When joining a business, especially its C-suite, it is essential to fully grasp every aspect of its environment, both internal and external.

Understanding how each piece of the puzzle comes together –or should come together– for balance can help leaders strategize and make decisions. 

However, considering the complexity of running a business, choosing what to focus on may not be an easy task.

According to Hootsuite CMO, Elina Vilk, there are four core elements that were key in allowing her to guide her in her first 90 days as CMO. Customers. Culture. Company. Competitors.

In her interview for TOP CMO, Elina and Ben Kaplan compare these four to the natural elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Find out which is which below!

1. Customers – Earth

Your customers are the foundation your business is built on. They’re the earth you need to be as solid as possible and you must work to fertilize it.

Having a proper understanding of this earth will allow you to nourish it in the way it needs the most. You’ll be able to test different methods, formulas, and seeds to find the perfect match to ensure its satisfaction and your prosperity.

Who your customers are. Why they choose you. Why they leave you. Who your top customers are. What their behavioral traits are. What the less obvious things that they do are. 

Since these are real people, it’s important to remember that, most times, there will be a lot they don’t say. So don’t just trust surveys or written feedback. 

Take the time to talk to them, ask them questions, and be sensitive to everything that may be more on the implicit side. A satisfied audience will not only be more profitable but will also trust you more and feel seen.

2. Culture – Air

The culture of the company you’re joining is an essential piece you have to consider to run operations as smoothly as possible. It’s the air the whole team breathes and the environment that boosts productivity.

Every organization is its own world, and the environment that worked for one may not work for another. Its culture is the DNA that led them to success. 

Of course, your new presence may be intended to foster change. But even then it’s important to carefully assess the full picture and keep the good parts that are native to that company.

Having one-on-one conversations with employees can give you meaningful insights about what’s working and what isn’t. With that feedback, you can work to change bad habits, while also lifting up the positive ones that people have grown comfortable with.

3. Company – Water

The C for company refers to financials, products, foundations; the levers that drive the company forward. Those that make money. The things that push you forward and are needed to survive. Much like water.

Becoming an expert in your new workplace will help you advocate for it with more conviction, but will also enable you to see beyond what meets the eye.

What are the things it’s missing? What are the things that haven’t been given enough attention? What are some new opportunities? Coming in as an outsider allows you to have a different perspective.

Finding new secret weapons. Optimizing processes. Analyzing cost structures. Looking out for details and providing your nuanced, possibly yet unheard-of opinion can make a difference.

4. Competitors – Fire

Companies don't operate in a vacuum, they only operate in the context of their competitive set. Competitors are a fire: one that is dangerous, of course, but also one that keeps you alive and going, a motivation. In a “Don’t lose your spark” way.

It’s not about looking at them to determine strategies –that’s what the other elements are for–. It’s all about what the customer sees. The ecosystem and the options that exist around you.

Attention in this area must be directed towards how you’re viewed when compared to others, and where you’re not even seen as an option. That’s the goal of the fourth C, not just looking out for threats.

Perfect alchemy

Entering an existing company in a leadership role can be daunting. Pre-existing relationships. Consolidated culture. Well-oiled modi operandi. New target audiences.

While you may be cut some slack, it’s essential that you get to work fast to learn as much as possible, as soon as you can. In the overwhelming world of a business, focusing on these four elements can help you become useful quickly.

Engage with customers to find explicit and implicit clues about what they want.

Sit down with your employees and peers to fully grasp what kind of environment works best and in success’ favor.

Use metrics and data to become knowledgeable on the company’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.

Assess the ecosystem you operate in and get fueled by the competition.

Comprehending the entirety of a brand’s complexities is no easy task. You’re not expected to know it all. However, taking the time to become an expert on the core pieces that make or break your new company will allow you to sail smoothly.

And, who knows? Perhaps in just 90 days, you’ll come up with your own formula like Elina Vilk.

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