This is the first installment of the digitalCMO Digital Leader Project.  The objective: to hear perspectives on leadership and management directly from some of the most senior digital marketers.

For the first installment the digitalCMO Digital Leader Project, I welcome Lou Weiss, CMO of  The Vitamin Shoppe.  The Vitamin Shoppe is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of vitamins, minerals, herbs, supplements, sports nutrition and other health and wellness products with over 400 locations in 37 states, and the website www.vitaminshoppe.com.

As CMO, Lou is responsible for customer acquisition and relationship marketing, loyalty programs, and overall marketing and advertising for both the retail and direct-to-consumer businesses.  Lou is also responsible for the overall business performance of the direct-to-consumer business including the internet, catalog, and customer care.

digitalCMO: Let’s say you are writing a book on leadership. What are the most important three chapters?

Lou Weiss: Work your goals, not your to-do list; If you get the right people, everything else follows; and The “group brain” is bigger than any of the brains in the group.”

digitalCMO: When you interview for roles in your company, what is the #1 quality you look for?

Lou Weiss: Talent—the ability to create desired business outcomes where everybody is happy with both the results and the process of producing them.

digitalCMO: What is the #1 inhibitor you watch out for?

Lou Weiss: People who want to be stars, rather than part of a star team.

digitalCMO: What has been the most formative experience in your professional career, and why?

Lou Weiss: Growing up in a family of businesspeople, I learned early on how successful people create value for their customers, and therefore create lasting, profitable relationships with those customers.

digitalCMO: What is the part of your company that most reflects who Lou is?

Lou Weiss: The Vitamin Shoppe has a terrific culture, and had it long before I got here—key aspects of that culture that are consistent with my personal values include: a passion for team success and talent development; helping people to fulfill their health and wellness goals; and doing all of the above with integrity (since sleeping well is core to good health!)

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