• Forbes CMO Network, Tuesday, May 19, 2009 11 AM

Mike Linton, the former CMO at eBay and Best Buy, argues that companies should look at the CMO function the way that successful sports teams look at their leadership positions. "Changing managers every two years is rarely the path to a sports championship," he writes, "and it's not the way to great marketing either."

It's no secret that CMOs have the shortest life span among C-level execs (although the average length of tenure has gone up four months, to 28, since Spencer Stuart started keeping the stat in 2004). The reason, according to Linton, is the "Marketer's Dilemma." You've got to find the delicate balance between short-term results and long-term innovation.

Then there's the "GMOOT" -- shorthand for "Get Me One of Those ..." -- factor. "The demand in question could be anything from Amazon's predictive models to Apple's ad campaigns," writes Linton. When it comes to marketing, in other words, everybody from next-door neighbors to co-workers feels qualified to throw in their two-cents based on their own experiences. CIO's don't face the same everyday scrutiny.

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