One year ago I launched The CMO Marketing Mindset with a simple goal: create a space for real conversations about marketing strategy and business growth. Now, 1,059 subscribers later, I'm sharing the biggest lesson from year one, the new direction for the newsletter, and where this next chapter is headed.

This small business week belongs to us: the builders, the risk-takers, and the ones who bet on themselves. created with ChatGPT by Fisher Marketing Services National Small Business Week 2026 runs May 3–9, and this year's theme hits close to home: the comeback of Main Street. Not a corporate rebound. Not a Wall Street rally. The return of the small business owner — the person who chose vision over a steady paycheck and built something from scratch. That's me. That's probably y

SMART goals were never meant to be a percentage and a deadline dressed up as a management plan. When businesses turn KPIs into goals without defining the strategy, activities, ownership and resources behind them, employees are left chasing numbers instead of business results. This article looks at how SMART goals evolved—and how law firms and businesses can bring them back to their management roots.

Business development still works because relationships still matter. This article explores why referrals remain a powerful growth source and how intentional follow-up, smarter relationship targeting, and better tracking can turn connections into measurable business opportunities.

Content may have reach, but your brand determines what that content is representing. This article challenges the long-standing “content is king” mindset and shows how aligning brand strategy, content, SEO and the buyer experience can improve trust, lead quality and conversion.