Market Impact Insights

The Sales Evangelist Founder Donald Kelly shares why it is time to forget the Golden Rule and embrace the Platinum Rule: treat others the way THEY would like to be treated." Sales success is all about the power of credibility that comes from referrals, but only 11% of sellers actually ask for them when 90% of customers are inclined to give them. To stand out in hypercompetitive markets, establishing personal branding isn't optional, it is a must. "No longer is it important to be the best in your industry. Now it's more important to be the best known." The bottom line is there are more people who need what you offer more than you think. They just don't know you exist yet.

QuantumBloom COO & Co-Founder Andrea Mohamed shares data that should make every leader stop and think: 76% of high-performing women get negative feedback on performance reviews. Only 2% of high-performing men do. And the vast majority of the negative feedback that the high-performing women get is about their personalities. Andrea's journey from rural Michigan to a Duke MBA to tech leadership wasn't just about overcoming personal barriers, it was about recognizing that the problem isn't the women leaving STEM careers. It's the environment pushing them out. The path forward to counter a massive STEM talent shortage requires courage over comfort, authenticity that builds trust and long-term vision beyond quarterly earnings. Her question to all of us isn't whether we can afford to change, it's whether we can affort not to.

Human Brands Win CEO & Executive Advisor Lindsay Tjepkema shares how long term business wins don't come from vanity metrics. They come from unmeasurables like relationships, trust and authentic human connection. The more AI floods the market with generic content, the more humanity becomes your ultimate differentiator. Leaders are under constant scrutiny around every word and action, with your intentionality shaping your culture. Invest in real relationships, which means less talking and more listening.

TD SYNNEX Senior Vice President of Marketing Jessica McDowell works for a company that says "we're not in the B2B business. We're in the human-to-human business." While others are obsessing over AI automation and digital transformation, the most impactful leaders double down on something much more analog: genuine human connection. Her keys to unlocking the full potential of her teams? Giving people the room to fail fast, never getting too comfortable in the same role (including taking on the scariest moves) and aligning teams to your vision.

Zappi CMO and co-author of "Brand Global Adapt Local" Nataly Kelly shares how the essence of global strategy is prioritization and knowing when to say "NO." Recognizing inherent domestic biases and taking more of a start up mindset is invaluable to ensuring global strategies are locally inclusive. Meaningful innovation is often inspired from markets with the greatest resource constraints (hint: listen to your local teams). Bringing empathy every day is what truly separates exceptional leaders from just good enough: "They're not leaders because they want the title. They're leaders because they want to make a difference."

Leadership coach, speaker and Forbes contributor Dr. Cheryl Robinson shares how leading well starts with getting priorities straight. "If no one is dying, it's not that important." Exceptional leaders take risks, always looking at the existing ways things get done and asking "is there a better way?" It is ok to stay in your lane, avoiding the trap of perfectionism in focusing on the well being of your own teams as you help lift them to higher performance. Success means more than just output. And if your teams' momentum feels stuck, don't forget to play the "Game of 20."

A25 Founder Tahnee Perry shares the importance of thinking about AI differently. AI isn't taking your job, but someone using AI will. At the intersection of human behavior and marketing is a perfect playground where psychology meets technology. Forget obsessing over the "perfect" prompt, use AI to improve your prompts. Look at what you're doing today and elevate beyond execution tasks. Focusing on the things AI can't do, like empathy, creativity and system architecture. Use AI for ideation and research but not replace the human element of writing. For CMOs, the time is now to elevate performance by creating formal AI policies, structured training and giving teams the right tools.

6sense Chief Revenue Officer Latané Conant shares her compelling perspective on revenue growth strategy, leadership and developing high performance teams. Her journey from exceptional CMO to CRO is about having strong self awareness of her strengths, the patience to navigate through the first year of a new assingment that is always hardest, a willingness to "get in the weeds" when needed and to think of your team in terms of a talented band, not a solo artist.

