Don’t delay in registering for the annual summit of the Association for Accounting Marketing – Wild On Marketing – June 3-6 at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego! There are already 332 registrants compared to 128 at this time last year. Check out http://www.accountingmarketing.org/conference.asp for all the details. What I’ve learned so far is that the AAM Summit is the place to be for best practices and networking in accounting marketing.

The December 15, 2007 issue of Marketing News includes a “Back Page” interview with Maryam Banikarim, CMO, Univision Communications, Inc. A couple of her responses were particularly interesting.

Q: What qualities make a marketer great?
A: A great marketer has empathy, a genuine curiosity about consumers and a willingness to take risks.

Q: What qualities undermine an otherwise talented marketing executive?
A: Fear, for the marketing executive; and lack of commitment, for the organization. Risk-taking isn’t exactly what most folks are being rewarded for … but in order to succeed, individuals and organizations alike need to embrace novel approaches.

Taking risks may mean making mistakes. However, every successful person has made mistakes and learned from them. When was the last time you took a risk? Is it time?