<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69fa70ef602b92ce25eff056_secret-diary-cmo-68ac704b114b5466130520.jpeg" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Expression</span> <h1 class="gn-title">The Secret Diary of a CMO Entry 001: &quot;Why I said Yes&quot;</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>25 August 2025</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>4 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-body"> <p class="gn-lede gn-reveal">When one of the founders of The GO Network asked if I'd be open to sharing what it's really like being a CMO, my first reaction was a hard no.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Not because I didn't have anything to say, quite the opposite.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">But because the idea of putting any of it down in writing, even anonymously, felt like standing in the middle of a crowded boardroom with a microphone and a blindfold, shouting, "Here's what I really think."</p> <p class="gn-reveal">And yet, here we are.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">They'd asked a few others, apparently!</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Senior marketers in comparable roles, similar pressure, similar politics.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Some declined. One said yes and then pulled out. Understandably. This job is equal parts visibility and fragility. There's always someone watching. And it doesn't take much to be considered off-message.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">But the idea stuck with me.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Firstly, I trust them. I've known Gaz &amp; Russ the founders for many years. Secondly, I loved the idea and the audience it was aimed at. And thirdly, because the truth is, I/we rarely get to be honest in this role. Not fully. Not without risk.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Everything is filtered through PR, strategy decks, board memos, internal alignment calls. Every opinion has to be caveated, softened, triangulated. You become fluent in saying a lot without committing to anything too concrete. Survival skill.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">So the idea of a space to just say it, how it really works, how it really feels, had weight. Not because I'm special or want a soapbox. But because, if we're being blunt, too many people still don't understand what this job actually is.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Most agencies think we hold all the power. Most of the board thinks we hold all the budget. Our teams think we hold all the answers. And half the time, we're just trying to get through a week without having to rewrite the marketing plan for the third time because someone in procurement discovered a slide from 2022.</p> <h2 class="gn-reveal">So I came back with conditions. Non-negotiables.</h2> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#01</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">Complete editorial control</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">These are my words. No one edits them. No rewrites, no rephrasing, no approval cycles. If I'm going to be honest, it has to be my honesty, not a curated version.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#02</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">No names, no brands, no campaigns</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">If anyone tries to guess, they won't land on the right answer. Every scenario will be a blend. Real, yes. Traceable, no.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#03</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">It has to be useful</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">I'm not doing this to vent. I have WhatsApp for that. I'm doing it because there's a gap between what people think this job is and what it really demands. If this narrows that gap, even slightly, it's worth doing.</p> </div> <div class="gn-list-item gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-list-item__head"> <span class="gn-list-item__num">#04</span> <h3 class="gn-list-item__title">I will not be doing this weekly</h3> </div> <p class="gn-reveal">If you're looking for a running commentary on my calendar, go follow someone with a newsletter. I'll write when something matters, when it deserves daylight.</p> </div> <aside class="gn-quote gn-reveal"><q>I'm not doing this to vent. I have WhatsApp for that. I'm doing it because there's a gap between what people think this job is and what it really demands.</q><cite>The Secret CMO</cite></aside> <h2 class="gn-reveal">So, what do I want this to be?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">A window. Not into my life, into the job. Into the psychology of being the person who signs the agency contracts, who presents the numbers to the board, who gets blamed when the ad doesn't land and forgotten when it does.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">Into the tension between being a brand guardian and a political operator. Into the constant game of trying to do the right work, with the right people, in a system that often punishes good instincts.</p> <h2 class="gn-reveal">And who's it for?</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">Partly, it's for agencies. Because too often, they're working in the dark. They see the brief, not the conversation that shaped or broke it. They hear the feedback, not the internal war behind it. I don't think most agencies realise how many of their proposals live and die by conversations they're not invited to. I'd like to change that, or at least expose it.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">It's also for the CMOs who won't write this, but might nod along. Because, as a peer said to me over dinner last month, no one tells you how lonely this job gets once you're in the room where the real decisions happen.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">And maybe it's also for the future me, the one who wants to remember what this felt like. Not the glossy summary we give in interviews, but the reality. The chaos. The compromise. The comedy of it all.</p> <h2 class="gn-reveal">So here's what to expect.</h2> <p class="gn-reveal">This won't be a case study. It won't be a thought leadership piece. It won't be neat. Sometimes it'll be long, sometimes short. Sometimes cynical, sometimes hopeful. But always, I hope, clear-eyed.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">I'll try to write:</p> <aside class="gn-callout gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-callout__label">What this means for you</div> <h4>The moments that deserve daylight</h4> <ul> <li><strong>When a pitch collapses for reasons no one will admit.</strong></li> <li><strong>When an agency nails the strategy and still doesn't win.</strong></li> <li><strong>When my board demands new results but cuts the budget.</strong></li> <li><strong>When we waste two weeks aligning on a slide that never makes it into the deck.</strong></li> <li><strong>When I'm dragged into a global call about a category I don't own.</strong></li> <li><strong>When my team burn out chasing KPIs that don't ladder to anything meaningful.</strong></li> <li><strong>When we make a hire we regret.</strong></li> <li><strong>When procurement starts talking about creative value.</strong></li> <li><strong>When I get a Monday email from the CEO asking why the campaign didn't go viral.</strong></li> <li><strong>When I fly five hours to attend a meeting that could have been an email.</strong></li> <li><strong>....And when something small, a moment of clarity, a line in a meeting, a result that cuts through, reminds me why I still care about doing this properly.</strong></li> </ul> </aside> <p class="gn-reveal">If you're an agency reading this, I hope it gives you some perspective on what you're really up against, and what we sometimes wish we could tell you if the politics allowed it.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">If you're another CMO, you'll recognise the madness.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">And if you're neither, then maybe you'll stop asking why marketing can't just get it right the first time.</p> <p class="gn-reveal">More soon.</p> <p class="gn-reveal"><strong>The Secret CMO</strong></p> </div></div>