As marketers, we are tasked with continuously driving and adapting to change. A role like ours requires an appetite for constant learning—from the leading thinkers in our field, as well as from our peers. In an attempt to learn from each other as a community, and to gain insights and perspectives across industries, I thought it would be instructive to invite top CMOs to share their best reads, and why these books have made it to the top of their reading lists. I was delighted with the diversity in the responses. From the work of established business thinkers to iconic post-punk musicians, all of these books can teach us lessons we can apply to the discipline of marketing leadership, and our personal lives as well.

1. 16 Top Marketers
Reading Lists

2. As marketers, we are tasked with continuously
driving and adapting to change. A role like ours
requires an appetite for constant learning—
from the leading thinkers in our field, as well as
from our peers.
In an attempt to learn from each other as a
community, and to gain insights and
perspectives across industries, I thought it would
be instructive to invite top CMOs to share
their best reads, and why these books have
made it to the top of their reading lists.
I was delighted with the diversity in the
responses. From the work of established
business thinkers to iconic post-punk musicians,
all of these books can teach us lessons we
can apply to the discipline of marketing
leadership, and our personal lives as well.
Margaret Molloy
Global CMO
Siegel+Gale
@MargaretMolloy

3. "I have How Music Works, on my nightstand
and I’m very eager to read it. I’ve been a fan of
his work over the years and love observing the
cultural landscape through his lens. For a
lifestyle brand like Truth, maintaining relevancy
with youth is an unyielding pursuit. Music often
provides the opportunity to have shorthand
conversation with this audience. It allows us to
communicate volumes about our brand without
actually saying a word. I’m hopeful David Byrne
will offer a peak behind the curtain of what
makes him tick as well. Perhaps a once in a
lifetime peak."
How Music Works by David Byrne
Eric Asche
CMO
American Legacy Foundation
@easche

4. Drive by Daniel Pink
“In Drive, Pink goes on to illustrate why the
traditional carrots-and-sticks paradigm of
extrinsic reward and punishment doesn’t work,
pointing instead to his trifecta of intrinsic
motivators: Autonomy, or the desire to be self-
directed; Mastery, or the itch to keep improving
at something that’s important to us; and Purpose,
the sense that what we do produces something
transcendent or serves something meaningful
beyond than ourselves. The book updates the
perspective on 21st-century motivation of
leaders, employees, customers and
stakeholders. Understanding what motivates
people in general is a primer for all marketing
professionals as the competency evolves at a
rapid pace.”
Brian Miske
CMO
KPMG LLP

5. Natural Born Heroes by Christopher
McDougall
and The Road to Character by David Brooks“A few summers ago I read and loved Christopher
McDougall's book Born to Run. I wouldn’t consider myself
a candidate for an Ironman triathlon, just like I wouldn’t
have considered myself a runner, but I was so inspired by
the book that I went out and ran barefoot on the beach
that very weekend! I wonder what Natural Born Heroes will
motivate me to try! In April after reading David Brooks's
article The Moral Bucket List, I picked up his latest
book The Road to Character. I love the idea of a
“stumbler” who isn’t living for “happiness as it’s
conventionally defined” but rather sees life as a larger
narrative filled with ups and downs—and on this road
stumbles upon a purposeful life. David reminds us to
confront our weaknesses as we pursue a deeper sense of
purpose and a strong inner character.”
Maryam Banikarim
Global CMO
Hyatt
@maryamb

6. Grow Your Value by Mika Brzezinski
“I like it because Mika reminds us
to not forget our personal values
when pursuing professional ones;
great lessons from the trailblazers.”
Maggie Chan Jones
CMO
SAP
@maggiecj

7. Thinking Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
“I find marketing is as much about
psychology than anything else, and I tend
to read more books on that subject than
books that would be categorized as
“marketing.” One that I am reading now
has really made me think not only about
marketing but how I think about living my
life. It’s Thinking Fast and Slow. It really
deconstructs how people think and make
decisions and then ties it to how you
should think about living your life.”
Rishi Dave
CMO
Dun & Bradstreet

8. Different by Youngme Moon
“I'm excited to finally read Youngme
Moon's book, Different. With so many
messages coming at us, "new" remains the
third most motivating word in the English
language and "different" is the most
magnetic part of new.”
Barbara J.
Cooperman
CMO
Kroll Inc.
@bjcooperman

9. “It looks like a provocative read and has
been recommended a couple of times. I'm
curious to learn more. Data-driven
explanations for brand "intangibles" can
help companies embrace marketing and
I'm curious to see Byron Sharp's analytical
arguments about brands.”
How Brands Grow –
What Marketers Don't Know
by Byron Sharp
Pat Shores
CMO
Bark & Co.

