Today I turn one

A reflection of year one as the CMO at Searce

Introduction:

Today, I am ONE- well, not in actual age of course but as a Searcian.

May 2024 marks my one-year anniversary in leaving my role at Google Cloud (which I should add, I so loved) to continue to push myself to grow in my career and to take on a new and exciting set of challenges and opportunities as the Chief Marketing Officer at Searce. Searce is an engineering-led modern tech consultancy that empowers clients to futurify by delivering real business outcomes.

My mission in joining Searce was to act as their first-ever, CMO for the global organization that spans 10 countries, across various international time zones and help bring to life this mighty brand of humble, HAPPIER 1,300+ solvers — no small endeavor (especially for a first-time CMO myself). Searce has proven to be an incredible archaeological dig of tremendous treasures over 20 years in business which has enriched the lives of so many Searcians (current and past), clients, and partners. The journey to where I am sitting now reflecting and sharing, has not been straightforward… many times my team and I have had to double back to move forward but the good news is — we always moved forward; together.

Curious? Let me take you on a journey into my first year as a CMO (with the explosive growth of GenAI as a backdrop if I might add) and share some reflections and learnings. It’s been a significant journey to date and one that required a “map-makers” spirit and mindset which I’ve tapped back into and so enjoyed.

The Learning Curve:

Let me tell you, the learning curve is steep but not without personal and professional rewards.

Part of our commitment to becoming a Solver at Searce is to solve problems and to use our EVLOS problem-solving methodology to get things done to the finest degree of excellence. Achieving excellence is not for the faint of heart, it means sharing work that you think is not ready for “outside reviews and reflection” and it means working cross-functionally to achieve goals, it means aggressive sprints and iterations. There has to be a level of trust built to want to share “incomplete” work however when you embrace it, you will see better outcomes.

One of the best examples I can give is how Searce showed up for Google Cloud Next’24 in Las Vegas this April. We endeavored to develop a custom booth and better express to the Google community who we are and what we do. In addition to that, as passionate storytellers, we committed to developing our first “futurify” book as a high-end printed asset spanning a cool 83 pages — easy right? :) In order to get this done and to walk into Next’ 24 proudly, we had to break down all “official” team borders and collaborate outside our standard working groups. Though marketing should always be deeply connected to sales, we also pushed ourselves to work with our CEO and the office of the CEO, Delivery leadership, Alliances, and our Practice & IP teams to get the optimal result. I will spare the sleepless nights, pep talks, and overall energy required to get this done across a fully distributed team but, the end result was truly better when we all worked together towards a shared REAL outcome. The diversity of perspectives that can be viewed, discussed, and implemented is what resulted in our final product and was something everyone at Searce could be proud of.

The lesson here is an old one — you must empty your cup fully to fill it back up — to me this is particularly true when you enter a new organization with their own established ways of working. When I was finally able to “empty my cup” and make room for new ways of working, things started to click more. Next’24 is one example of that but there are many more, and learning is a continuous road.

Building the Team:

When I joined my plan was centered around 3 Ps. If you know me, you know I love to work in 3s as it provides focus and structure for me, and those around me. My team always needed to know what I was working towards and connect the ask to the pillar.

The three Ps are (People- Process- Positioning) and for this part of the reflection, I want to talk about the most foundational element of all — the people. In my career, I’ve been so blessed to have been part of amazing teams and had the opportunity to build amazing teams myself. Getting to know the people was crucial for me to understand who everyone was as an individual, what they were capable of, where they most needed my focus, and what gaps we might have had to fill with critical roles or investments. I wanted to ensure that as much as possible, I could provide clarity and direction for the team.

I might add again, that I’ve done this 90% being remote- me based in the US, my team based in India and Indonesia. The 10% I will cover is centered around my getting the team together early on for a week-long offsite which, if you are building a team I suggest you do this also: — show up- be present- carve out the time (yes, a week — not a lunch or a session or two, really really really get to know people) because it matters.

This week-long offsite provided me not only the opportunity to introduce myself but also to help the team get to know what it would be like to work with me — what my expectations were, and how I like to communicate. This approach set us up for a much stronger foundational alignment right at the start. I’ve been able to build upon that foundation since and create a safe space for my team as much as possible — I AM NOT PERFECT- but this alignment has significantly improved how my team communicates with me and each other — we might have different day to day functional roles but those are not silos and a team that can communicate and weather highs and lows will always come out on top.

My takeaways here are: take the time to get to know your people — take them bowling, break bread, try the foods, learn about their kids or pets or hobbies, and mean it. I am open to teaching people and growing them but I first must know what makes them tick. Spending time with my team has always paid off and showing up and being present is priceless for our people.

Last note here, I am also a work in progress and DO NOT get it right all the time however, I am introspective enough to improve and show up as me every day which matters.

Highlights:

There have been many and as an eternal optimist, I will try and keep my oozing rainbows to a minimum but truly it’s a decision I make each and every day to see the positive in situations and to find something positive in each challenge as well. I promise, this takes work.

