Send us Fan Mail

Your last CMO lasted fourteen months. The one before that made it eighteen. The search firm swears this time will be different. It won't be.

In this episode, Jeff Payne breaks down why CMO turnover at early-stage companies isn't a hiring problem — it's a structural one. Marketing never built the equivalent of engineering's individual contributor track, so by the time someone reaches the CMO title, they haven't executed hands-on work in years. That gap used to be survivable. It isn't anymore, now that AI is reshaping marketing workflows month to month instead of year to year.

Jeff also unpacks the deeper incentive problem: marketing is the only C-suite function without an objective scoreboard, which pushes leaders toward safe, conventional choices instead of the bold moves that actually move results.

The proof point: Jeff's team has never staffed a traditional CMO layer for client Daniel Goodwin at Provident 1031 — instead running as his senior execution bench, producing a standing Kiplinger byline, a five-to-one return Masterclass series, and a growing short-form video initiative, all without adding a management layer.

The episode closes with a prediction worth sitting with: within the next two years, a meaningful share of early-stage and mid-market companies may skip the CMO hire entirely in favor of small teams of senior operators who can still do the work.