Reinvent Yourself Founder Elvi Caperonis shares how overcoming obstacles on your path to achieving your career dreams starts from within with your mindset. Elvi has experienced it all on her own incredible journey in tech, from thinking about rejection as an opportunity to improve yourself to discovering your true passions to having an open mind to changing jobs frequently to grow and break through stagnation. How can you create leadership impact? By leading with empathy and kindness, cornerstones of servant leadership.

The "Mary Poppins of Marketing" Emma Clayton reveals the real crisis CMOs face in creating positive impact in their organizations. With 32% less senior marketing roles, fewer truly marketing-qualified leaders in roles and a diminshed seat at the C-suite table, the challenge is huge. Reclaiming marketing power and respect starts with executing well as an exceptional leader focused on the "Three Cs": Curiosity, Clarity and Conviction. "You don't get what you deserve. You get what you work for. You get what you communicate."

Go-To-Market advisor Carol Grant shows how knowing—and living—your values every day is foundational to exceptional leadership. Beginning with a focus on growth, clarity and impact, true leadership is all about balancing speed with intention and recognizing that caring about your people, and their success, is always good for business.

Omneky Founder and CEO Hikari Senju shares his entrepreneurial journey and how AI isn't eating marketing jobs, it's making them matter more. From making research king again, to overcoming decision paralysis, to enabling human courage to take leaps they may never have done on their own ("The Steve Jobs effect'), AI is transforming advertising and marketing in many positive ways. His balancing of vision with execution and knowing when to persist versus pivot has made all the difference.

CMO AI Advisor Nicole Leffer says if you're not using AI, you're the first one who's not going to be able to compete. The pace of AI evolution is dizzying, moving 10-20 times faster than the e-commerce revolution. By mastering AI skills you will thrive, with the potential of making you as much as 10 times more productive and valuable your organization. The emphasis for leaders is to not just focus on providing tools. Provide skills and create a culture where AI is celebrated, embraced and not hidden as a "dirty secret."

The "Ambassador of Joy" Barry Shore shares his breakthrough lessons in navigating multiple million dollar-plus business exits and overcoming a horrific life-threatening illness that made him appreciate even more the power of attitude. Putting the U before the I in his businesses, transforming SAD into SMILE, and embracing that JOY is the journey of YOU is all part of what helps Barry inspire other leaders to make a positive impact they may never have felt was possible. The time to See Miracles In Life Every day (SMILE) and make joy a strategic priority is now.

Leadership visionary Chris Kolenda shares key lessons for living a life of significance as he has transitioned from some of the world's most intense military battlefields to helping business leaders maximize their long term impact. It begins with respecting learning from history, then understanding the three kinds of people we run into in life: Sappers, Trappers and Zappers. At the end of the day, focus on "More Zap, Less Sap." In any conflict, the key to resolution is avoiding the temptation of focusing on our differences, and staring with where you agree.

Douglas Squirrel, aka "Squirrel", shares brilliant insights from successfully helping companies around the world maximize their technology investments. The reality is that every technical problem is actually a people problem. Tech capabilities aren't being limited by the technology itself, but by how your teams communicate. Discover the goldmine of untapped tech potential that is realized by breaking down the siloes so many engineers work in. Strengthen your long term impact by getting them connected to the real business problems your customers face.

Creator/Host of the It Gets Late Early podcast Maureen Wiley Clough calls out the big "elephant in the room" in tech companies today: ageism is real and it's negative impacts are being felt like never before. Having herself been called a "dinosaur" at age 37 in a prior job, Maureen is helping people with practical advice to navigate age-biased, challenging work environments. Truly successful leaders recognize years of experience as an asset, not a liability. Everyone needs to embrace the power of a positive impact about aging, which research shows can add 7.5 years to our life expectancy. And never forget...your network IS your superpower.

