by the end of this decade. They are that game-changing capability-wise from a strategy execution perspective.” 

And changing up the game is exactly what Epstein is best at. In this show we’ll get into some of the lessons Epstein learned during his time at Microsoft and Sprinkler, discuss some best practices for managing a remote workforce and unpack some key principles of great leadership in marketing. Don’t worry, we’ve already invited him back on the show. I can’t wait for you to enjoy this episode about the simplified and data-driven marketing methods of marketing guru, Jeremy Epstein.

Main Takeaways:

• Evolving Leadership Process: A great leader is one who can take feedback and alter course to stay on the best track for the business. Becoming a leader will demand a new skill set and an ability to look at the bigger picture. Thinking about the work and the mission with a broader perspective will help you keep everyone moving in the right direction.
• The Role of OKRs in Business: Companies in the future will all use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to measure the success of their marketing campaigns. This method of precisely defining the goals and providing clear data is maximally effective. Setting forth a simple and easy-to-understand plan to accomplish a difficult mission is the first step to succeeding, and that’s what an OKR does.
• Future of Blockchain in Marketing: The Apple cut-down on cookie use is just the beginning of the end of marketing with PII or Personally Identifiable Information. When more and more people get on and start using and trading in new markets, and for different purposes, you’re going to need to find a way to reach the right people. ‘No more cookies,’ is the way of the future.
• Document Processes: If any aspect of your business hinges upon one link in the chain, your whole business is at risk. Every role should be so well documented and laid that a new hire could come off the street with no prior knowledge of your business and be able to understand the job. Also, when you have everything written, there is a source of truth. Things get said in meetings and promptly forgotten. Documenting what was said in a meeting and immediately sharing that with the attendees can help move action items forward and create productive meetings.

Key Quotes:

“I got some really, candid feedback along the way from that my style for a lot of people was not working. It was too micromanage(y). It was too overbearing and people didn’t like it. The best player doesn’t always become your best coach. I needed to make that shift from player to coach. And I had to think about the game if you will, in a very different light. It’s still a learning journey. And fortunately, I’ve had some great teachers along the way and most importantly, I tried to create an environment where my team feels safe and comfortable to tell me what a total screw-up I am on a regular basis.” 

“Marketing is all about differentiation. hat’s the core, the single best book I’ve ever read about marketing is called ‘Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd Book by Youngme Moon’. It’s about being different. My CEO at Gtmhub said it to me best when I came into the role he said, ‘You have to have infinite patience with people.’ If you get 1% better every day, by the end of the year, you’re going to be 97xs better.”

“It’s not about me being ‘the chief’. I almost reject that name. I’m the marketing enabler. I’m just trying to support everyone and make everyone better. I’ve asked almost everybody on my team, ‘what’s your long-term career goal?’ And I view it as my responsibility to help them get further.”

“Google is usually is held up as the poster boy/girl/non-binary person for OKRs because in the Bible of the OKR industry is what’s called measure what matters. John Doerr introduced OKRs to Google. OKRs have this deep history going all the way back to Andy Grove at Intel, based foundationally on Peter Drucker. So, yes, I have skin in the game but by my calculation, OKRs will be embedded in every successful organization in some form or format by the end of this decade, or else, those companies may not even be around. They are that game-changing capability-wise from a strategy execution perspective.” 

“I’m a maniac about documentation of processes on our confluence. I call it, ‘what if you get hit by a bus document.’ If you get hit by a bus, Yes, I’ll be sad but the business needs to continue. Someone else off the street [should be able to] come in and read your document [and] know how to do this person’s role.” 

“In a web 3.0 world, you know nothing about your customer, aside from what their blockchain address is, what their wallet contents hold, and their transactions. There is no such thing as PII (Personally Identifiable Information.) This world already exists and you have to market to this world where that’s all you know about the person. [This is] where we’re going to end up anyway.”

“How does the function and discipline and strategy around marketing evolve because of the arrival of this disruptive technology? There’ll be expectations that customers co-create and co-own the brand with you. Why don’t they have a stake in it when you have Bitcoin, you own one 21 millionth of the network. So why not own a part of the brand? And you could decentralize that and you can decent and you can co-create assets and, and not just give them a $2,000 award, but give them provable cocaine that represents 1% ownership in, you know, diet, Coke, vanilla cream, cherry pie, whatever kind of thing.”

Bio:

Jeremy Epstein is the CMO of Gtmhub. He has six years of corporate experience at Microsoft and has experienced high-growth marketing during his time as VP of Marketing at Sprinklr as they grew from a $20mm Series A valuation to a $1.8 billion level over 4 years.

He has worked with top minds in blockchain, crypto-economics, smart contracts, and decentralization as an advisor to Open Bazaar, Zcash, DAOstack, SingularityNet, & Dapper Labs. He has keynoted Fortune 50 executive-level events on topics including social media, blockchain, and A.I. Jeremy shares his thoughts at blog.neverstopmarketing.com

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