Ninety-two percent – The number of people that will NOT accomplish their goals this year! That number haunts me and motivates me to help inspire and enable people to defy those odds. So, what are the 8% doing differently? It is not rocket science, it is not complicated, you do not need a Ph.D., nor do you need money. The answer is simple. Follow the E3 Formula: E3E = EXPRESS + ENGAGE + EXECUTE, powered by EMOTIONS. E Equals Why is committed to highlighting the 8% of leaders that do succeed and how they leverage the formula, intuitively or deliberately.
E3E = EXPRESS + ENGAGE + EXECUTE, powered by EMOTIONS
- EXPRESS: Define the ideal vision of the ‘end state’ along with the Why/Purpose
- ENGAGE: Connect with the people you need to influence for success
- EXECUTE: Define the steps and measurements to ensure it happens
- EMOTIONS: The human, personal and emotional qualities to be vulnerable, committed, and without FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt)
This week I interviewed Genefa Murphy, currently the CMO at Five9 and we talked about how she advanced her career from Consultant to CMO. Genefa instinctively followed the E3 Formula. She validated our findings as she shared her story of success.
I have known Genefa for well over a decade and I have had the privilege of watching her career blossom. I first got to know Genefa at HP where she was working in product management and was a team of two. I knew Genefa as someone with a ton of passion, strong work ethic and smarts. I was not surprised when she became Chief Marketing Office (CMO) and successfully drove the transformation of HP Software into Micro Focus. Today she is the CMO at Five9, the Intelligent Cloud Contact Center.
Transformation
Genefa is not a career marketer, despite being the CMO of Five9 and Micro Focus before that. I love her career story which evolved based upon circumstances, beliefs, and personal preferences. She started out in research and worked as a consultant before moving into product management. Genefa learned that Sales, Product and Marketing were all interwoven and there was often friction between the Product Management and Marketing teams. She figured out that the best way to alleviate that tension was to shift over to marketing and learn. She has not looked back since. She shared, “Marketing is the nexus of so many different things, it is at the core of the business. I get to be close to customers, sales and products, and ultimately have a real impact on the trajectory of the business.” And so, it started, her trajectory to CMO, where she led a team more than 550 folks.
Driving change across 550 individuals is not easy. We talked about a success she is proud of. She shared that it was the transition of HP Software into Micro Focus, an incredible experience to leave a behemoth like HP and set up a completely new business. Genefa said, “I mean, we had to set up everything, the entire infrastructure: processes, technology, and people. There was the HP team and the Micro Focus team. Part of my role, along with my leadership team role was to bring it together, to create something new that we felt was our version of our new reality.”
The Formula for Success
Genefa and I talked in more depth about the key elements of success. You can hear the full 20-minute interview here, but let’s touch on some of the highlights.
Expression
Genefa first created a Marketing Manifesto. It was her way of Expressing the ideal end state, along with the WHY it was important, and guidelines for execution and decision making. When you are going through a major change, whether it has numerous elements, significant amount of people, tight time frames or other constraints you want to ensure you empower your team to quickly make decisions and deliver results that are aligned with your ideal state. You do not have time to give explicit instructions to each person.
Engagement
Next Genefa ensured that the team was on board. When driving transformation, you cannot drive the change alone. You need to engage those around you, understand their opinions and fears, as well as continuously express the ideal state and progress through numerous communication mechanisms, i.e. All-hands, E-mails, Slack messages, informal Q&A. We often forget as leaders when we been entrenched in the strategy, that our teams have not had the privilege of writing, reading, and editing the previous 25 versions of the strategy. Another great concept Genefa introduced was a rewards program to reinforce and engage the teams. They would recognize those that successfully aligned with the Marketing Manifesto.
Execution
A great strategy and plan are only as good as the ability to make progress. As Genefa shared, “Execution is critical because you can’t have a great idea without proving you’ve made progress.” Each of these elements are all tightly coupled, because showing progress helps further engage the teams and ensure you are delivering on the end state.
Emotions
The E3 Formula is powered by emotions. I know Genefa well, and as I mentioned at the start of this article, she has a ton of passion. I wasn’t surprised to her answer to the next question, “How important do you think bringing your heart and your passion to leadership is?” Her response, “It’s critical! I don’t know any other way.” I loved that Genefa then went on to share about the leaders she admired most and who she aspires to be like. They are leaders that are honest, cut through the BS, bring their whole self and are willing to be authentic. They are E3 Leaders, those leaders we will follow through any transformation.
Parting words of Advice
Finally, I asked Genefa what words of advice does she have for leaders that want to accomplish greatness like herself? She answered, “Start with having a point of view, work hard and at some point, be willing to make some sort of sacrifice.”
Please check out the full interview at https://youtu.be/3jp4FKcZg4w
E EQUALS WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Great leaders are inspirational, authentic, empowering, and courageous, and they consistently deliver results. E Equals Why has developed the formula: E3E = EXPRESS + ENGAGE + EXECUTE, powered by EMOTIONS to drive outcomes.