Hudson Davis Founder & CEO Blair Huddy shares her amazing story of resilience and triumph in overcoming severe health challenges and an ultimate betrayal that nearly cost her the culmination of a lifetime of work. Her strength in continuing to take risks, trusting her gut, being resilient when you have no other choice and embracing that momentum yields momentum allows her to deliver authentically as a master story teller like no other for her expanding client base.

Culture is everything when it comes to inspired, motivated teams. Dakota Founder & CEO Gui Costin is all in on building a foundation of trust, leveraging employee longevity for improved efficiency, daily check-ins for maximum alignment and the curiosity to always ask "why"? Kindness is the ultimate leadership skill that transforms lives and lifts teams to give back to the communities they serve in ways they never saw possible.

GrowthPath Partners AI & Executive Advisor Liza Adams shares how we need to think bigger and differently about AI as a strategic partner to best unlock the insights that we as humans could never discover by ourselves. Getting the most from AI is all about recognizing it is becoming the new reality before humans form their own opinions, understanding the psychology behind women usage being nearly 20% lower than men and why the most meaningful product-market fit assessments are continuous, not quarterly. Her calling is to make sure that all the time savings generated by AI isn't about working more; its' about using it to make the world better.

Trust is at the heart of building authentic relationships inside of organizations that achieve sustainable growth. For Peter Benei, Intercept Principal Consultant, the most successful remote-first companies aren't built on surveillance - they're built on radical transparency. AI is also flipping traditional leadership models on their head, and making the human factor more critical, not less. The future belongs to leaders who can let go of control, embrace transparency, and focus on what machines can't replace: human connection.

Leadership Coach Doug Nathan shares how conflict, while avoided and feared by many, can actually be a constructive catalyst for long term positive change. The key is knowing how to navigate the process: "It's a gift, not a curse, if you know how to unwrap it." Leaning into conflict with curiosity is vital, and having the patience not to rush into trying resolve the conflict prematurely. Conflict is the ultimate leadership test, showing whether you revert to controlling behaviors or choose to create psychological safety for genuine learning and growth.

Derrick Mains, CEO and Founder of The Process Fixer says it is time to fundamentally rethink your approach to business operations. Drawing from W. Edwards Deming's revolutionary work, he points out "94% of all problems are system problems" yet most organizations spend their time and resources on events and behaviors that only account for 6% of issues. Leadership presence really matters in focusing on the right process improvement. "People only respect what you inspect. When you go out to the front line of the company and you ask people, 'How are you doing? Show me the work you're doing'... that's where great leadership happens." Embracing the full potential of AI might even mean your traditional 40 hour week might shrink a bit as a thing of the past.

Accomplished CMO Natalie Cunningham shows how inspired marketing leadership is all about embracing change and flexibility with her mantra "everything you do is in pencil." True marketing impact goes beyond climbing a corporate job ladder to enhance your title, and the "stretch" of covering more ground while keeping your feet firmly planted in exceptional execution. Re-thinking how to engage with customers and seeing AI as "doing better" versus just "doing more" is a key part of the formula for making smarter strategic decisions in improving audience engagement.

Dan Albaum shares with Nikolett Bacso-Albaum of Market Impact the story behind his inspiration for starting the Market Impact Insights podcast in 2018, some of his favorite episodes with exceptional leaders around the world, upcoming compelling podcast topics plus more details on an exciting new leadership development experience being offered to companies based on his book The Impact Makers.

Cybersecurity Tribe Owner and Co-Founder Dorene Rettas sees the current cybersecurity landscape as more complex than ever, where InfoSec has evolved from the "Department of NO" to the "Department of KNOW." With bad actors leveraging AI faster than defenders, getting board buy-in for proactive security measures means stop talking about tech. Instead, focus on the financial impact and brand damage that pose real risks. True leadership is about meeting people where they are. "You have to remember, not everybody works like you."

