
Grant Shirk
Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences, Cisco
About
Grant Shirk is the Head of Product Marketing for Cisco Meraki. With over two decades of experience in marketing strategy, positioning, product design, and leadership, he's truly an enterprise software nerd at heart. Prior to joining the Meraki tea......more
Content

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • July 6
Time for some radical transparency. I'm in the midst of this right now. Tomorrow is my 30-day milestone at Cisco Meraki. It's been an awesome first four weeks, and I'm really looking forward to what's next. (Shameless pitch - we're hiring, too!) The size of the company and team adds a laye......Read More
4287 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • July 6
Pulling this one up. It's outside the realm of KPIs and measurement, but I think it's really critical. And I have a few strong opinions here. If I can summarize this back, as part of your interview process, you were given an assignment to build an overall strategic plan to take a flagship pro......Read More
1012 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • April 13
This is a fun one. An aphorism we could coin here is that "Competitive battlecards are just like datasheets. Every salesperson desperately wants a new one, but nobody ever uses them." The challenge is that most competitive intel and content is boring, too detailed to use in the moment, hard t......Read More
854 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • July 6
This is what makes PMM so fun. And also a little chaotic. You're frequently context-shifting between strategic investments (a 12- to 18-month horizon), quarterly operational work (those "big rocks" and Tier 1 launches), and the daily/weekly/monthly execution below the scenes. And then a compet......Read More
743 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • August 16
A "head of role" is a very different focus. Before we can talk about standing out in the interview, I think it's important to define what a leader in marketing can and should be. Rule #1.#1. You are no longer a marketer. Not really. Your real focus is twofold: building the team, and strengthe......Read More
715 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • August 16
The pressure's on for this one. Feels like this is the kind of topic first chapters in business books are devoted to. A successful GTM is hard to describe in detail. Every business, customer, product, team, and marketplace are different and the right path through can vary widely. And the deta......Read More
674 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • December 15
Okay, this is a fun one, so I'm going to start here. As a former UI designer (at Pixo and Tellme Networks**), this is probably the most fun you'll have in product marketing. You're bringing together three functions that thrive on different kinds of creativity. Words, emotion, and structural desig......Read More
658 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • July 6
I am a huge proponent of shared KPIs. Like Product Managers, Product Marketers often have to work through and influence other teams in order to reach their goals -- and, more aspirationally, to help their customers reach their goals. Shared metrics have superpowers. They drive alignment, account......Read More
645 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • August 16
Other than everyone? Product and UX - To highlight industry-specific opportunities for roadmap or positoning Sales - To help them drive better discovery, solution positioning, and credibility with a customer PMM - To pressure test messaging and inherit the best, most compelling value props ......Read More
610 Views

Grant Shirk
Cisco Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences • August 15
There are two questions here, and I'll address both. One answer is much shorter than the other. How do we collaborate across industry and core PMM? Constantly. At Meraki, we do have an Audiences team focused on both industry and a few specific LOB personas. The give and take is pretty regular.......Read More
608 Views
Credentials & Highlights
Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Campus Network Experiences at Cisco
Formerly Tellme Networks, Microsoft, Box, Vera, Scout RFP, and Sisu Data, to name a few.
Product Marketing AMA Contributor
Studied at Stanford University
Lives In Pleasanton, California
Hobbies include Ultimate Frisbee and Scrabble
Knows About B2B Product Marketing KPI's, Messaging, Brand Strategy, Influencing the Product Roadm......more