The Chief Consciousness Officer

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but people are pretty crazy these days.

Consumers are carrying new stresses and fears that affect their decisions. Teaching people how to break out of their orbits into new ways of thinking, doing and being is the future of all brand leadership. If you ignore the plight of the consumer, you miss the opportunity to embed your brands deeper and more meaningfully into their psyche. And there is no more fruitful moment to tap into this potential then during times of profound cultural change.

I’ve long been an advocate of companies creating a position for a Chief Consciousness Officer. Just as corporations created the function of Chief Technology Officer when digital technologies flooded the world, so now corporations should consider the function of a Chief Consciousness Officer. The CCO supports corporate and brand commitment to connect, elevate and inspire through the human technologies of wisdom, intuition, compassion, empathy, forgiveness and gratitude. It helps business leaders understand and engage the underlying shift in consumer values that has people, particularly millennials, embracing sustainability, social impact, and health & wellness. But, it goes deeper into the bedrock of current human consciousness. The CCO holds the corporate intent for seeking the highest good of a company’s consumer, employees, brands and the planet.

Many consumers are facing unexpected hardship. There is opportunity in turmoil for those who keep their heads, open their hearts and begin to expand their awareness and strategies. We must evolve if we are to survive. The Chief Consciousness Officer expands the reach of a brand into the core of the consumer’s rapidly shifting mind-set.

The world is in the midst of unprecedented change. From our institutions to personal lives, from technology to the economy, there’s an ominous rattling of the familiar. New life scratches at the weakening walls of conventional structures. Those who market, build brands and drive ideas to consumers will face confusion, collapse and opportunities that require lightning-fast decisions in the years to come.

Rising from this change is a restless consciousness, a new consumer spirit, hungry for brands that support this cultural transformation. Desiring solutions and balance in their daily lives, and highly receptive to new ideas, this extraordinary audience—the potential of which lies within every human being—is not only seeking but embracing innovative and alternative concepts in food, finance, spirituality, health, entertainment, leadership, life.

Extraordinary marketing opportunities accompany every shift in cultural consciousness. Consumers question established belief systems, institutions and relationships, including brand relationships. Who am I now and does this brand reflect my needs, values and desires?

Only by participating in people’s lives in more meaningful ways, reaching them in unfamiliar places, will the brands of the future prosper. By supporting consumers—educating, inspiring and entertaining them, brands can become leading social forces. Whether marketing wealth management services or wellness products, talking to baby boomers or the elusive millennial, the best brand solutions launch people on their own personal journey towards better, healthier, more rewarding lives. The Chief Consciousness Officer is on the forefront of this journey.