Intelligent CXO Issue 43 | Page 24

EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
In the business world , success is perhaps slightly easier to define , but as the three experts on the following pages emphasise , it is still a fluid situation . Customers ’ demands change all of the time . What once worked , may not work in the future . So what was once successful , may start to fail . Perhaps the key is to recognise that success isn ’ t a permanent state . It ’ s good to celebrate a successful project or a client win but it won ’ t mean that the next project or bid will be successful .
I ’ ve highlighted some key points from our three respondents below . But be sure to read their answers in full . Shafqat Islam , President at Optimizely said : “ In the world of marketing , there ’ s always pressure to prove the value of our decisions internally . But I ’ ve always believed that we should reduce the ‘ marketing of marketing ’ as much as possible . If we ’ re truly successful , our work will speak for itself . The campaigns we run , the leads we generate , the brand impact we create – all of that should be visible in the results .”

Success . What does the word mean to you ? Success will mean very different things to different people . The question came into my head when I heard someone on the radio being described as successful . I thought , what does that really mean ? What I see as successful could be very different from my friends . For

IN BUSINESS , AND OFTEN IN LIFE , AS WELL , THE RULES AND TIMELINES ARE CONSTANTLY IN FLUX . example , someone in a well-paid , high- level job could be seen as successful but if they didn ’ t enjoy the job or felt overwhelmed , does this still translate as successful ?
John Greenstein , CEO at Bluescape , said : “ In business , and often in life , as well , the rules and timelines are constantly in flux . Business is an inherently complex discipline that requires working with dynamic customers , changing requirements and evolving market conditions . As a result of these variables , the fundamental definition of success becomes multidimensional and fluid . Measuring business success requires a holistic and sometimes nuanced approach .”
And Myles Leach , Managing Director at NFON UK , views success as the following : “ We only work with resellers and don ’ t sell to end-users directly . We get great benefits from this . We gain instant access to a much wider end-user customer base , helping us break into new vertical markets and our partners have the confidence that we won ’ t ever be in competition with them as their success is crucial for ours .”

How do you measure success ?

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