Marketing Climber review: The Shift by Scott M. Davis

What type of marketer do you want to be known as? Pick one.

A. Tactician Marketer
B. Visionary Marketer

Judging from the fact that you are reading a blog called Marketing Climber, I’m guessing (and hoping) you selected Visionary Marketer.

Scott Davis, author of  THE SHIFT: The Transformation of Today’s Marketers into Tomorrow’s Growth Leaders,  makes a case that:

No one is better suited to drive the growth agenda than the head of marketing.

Mr. Davis points out that this isn’t going to be a simple task as he challenges the old marketing mind-set by describing five broad shifts that correspond to new marketing truths.

These five shifts include:

1st Shift – from creating marketing strategies to driving business impact.

2nd Shift – from controlling the message to galvanizing your network.

3rd Shift – from incremental improvements to pervasive innovation.

4th Shift – from managing marketing investments to inspiring marketing excellence.

5th Shift – from an operational focus to a relentless customer focus.

The Shift dives deeper into each of the five shifts by highlighting examples and case studies by leading marketers from GE, Wal-Mart, Charles Schwab, Proctor & Gamble, Burger King, Zappos, Best Buy and Dell among others.

This book is a great read for any marketer as the shifts can be implemented whether in the C-suite (as the book is written to senior marketing management) or at a marketing manager level (in my opinion).  The circle of influence that you may shift will depend on the level at which you can implement. 

Please don’t get frustrated as it comes across sometimes this book is written only for those in high level marketing roles as many front line marketers obviously won’t have C-Suite access.  I would adapt the learnings to fit your marketing role and see how you can drive growth in the business areas in which you have responsibility.  

The Shift is a great read to learn new principles to become a great visionary marketer which will ultimately set you up for success if implemented as you drive growth in the business areas you work in. 

The section ”So, What Do I Do on Monday Morning?” written at the conclusion of each shift that Mr. Davis describes is an excellent recap and resource to assist you in moving forward.

I wish you much success as you move towards becoming a Visionary Marketer for your organziation.