<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[LaurencePaquette.com]]></title><description><![CDATA[LaurencePaquette.com]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 03:08:40 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://podcast.laurencepaquette.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Marketing yourself is the hardest brief]]></title><description><![CDATA[The hardest brief I’ve ever written is for myself. I spent 15 years at Vestas building campaigns for a brand that had scale, heritage, and a clear position in the market. I knew who we were trying to reach, what we wanted them to feel, and what success looked like. The brief for new campaigns was hard work, but it had a shape. Now I’m a few weeks into building PAQ Anyway, and the brief is me. And it turns out that’s a completely different game. I need to brand myself and create lead...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/marketing-yourself-is-the-hardest-brief</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a416dc03c06bdad54244121</guid><pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:30:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_f801225736c442c3afb87b3a8ccf5b94~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Marketing Function Test: A Diagnostic for Senior Marketing Leaders]]></title><description><![CDATA[Read the full issue and subscribe here: https://marketednewsletter.substack.com/p/the-marketing-function-test  A mediocre marketer in a well-structured function will outperform a great marketer in a broken one. Every time. I've seen this play out more times than I can count. A talented Head of Marketing joins a scale-up, gets handed a team and a budget, and spends the next eighteen months fixing things that were broken before they arrived. Not campaigns. Not messaging. The function itself....]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-marketing-function-test-a-diagnostic-for-senior-marketing-leaders</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a426c707353421c5452e5a8</guid><pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 13:07:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_09d7ccb1a4954a1aa99c6250cd9ce7af~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[47 things and nowhere to start]]></title><description><![CDATA[I signed a contract on Friday. Small one. But still. Today is Monday and I'm staring at a list of 47 things I can't start. While the milestone gave me a great boost for 48 hours, no one warned me that after that, it wouldn't necessarily create momentum but instead it would create more pressure to figure out what's next and how to keep the momentum going. This week also has a podcast recording, a goodbye dinner with my old Vestas team, and Roskilde festival. The old world and the new one, all...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/47-things-and-nowhere-to-start</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a4171da3c06bdad5424496c</guid><pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 07:33:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_b6fefd8e424940b1a26ac97426f2f725~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The most underrated marketing tool in any company is a leader who actually speaks in public]]></title><description><![CDATA[My marketing hot take this week. You can spend millions on brand campaigns. Or you can let one leader say what they actually think, consistently, in their own voice. Most companies choose the campaigns. The second option is free, and almost nobody does it properly. This week's edition of my marketing newsletter The Real Brief goes deeper on why I believe the most underrated marketing tool in any company is a leader who actually speaks in public and why many company refuse to use it. Read the...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-most-underrated-marketing-tool-in-any-company-is-a-leader-who-actually-speaks-in-public</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2e9b2b418318a8f7e64252</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:00:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_f7b4e55213ff4a69a6b18a2ee1b1ce59~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_988,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I left corporate two weeks ago.]]></title><description><![CDATA[I left corporate two weeks ago. Since then, my DMs have been busy. People I don't know, people I haven't spoken to in years, people who follow me online and decided to say hello. They're all at their own crossroad, wondering what's next for them, and curious what it actually looks like to leave and start your own thing. So I wrote down the honest two week version. What it actually feels like, what surprised me, and what I'm nervous about. First issue of Anyway, the long way round, is live...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/i-left-corporate-two-weeks-ago</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2e90b500dbe48b1c792daa</guid><pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:30:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_b63e7388958f4f5b807c6b56e99afe0f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_548,h_593,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What a Fractional CMO actually is — and who needs one]]></title><description><![CDATA[I posted about fractional work earlier this week and got some questions. So I recorded a two-minute explanation. The short version: fractional is not a polite word for freelance. It's not junior support. It's senior leadership without the overhead of a permanent hire. Watch to the end. The part about why experienced executives are choosing this model is the bit I think matters most right now. Fractional CMO]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/what-a-fractional-cmo-actually-is-and-who-needs-one</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8bc</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:45:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://youtu.be/xdc80o2XmrU" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What is a fractional CMO?]]