Welcome back to 52 Weeks of Marketing Wisdom, where we review and recommend a new book weekly across five themes: Foresight, Customer, Strategy, Creativity & Innovation, plus two extras to complete the 52.

Our program is for busy marketing professionals seeking inspiration and growth through reading.

Rather than a simple review, we've evolved our blog posts to bring a point of view to the work and focus on how it informs what we do at Selbey Labs.

We are currently focused on Strategy for the next few weeks and this week we're looking at a pioneering book on agility and collaboration called Accelerate by John P. Kotter.

Hope you enjoy it.

Why Every Marketing Professional Should Read *Accelerate* by John P. Kotter

Marketing today isn’t what it used to be. The industry has gone from a steady march to a full-blown sprint. Technology evolves faster than campaigns can be launched, consumer expectations shift at the drop of a tweet, and competitors pop up seemingly overnight. For marketing professionals, the question is no longer just “How do we succeed?” but “How do we keep up?”

John P. Kotter’s *Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World* offers a solution that every marketing professional should consider. Kotter takes his decades of expertise in change management and applies it to the fast-paced, high-stakes environments that marketers know all too well. The book is both a wake-up call and a playbook for staying agile, innovative, and ahead of the competition.

The Marketing Dilemma: Structure vs. Agility

Marketing departments often face a structural dilemma. On one hand, there’s the need for operational efficiency: budgets must be managed, deadlines met, and campaigns executed with precision. This calls for a traditional, hierarchical structure—the kind that thrives on consistency and accountability.

But on the other hand, there’s the need for creativity and speed. Marketing teams need to innovate, experiment, and adapt to shifting trends and technologies. This demands agility—a startup mentality that allows for quick pivots and bold ideas.

Kotter’s central thesis in Accelerate is that organizations, including marketing teams, can’t rely on just one of these approaches. Instead, they need a **dual operating system**: a traditional hierarchy to handle day-to-day operations and a flexible network to drive innovation and strategic change.

For marketers, this is a game-changer. It means you don’t have to choose between stability and agility—you can have both.

The Dual Operating System: A Blueprint for Marketing Success

The dual operating system Kotter describes is simple yet revolutionary. Here’s how it works:

1. The Hierarchy: This is the structure most marketers are familiar with—managers, team leads, and specialists working within a clear chain of command. It’s essential for ensuring that campaigns are executed on time, budgets are adhered to, and operational goals are met.

2. The Network: This is the exciting part. Kotter proposes creating a parallel system—a network of volunteers from across the organization who collaborate on strategic initiatives. For marketing professionals, this network could include people from creative, data, product, and customer service teams, all working together on projects that require fresh thinking and cross-functional collaboration.

The network thrives on diversity, passion, and creativity. Unlike the hierarchy, it’s not about control—it’s about enabling the best ideas to rise to the top. For marketers, this is where innovation happens. It’s where someone says, “What if we tried this?” and instead of being met with layers of approval processes, the idea is tested and refined.

Urgency, Leadership, and Momentum: Lessons for Marketers

Kotter’s Eight Accelerators of Change, originally developed for organizational transformation, are remarkably applicable to marketing. Here’s how some of them can revolutionize your approach:

1. Create a Sense of Urgency:
   In marketing, complacency is the enemy. Kotter’s emphasis on urgency isn’t about panic—it’s about focus. A shared understanding of why change is necessary energizes teams and accelerates decision-making. For marketers, this could mean rallying your team around a big opportunity, like a major product launch or a new market segment, and making it clear why acting now is critical.

2. Build a Guiding Coalition:
   Marketing doesn’t happen in isolation. By building a guiding coalition—a team of cross-functional volunteers—you bring fresh perspectives into the mix. For example, someone from product development might offer insights that reshape your messaging, while a data analyst could identify untapped audience segments.

3. Celebrate Short-Term Wins:
   Marketing campaigns often take time to show ROI, but celebrating early successes keeps teams motivated. Kotter’s advice to focus on quick wins can apply to launching pilot campaigns, A/B tests, or small-scale experiments. Every success builds momentum and strengthens buy-in for larger initiatives.

4. Empower Action by Removing Barriers
   Marketers often face barriers like slow approval processes, siloed departments, or risk-averse cultures. Kotter emphasizes the importance of removing these obstacles to empower teams. For marketing professionals, this could mean streamlining sign-offs or fostering a culture where experimentation is encouraged.

5. Sustain Acceleration
   Once you’ve got momentum, don’t let it fizzle out. Kotter’s advice to continuously look for new opportunities ensures that marketing teams stay ahead of trends. Whether it’s exploring emerging platforms or adopting new technologies, the key is to keep evolving.

Marketing Is Built on Networks

Kotter’s concept of the volunteer-driven network resonates deeply with modern marketing. Campaigns today are rarely the product of a single team. They involve input from creatives, analysts, product managers, and even external partners. The best ideas come from collaboration, and Kotter’s network model provides a framework for fostering that.

By tapping into the energy of volunteers—people who are passionate about contributing beyond their regular roles—you create a marketing engine that’s dynamic, innovative, and adaptive. This isn’t about replacing your team—it’s about enhancing it with the collective power of the organization.

Why Marketing Professionals Should Read Accelerate

For marketing professionals, Accelerate offers a roadmap to thrive in a world of constant change. It’s not just a book about organizational strategy—it’s a survival guide for anyone navigating the chaos of modern marketing.

Kotter’s dual operating system shows how to balance structure with agility, ensuring that your team can execute campaigns flawlessly while staying open to innovation. The Eight Accelerators provide actionable steps to maintain urgency, empower teams, and sustain momentum. And the emphasis on networks and collaboration is a reminder that the best marketing happens when diverse voices come together.

In an industry where the only constant is change, Accelerate isn’t just a book—it’s a toolkit for staying ahead. It’s a call to action for marketers to embrace agility, foster creativity, and build systems that can keep pace with the world around them.

If you’re ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level, pick up Accelerate. Because in today’s world, speed isn’t just an advantage—it’s a necessity.

If you'd like to talk about applying this thinking, please visit us at www.selbeylabs.io

Accelerate, Building Strategic Agility for Faster Moving World, John P Kotter