Leadership Coach Dr. Meisha Rouser, PCC shares her incredible journey from IT to coaching exceptional leaders, learning the valuable lesson that following your passion is not just a cliche, it is truly game-changing. She knows servant leadership is not about checking boxes, it is a philosophy of putting people first, even in the midst of making very tough decisions. By embracing multigenerational teams and investing in understanding what motivates GenZ workers, leaders are better positioned for sustainable growth.

Keap CEO and Co-Founder Clate Mask shares his challenging journey to building sustainable growth, including three years of struggle where "29 days out of every month were brutal." Great companies mean hiring great people and his counterintuitive approach completely flips the script on traditional "hire for skills first" models. Embrace humility and drop the pursuit of being a "superhero" leader, it may actually stunt your company's growth.

Next Level Growth Founder & CEO Michael Erath has gone from the depths of losing literally everything to the heights of building a high-impact coaching business built on a foundation of emotional intelligence that is literally changing lives. Hear his inspiring journey following a business partner's betrayal to systemic success through his "Five Obsessions" framework, never forgetting that unchecked, success can be your worst enemy.

The Connective Good Founder & Executive Recruiter Erica Seidel shares timely advice about navigating the current dynamic marketplace as both a marketing executive candidate and as an organization seeking to hire exceptional marketing leaders. She has seen first hand how CMOs don't fail for lack of talent or effort, they fail for lack of clear role design and expectation setting. Relationships still matter, especially between the CMO and CRO where close alignment pays off all the way up to presenting to the Board.

Chief Communications Officer Becca Chambers shares her unique and compelling journey from surviving a rogue wave in the North Pacific to becoming a visionary communications leader who embraces her neurodiversity: "The less I tried to act like everybody else, the better I did in my job". The best corporate communications teams never forget "we're not here to just tell people stuff. We're here to make people care."

Sendoso Co-CEO & Co-Founder Kris Rudeegraap shares how his experience as a sales professional was a true "superpower" in successfully founding and growing his company. His servant leader mindset of "working for my employees, not the other way around" creates a healthy, vibrant culture that fuels sustainable growth. He's never lost an appreciation for the value of relationships in knowing that your network IS your net worth.

Daxtra Technologies VP Growth Marketing Jane Serra shares how in one of the hardest years of her nearly 20 year career she continues creating breakthrough B2B results by embracing the flexibility of remote working teams, proactively nurturing partner marketing opportunities for expanded reach and being open to the additional freedom that AI technology brings in getting work done.

Bridge2Wellbeing Leadership Coach Julie Foxcroft MSc shows how not accepting a toxic status quo, creating boundaries, practicing self-care, finding allies and taking definitive action is all part of a healthy, sustainable culture that drives top performance. And most importantly, have fun along the way as an exceptional leader who makes people feel both safe and valued. It is not about "being the best", it's about "being your best."

Simbe Robotics SVP Market Caitlin Allen shares her incredible leadership journey from the non-profit world to the cutting edge of robotics technology, all fueled by a laser focus on mission, a "measure 10x/cut once" mentality, ecosystem perspective, true humility and making others feel like they are her top priority. The human factor is alive and well even in today's hypercompetitive, rapidly changing marketplace.

Storeyline Resumes Founder & CEO Robynn Storey shares transformational tips for navigating today's turbulent waters of recruiting in pursuit of the job of your dreams. Know what "red flags" to look for in the interviewing process and make sure to follow very practical best practices in making sure your unique story...and value...is heard.

Supply Chain Transformation Advisor Art Koch of StoneTree Investment Partners shares how five critical metrics ultimately mean the difference in breaking away from the competition. Optimizing portfolios ultimately comes down to "1% = 50%" Rule. Leadership that can find "genius in the castaways" and practices servant leadership will have the greatest impact on long-term company success.