></title><description><![CDATA[I left a VP role at the world’s largest wind energy company earlier this month. Now I’m a Fractional CMO. Most people I tell that to nod and then ask a follow-up question that tells me they have no idea what it means. And honestly, that’s fair. It’s a relatively new model, especially here in Europe, and the name doesn’t exactly explain itself. So let me try. A Fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who works with your company part-time, on a retainer. Not a consultant who writes a...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/what-is-a-fractional-cmo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d936</guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 07:00:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_db51fba1ba18425d92de5336127b14d0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Being invisible or forgettable is expensive.]]></title><description><![CDATA[I've been working in large organisations my whole career. I've never had to find my own clients before. And this week, that's exactly what I'm doing. That's weirder to write than I expected. Terrifying and exciting at the same time. Choosing to start from zero, after years of knowing exactly what your job is, is scary and thrilling in equal ways. Even writing this newsletter feels different now because it’s not just about sharing thoughts anymore, it's also me figuring out, in real time, how...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/being-invisible-or-forgettable-is-expensive</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8a8</guid><pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:30:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_b986e8df0c7f4381bf3f8ea621ee6337~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I have 20 coffees booked in June]]></title><description><![CDATA[This week I’m thinking about: showing up without a plan  I have 20 coffees booked in June. ☕️  Not because I have a strategy, but because I left my corporate job, I’m starting my own thing, and honestly I have no idea where to start. So I decided to just drink coffee and see what happens.   Some are with people I haven’t spoken to in years, some are with people I’ve never met, and a few are with former colleagues who have built entirely different lives while I wasn’t paying attention.  But...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/i-have-20-coffees-booked-in-june</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8e4</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:31:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_62e729629f1744958b56da4c7267464f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soft launching my personality as a service.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Soft launching my personality as a service. A few weeks ago, I shared that I'd be leaving Vestas after 15 years, and that I might start something. On June 1st, it officially begins. I'm launching PAQ Anyway, a consultancy built around the work I know best: strategy, marketing, brand, leadership, communication, and executive presence. It now lives here: https://www.paqanyway.com I'm not going to over explain it in a post, the site says it better. I'm also exploring a platform idea that's been...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/soft-launching-my-personality-as-a-service</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8e2</guid><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 08:15:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_81bff34e20154ed089aac7b507ae56bd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Honest Way to Navigate Office Politics]]></title><description><![CDATA[Office politics has a bad reputation, mostly because people confuse it with manipulation. So a lot of people pretend they don’t participate in it at all. But the truth is, everyone navigates power, influence, relationships, and perception at work to some extent. The real question is whether we do it unconsciously, or honestly and with integrity. This video is about the latter. #officepolitics #authenticity]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-honest-way-to-navigate-office-politics</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8bb</guid><pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 08:09:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_0d098257c9f049eca1194c07e046a24c~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The best marketing today doesn't look like marketing anymore.]]></title><description><![CDATA[The best marketing today doesn't look like marketing anymore. It looks like leadership. And most organizations are still looking in the wrong place. This week I wrote about why that gap is widening, what Tim Cook's departure actually signals for brand strategy, and why the CEO is increasingly the marketing strategy whether they know it or not. It's in The Real Brief, my weekly newsletter on marketing, brand and leadership. Link to read and subscribe in the comments. https://shorturl.at/DcQrF]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-best-marketing-today-doesn-t-look-like-marketing-anymore</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8e3</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 09:40:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_469eb6050d414d57a5d2d1e8d35f06f5~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The spiral after being wrong in public]]></title><description><![CDATA[The worst part of being wrong in public isn’t the mistake itself. It’s the spiral that comes after, the part nobody talks about, where you’re replaying it all evening and in the middle of the night and wondering if everyone in that room is now quietly revising their opinion of you. I’ve been there… So many times! And the thing I’ve noticed is that most leadership advice on this topic is actually about managing the optics. Own it quickly, move on, don’t dwell. Which is fine as far as it goes,...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-spiral-after-being-wrong-in-public</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d95e</guid><pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:30:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_e9e886687c6647688dd7ca92587b34d4~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Saul Goodman is an excellent marketer. That is because persuasion and manipulation share the same DNA and most marketers would rather not admit it.