Grant Johnson is the CMO at Emburse, a spend management company offering solutions that help organizations manage employee expenses, process invoices and make payments.
In this episode, Grant and I discuss his journey to become CMO at Emburse and his philosophy of five Cs for a CMO’s playbook—culture, coaching, campaigns, category, and courage.
Grant says that “the only constant in the market is change, and your ability to adapt to it is key to ongoing success.” Listen to the full interview to hear Grant’s advice for emerging marketing leaders and how being clear, compelling, and consistent plays a major role.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Category isn’t restricted to your product
- The courage of conviction
- Adapting to the change
Key Highlights:
- [01:22] Grant is a nationally ranked tennis player
- [03:00] Grant’s career journey
- [05:34] Coming up with the five C’s
- [07:34] Talking about culture
- [09:19] Where coaching is important
- [11:05] Coaching the coach vs. coaching the employee
- [12:15] How Grant thinks about campaigns
- [14:55] Thinking about category
- [18:12] Having the courage of conviction
- [19:56] Advice for first-time CMOs
- [23:53] An experience that defines Grant, makes him who he is today
- [25:10] Grant’s advice to his younger self
- [26:48] What marketers should be learning more about
- [27:54] The brands and organizations Grant follows
- [29:06] The biggest threat and opportunity for marketers
Resources Mentioned:
- Grant Johnson
- Emburse
- “emburse it” campaign
- Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey A. Moore
- Escape Velocity, by Geoffrey A. Moore
- Dave Peterson
- Celonis
- Celonis raises $1B
- Play Bigger, book by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, Kevin Maney
- CMO Manifesto, book by John Ellet
Follow the podcast:
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- Listen in Spotify (link: http://spoti.fi/2mCUGnC)
Connect with the Guest:
- Grant’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantejohnson
- Grant’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/grantejohnson1
- Emburse on Twitter: https://twitter.com/emburse
Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:
- http://twitter.com/abhart
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanhart
- http://twitter.com/themktgtoday
- https://www.facebook.com/themktgtoday/
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-today-with-alan-hart/
Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.