VeraContent Co-Founder & CEO Shaheen Samavati shares her unique journey from journalist to a dynamic entrepreneurial leader who embraced personal growth and her evolving business identity along the way. Lasting leadership impact is all about harnessing the power of active listening, facing change with an optimistic mindset, a flexible hybrid approach to work, keeping focused on bottom-up innovation and having the courage to "ask for what you want."

Queue Associates Co-Founder and Global Managing Director Jeffrey Goldstein shares how a focus on hiring smart, exceptional people and empowering them with intentional connection has fueled continuous growth for more than 30 years. Being "boutique in every country" by understanding the nuances of local markets has also been a key driver for success.

Nova Chief of Staff Founder & CEO Maggie Olson shares what the Chief of Staff role really is and how it is critical to ensuring successful execution of any organization's long term strategy. It is a unique role drives the internal engine across all key company functions and greatly benefits from a servant leader mindset.

Heinz Marketing Founder/President Matt Heinz shares how focusing on impact versus volume makes all the difference for sustainable growth. Injecting more intelligence into marketing actions by watching for "intent signals" is a true differentiator. Bringing a servant leader mindset that embraces more dynamic "written in pencil versus set in stone" planning while putting team success is the key to elevating performance over time.

KWSM President/CEO Katie Wagner shares her dynamic leadership journey which has included passionate advocacy for brand journalism that creates authentic connections with audiences. Embracing change, including balancing the powerful capabilities of AI with the human factor in compelling storytelling. Taking the long view with a strategic planning approach to growing her business and an empowering mindset has made all the difference in delivering exceptional results.

Chief Confidence Igniter Meshell Baker shares the keys to building confidence and a path to leadership impact that is inclusive and inspires others. Opportunity is a function of delivering excellence every day.

Leadership Coach Suken Jain of Synergy Sync shares how the true path to long term career success requires continuous self-reflection, a "humble confidence", cultivating vulnerability and clarifying your unique value. Focusing on progress over perfection means you don't need to do it alone, as having a support network will make a huge difference in your professional growth.

Fractional CMO Virginie Glaenzer of AcornOak shares her "emotional rollercoaster" of a journey in embracing the transformational impact of AI in reshaping marketing strategy and execution. Redefining skills and roles are just the beginning as business leaders adapt their strategies for success in an "abundance economy."

Salesforce Director, Technical Coaching Paige Watson shares how a more intentional, collaborative approach to software development promotes meaningful knowledge sharing, feedback and accountability that drives measurable results. Exceptional leaders empower and trust their teams within a learning culture that enables real innovation and growth.

ATAK Interactive CEO Austin LaRoche shares his journey in realizing exceptional leadership starts with learning from mistakes and showing personal accountability that motivates his organization in its' commitment to continuous improvement. Winning B2B marketing is about creating customer delight that can only happen when you have a deep understanding of their needs and apply it to action in a simple Marketing-to-Sales (M2S) framework.

Jill Rowley, Stage 2 Capital GTM Advisor/LP and SaaS visionary, shares how customer experience is THE context for any successful marketing and sales strategy. Functional silos no longer cut it in today's highly competitive marketplace where reducing friction for buyers with a collaborative, Nearbound partnering approach makes all the difference in generating sustainable revenue growth.

Passetto VP of Technology Trevor Gibson shares how RevOps can be truly transformational in driving competitive advantage through more effective analytics and application of learning. Collaborative leadership that is customer-focused, empowering and seeking continuous improvement makes all the difference.

As a multi-time University President and Dean, Author/Speaker/Coach Len Jessup has had a front line view into current higher education challenges of effectively recruiting and engaging both students and staff. Successfully shaping the skillset and motivation of the next generation of workforce sometimes requires leaders to "go glow to go fast," along with a servant leader mindset that empowers others to contribute in new ways they might never have thought possible.

Tigerhall CEO and Founder Nellie Wartoft shares the keys for successfully driving change initiatives that create measurable results. It's a marathon, not a sprint that requires embracing continuous learning as you move pivoting from "Plan B" to a part of your core process.