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Saul Goodman is an excellent marketer, and that is exactly what makes him so uncomfortable to watch. The mechanics he uses are not unfamiliar to marketing: attention, urgency, emotional need, credibility, timing. The problem is not that he understands persuasion. The problem is what he does with it. This week in The Real Brief: why persuasion and manipulation share more DNA than most marketers would rather admit. Read the full piece and subscribe below. https://shorturl.at/LVrDg]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/saul-goodman-is-an-excellent-marketer-that-is-because-persuasion-and-manipulation-share-the-same-dn</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d922</guid><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:30:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_f3d6e1f02d6e4b209b01f13d3a38ef69~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[AI won’t replace leaders. It will expose the ones who weren’t leading]]></title><description><![CDATA[AI isn't coming for leaders who think. It's coming for the ones who were never really doing the thinking in the first place. When execution becomes fast and cheap, what's left exposed is the quality of the judgment behind it. That distinction is about to become very visible. Full article in this week's edition of The Real Brief. Link below and feel free to subscribe to the newsletter. AI won’t replace leaders. It will expose the ones who weren’t leading]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/ai-won-t-replace-leaders-it-will-expose-the-ones-who-weren-t-leading</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d90c</guid><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:30:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_817103dad44a4690bdf81b81818b6e5c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Meetings That Make Your Heart Race]]></title><description><![CDATA[Even at VP level, I still walk into certain meetings feeling like I need to earn my right to speak. Especially the ones where I'm there to challenge something, defend my team, or escalate a problem and the room is filled with senior people. I prepare obsessively for those meetings. Not because the material is complicated, but because I need to talk myself into believing my opinion is valid enough to say out loud. I go over my points more times than I'd like to admit. I run imaginary...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-meetings-that-make-your-heart-race</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d972</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:30:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://youtu.be/RH3jbcE6KsU" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Most companies are optimizing for approval, not impact]]></title><description><![CDATA[The ideas that would have actually worked never made it through. Not because they weren’t good enough. Because they wouldn’t get approved. That’s not a creativity problem. It’s a system problem. New newsletter on why bold work stalls and safe work gets approved. Read more: The Real Brief]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/most-companies-are-optimizing-for-approval-not-impact</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8a7</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:26:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_bdeb5afb73434ad18a06ae8e96f49f7e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[New issue of The real brief: AI will flood the world with content. It will make real voices matter more]]></title><description><![CDATA[AI is about to make content infinite. Which means the differentiator is no longer how much you publish, or how polished it is, but whether it sounds like it could only have come from you. This issue of The Real Brief is about why real voices and clear points of view are becoming the only thing that cuts through. Read more and subscribe ⬇️⬇️ https://laurencepaquette.substack.com/p/ai-will-flood-the-world-with-content]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/new-issue-of-the-real-bief-ai-will-flood-the-world-with-content-it-will-make-real-voices-matter-mo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d971</guid><pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:15:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_7d9a25c8eb66491cb81806857a39d4e3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Real Brief, Issue 01]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’ve just launched a new newsletter called The Real Brief . It’s a short, opinionated take on marketing, leadership, and brand, grounded in what’s actually happening inside organizations. The first edition starts here: Personal brands are replacing company brands. And in many cases, the company is the thing holding them back. Not because people lack ideas, but because anything real gets filtered out before it ever gets said. You can’t approve authenticity and you definitely can’t scale it...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-real-brief-issue-01</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d8e1</guid><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:31:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2470bd_127795f09ee24d68aae3370f94053e2e~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The gap between who you are and who work wants you to be]]></title><description><![CDATA[We keep talking about “bringing your whole self to work.” But let’s be honest. That’s not actually what most workplaces want. They want the polished version. The productive version. The one that can think clearly, move fast, and stay composed in meetings. They don’t want the part of you that didn’t sleep, that’s dealing with grief, that’s overwhelmed, that’s barely holding it together. So we split ourselves. We show up with energy and ideas, but we hide the rest. And over time, that gap gets...]]></description><link>https://www.laurencepaquette.com/post/the-gap-between-who-you-are-and-who-work-wants-you-to-be</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2baaf8530d39995f67d95d</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:00:28 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Laurence Paquette</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>