10. “The Grateful Dead was an early master of
consumer engagement. I keep this book on
my desk as a reminder to focus on building
relationships with consumers, and to allow
them to define how they access and
experience your brand.”
Marketing Lessons from The Grateful Dead
by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan
Lorna Joseph
National Marketing Leader, Audit
Enterprise & Risk Services
Deloitte
@lornajoseph

11. “According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers value
recommendations from friends and family over all
forms of advertising. So, marketers can't leave
this to chance - we have to get good at this on
purpose. For those old enough to remember,
Faberge had this concept down as early as the
70's with their "tell 2 friends" commercial. Word
of Mouth is a simple principle, but this book
provides practical advice on how to actually
activate it by cultivating endorsements and
advocacy from your customers.”
Highly Recommended: Harnessing the
Power of Word of Mouth and Social
Media to Build Your Brand and Your
Business
by Paul Rand
Patrick Bernardi
CMO
Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co., LLC
@PBwas44

12. “I’ve used Strengthfinders 2.0 as a tool for
years. Strength Based Leadership has
great personal stories from successful
leaders, which provide me with “ah-ha”
moments in my own work. Everyone at
Consumers Credit Union is given
Strengthfinders during their first week. We
see everyone's results on our intranet and
can understand how they may react to a
project. It’s important for me personally to
know the strengths of our team. We
understand our team synergy better and
are more productive.”
Strengthfinders 2.0 and Strength
Based Leadership by Tom Rath
and Barry Conchie
Lynne J. Johnson
CMO
Consumer’s Credit Union
@MoJoCMO

13. “I'm always curious about understanding
perspectives concerning how human
behavior can impact sales. This book
provides both information—how and why—
and a process to follow to build sales.
Every business needs more customers and
product evangelists and I find Ryan's story/
business journey very interesting.”
Ask. by Ryan Levesque
Valerie Foster
VP, Marketing Communications
Monitor Liability Managers
@ValerieFoster3

14. “I’ve admired General Powell for years,
and when he confirmed his appearance at
Sage Summit, I knew I had to read this
book. General Powell shares the lessons
that shaped his career; what an inspiration
for anyone in business – and he was even
more inspirational in-person. I’m in awe
(and agreement) of his perspective on
small business and the importance they
have in this country. And as a CMO, his
advice on taking care of people, focusing
on the mission, and having a purpose
resonate.”
It Worked for Me: In Life and
Leadership
by General Colin L. Powell
Gabie Boko
EVP, Marketing
Sage
@GabieBoko

15. “Right now I’m reading A Beautiful
Constraint. We're nourishing a challenger
culture at Campbell Soup and trying to get
people to think about doing more with less.
This has some inspiring lessons as well as
case studies we can all learn from.”
A Beautiful Constraint
by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden
Michael W. Goodman
Director, Innovation Commercialization
Campbell Soup Company

16. “Although it was published 10 years ago, I
still find myself referring back to this book.
With new product development and
portfolio strategy being an important part of
any CMO’s job, I find Blue Ocean
Strategy’s underlying principles of market
disruption to be inspirational. We need to
go beyond the “low hanging fruit” to
explore non-traditional and potentially
transformational paths to growth. To use a
baseball metaphor, singles and doubles
are nice, but it’s also important to hunt for
those elusive home runs.”
Blue Ocean Strategy
by W. Chan Kim and Renée
Mauborgne
Carlos Navarro
VP and CMO
South Jersey Industries

17. “This has been in my mile-high stack of bedside
books for a while and became relevant a couple
weeks ago when I decided to leave a strong
company for a new CMO adventure and the
complete unknown. Whether taking a new
position, introducing an unconventional strategy,
or presenting what we hope will be a
breakthrough creative campaign, marketing
leaders are familiar with uncertainly, risk, and the
associated feelings of vulnerability. Brown
encourages readers to see vulnerability as
courage. With vulnerability as a newfound
superpower, “daring greatly” just got a lot easier!”
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Gina McDuffie
CMO
VER
@ginamcduffie

18. “As "simplicity" is an essential part of a
modern marketers strategy, focusing on
the "essential" is critical to simplifying. This
book provides a framework for how to
determine what's essential to professional
success and personal happiness.
Essentialism isn't about doing less, it's
about making a bigger impact.”
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Margaret Molloy
Global CMO
Siegel+Gale
@MargaretMolloy

19. My thanks to these CMOs for
sharing their incredible diverse
selection of top reading
suggestions. Now, it’s over to
you. We’re keen to hear your
recommendations—what would
you add to our list?
Follow and Tweet me
@MargaretMolloy
A version of this presentation
first appeared on Forbes.com

20. www.siegelgale.com
Siegel+Gale is the simplicity company. We are a global strategic
branding, design, and experience firm.