This episode features an interview with Andy Raskin, Strategic Narrative Consultant, who aligns CEOs and their teams around a strategic narrative — to power success in sales, marketing, fundraising, product and recruiting.

In this episode, Andy shares what a strategic narrative is, how CMOs should think about it, and how to get CEO-buy-in.

Key Takeaways:

• Clarifying and developing your strategic narrative is a leadership level task that requires buy-in from the full executive team, and buy-in from the CEO is crucial.
• A successful strategic narrative transforms the act of buying into that of joining a movement.
• The process of developing a strategic narrative often reveals misalignment within leadership teams, even amongst teams who think they are on the same page.

Quote:

“I always start asking, okay, what are the pieces of this story? I’d say there's always, there's like a little bit of alignment, but almost every time there's, people are going in different directions, and very often I'll get, oh yeah, the CEO will say, yeah, me and the CMO or me and the CFO we're totally on the same page, like talking to the same person. And then I'll ask and it turns out quite different about how they want to talk about the company and build this narrative. So it's a very common thing, yes. When I send out a proposal, I used to say like strategic narrative creation or something like that, and I changed it to strategic narrative alignment. Because I really do think that, at the end of the day, that's the work.”

Episode Timestamps:

*(02:26) What is a strategic narrative?

*(08:10) How should CMOs think about strategic narrative?

*(16:52 ) How to get CEO buy-in

*(40:15 ) Quick Hits: Andy’s Quick Hits

Sponsor:

Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.

Links:

• Connect with Ian on LinkedIn
• Connect with Andy on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Andy’s work
• Learn more about Caspian Studios