I recently sat down with Olivier Lemaignen – veteran B2B marketer, coach, and author – and our conversation pulled together a lot of what’s changing in marketing and leadership right now.
We talked about true north: the small set of things that really matter in your life and in your marketing strategy. For Olivier, that meant turning down higher-paying, travel-heavy roles to be present for his six kids—and professionally, it means running with 3–5 real strategies, not 20. The tools (including AI), channels, and tactics should serve that true north, not distract from it.
We also explored servant leadership, authentic storytelling (via influencers, employees, and customers), and why averages like a single CAC or ROAS can quietly destroy your marketing economics in a world driven by power-law distributions.
Olivier’s take on AI is refreshingly practical: the key question isn’t “Will AI replace me?” but “How can AI make me faster, sharper, and more impactful where my judgment matters most?”
Discussion topics include:
- Frontline employees as underused brand advocates
- Balancing skills vs. emotional intelligence and culture fit in hiring
- How candidates can screen companies using their own “true north”
- Three political archetypes inside organizations (diplomats, reactors, and “politicians”)
- Using segmentation and lookalikes to escape the trap of misleading averages
If you’re leading a team or shaping strategy, these ideas are worth a deeper look.