Ok- now on to the highlights (and again only picking a few):

• Launched an entirely new marketing function to align to our Global practices (Applied AI and Data & Analytics to begin with) to ensure that we could align our efforts to where the market was drastically moving. Imagine waking up as a new CMO on May 1st…to GenAI which is positioned to change everything and already has in a few short months. If we had not aligned marketing dedication to this space, we would not have been able to thrive and show up as we have. As of today we’ve launched Global campaigns across Applied AI and GenAI, Data & Analytics including two new series, AI to Z and Talk Data to Me. In addition we’ve secured 80+ PR mentions, 90+ events and analyst recognition via Everest Group. I assure you, we are just getting started.
• Awards, Accolades, and more! It’s been an exciting year with plenty to celebrate with Searce winning 2 Google Cloud Partner Awards in 2023, and another one just a month ago at Next’24. Happy faces! We were also a Google Cloud launch partner for GenAI, an AWS Resilience Competency launch partner, and most recently achieved our Generative AI Services specialization.
• We hit 120K + Followers on LinkedIn- We’ve significantly improved our social presence growing not only in followers but in engagement. I can also say that there is SUCH immense pride at Searce that our Searcians continue to inspire me by being such strong brand ambassadors and advocates — like having 1000+ influencers all over the world. This is truly a marketer’s dream — an engaged community??? :) THANK YOU!!!
• We’ve developed an impressive amount of customer evidence and generated 40+ case studies demonstrating our true #TrustedPartner vision. In case I’ve not shared our vision with you, it is simple: to be the most trusted technology partner driving intelligent, impactful, futuristic business outcomes for our clients.
• We’ve firmed up our EVLOS series of programs which are a Searce first-party set of events/customer moments spanning from Summits (one: many) previously executed in Bangalore and Jakarta and coming to the US this year, stay tuned. EVLOS Talks (voice of the customer sessions where our clients share in their own words how we’ve helped them Solve Differently to achieve real business outcomes). Our newest format, EVLOS Shorts which will be quick testimonials and finally, EVLOS Roundtables for (one: few) smaller format engagement. H2 will be brought to life for Searce by EVLOS programs — can’t wait.
• We’ve matured our positioning by refreshing our value proposition. We refocused on what Searce means and why the company was started 20 years ago. Did you know? Searce means “a fine sieve”- to analyze — to refine to improve” and represents the process of analyzing to identify better ways of doing things, ultimately improving the real business outcomes. Talk about a consultancy with a purpose and aligned mission!!! This refreshed positioning and storytelling will continue to come to life over the next few months via all channels.
• We’ve re-established our BDR efforts and are delivering impactful outcomes for the business. We’ve developed the muscle to drive our own demand, make connections, and secure meetings with some of the top decision-makers in our target accounts. How you might ask? This one, I owe to hiring the right leader and giving her the space. (thank you- Iniya) She has taken a decade of experience and poured it into a team that was ready to learn and up to the task. By investing in training, tools and teamwork, I have to say this team is undoubtedly one of the most bright spots for me.
• We’re measuring our work- no surprise here as marketers (HELLO this is table stakes) but building and resetting measurement criteria is not a small feat. We are a work in progress but we have our north star and data is helping us improve the quality of our outputs.

Above and beyond all of this, we’ve also matured our digital capabilities and invested in a webinar platform and ABM capabilities. We, like many out there, have explored various GenAI tools and techniques to increase the velocity of content efforts, research and SEO- by exploring and testing what’s right for us with structure through a dedicated “solver squad” with a shared mission and adding into our workflows. The work continues of course but we’re optimistic and eager.

Looking Forward:

My mission at Searce is clear — but the path will never be straightforward and that I’ve decided is what fuels me as a builder, a doer — a futurist, and a solver.

The future is bright for us as we enter our 20th year in business. Over the month of June, we will be celebrating the Solvers (the HEART and SOUL of Searce), our esteemed clients and partners, and reflecting on the journey that has gotten us to 20 years of delivering intelligent outcomes.

I’m eager for the path ahead — opportunity is never convenient and we must continue to take the path less traveled, less obvious, and one that fuels us every day.

A Note of Thanks:

As a final note of reflection, gratitude must be expressed. First and foremost to my team for their passion and dedication to what we are building and for signing up to be part of the journey with me — I am thrilled to be doing this with each of you.

Second, a thank you to the leadership team at Searce for teaching me how you do things and also embracing new ways of doing things. Thank you also for the freedom and support you’ve provided me and the team to solve for better!

Finally, to my fellow marketers and my esteemed network — thank you for taking my calls, giving advice, sharing what is working for you, exploring different ways to tackle challenges, and for your council. Nothing is done alone — and what I love most about marketing as a discipline is that it’s got a community vibe. We are HONESTLY rooting for each other, keen to learn from each other, and support each other’s growth — I am for you and I know you are for me.

Thanks for stopping by and being part of the journey!

Kayla