Kathleen Schaub
Kathleen is an author, speaker, and strategist on marketing management. She draws on decades of experience, combined with science to deliver fresh, practical insights for organizations seeking to thrive in complex, uncertain, markets.
About the Book
Available May 20, 2025
Marketing leaders face an uphill battle: their teams are expected to deliver predictable, measurable results in a world characterized by uncertainty, human behavior, and complexity. Traditional approaches attempt to treat marketing as a vending machine where input guarantees output. But this outdated approach sets CMOs up for frustration in today’s dynamic business environment.
Kathleen Schaub, marketing innovator, former CMO and research analyst, reveals a radically needed shift in thinking that will not only bring clarity to the whole organization but help CMOs thrive in the chaos. Drawing on decades of experience combined with relevant science, Schaub explains why industrial-era practices fall short today and outlines a more flexible approach that embraces marketing as a complex system. Schaub’s method begins with four essential mindset shifts—think like an investor, navigator, statistician, and ecologist—and builds on them with actionable operational changes in intelligence, teams, work methods, and change management.
Marketing in the (Great, Big, Messy) Real World empowers marketing leaders to create adaptable, resilient marketing systems that thrive in uncertainty. Unlock your team’s full potential and turn complexity into opportunity.
Recent Articles
Are You Great at Marketing, or Just Lucky?
With the right mindset and practices, marketers can become drivers of luck, not just passive receivers. (CMSwire, Dec 2024)
Two “Gotchas” that Make Predictions Go Crazy Wrong
There’s an old saying, “Predicting the future is easy. Getting it right is hard.” Why? Many predictions start off already biased and the future is non-linear. (LinkedIn, November 2024)
5 Steps to Marketing Innovation with Creative Problem-solving
Break free from boring ideas with these actionable steps to spark innovation and solve marketing problems. (Martech.org, October 2024)
Don’t Forget Marketing Leaders, Take Care of Yourself
Whether it's a walk with the dog before a stressful Zoom or just sitting quietly reflecting, marketers need to find some me time. (CMSwire, September 2024)
Better than Average: The Dunning-Kruger Effect in Marketing
Why does almost everyone think they are an above-average driver? Or parent or leader or marketer? Of course, this is statistically impossible, yet repeated research demonstrates proof of this phenomenon. (LinkedIn, August 2024)
Nature’s Inspiration for Transforming Your Marketing Plan
Revolutionize your marketing with pace-layered planning inspired by nature's resilience, balancing quick adaptations with long-term stability. (Martech.org, August 2024)