In the fast-paced world of business, where agility can be the difference between irrelevance and innovation, Sophie Devonshire has built her career around the art of acceleration. A self-proclaimed “acceleration addict,” Devonshire’s journey through the brand and marketing landscape—from Procter & Gamble to Coca-Cola, from entrepreneurship to leading The Marketing Society—has been defined by a singular focus: moving fast in the right direction.
“In business today, speed is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity,” Devonshire asserts. “But it’s not about reckless haste; it’s about velocity—speed in the right direction.”
The pivotal moments of a velocity-driven career
Devonshire’s career trajectory is far from conventional. From her early days at Procter & Gamble in Newcastle, she quickly learned the discipline of marketing in an environment that prized structured thinking and rigorous training. At Coca-Cola, she honed her understanding of how brand-led businesses operate at scale. But it was her move to the consultancy side at Interbrand and subsequent entrepreneurial ventures that exposed her to the nuances of different business models and leadership approaches.
“Working inside big ‘super tanker’ organizations like P&G and Coca-Cola taught me the importance of structure and process,” she reflects. “But stepping into consultancy and startups gave me a whole new appreciation for agility and responsiveness.”
Her time in Dubai—a place where audacious, high-speed decision-making is the norm—cemented her belief that organizations need to embed a culture of dynamic action. “You’d see people say, ‘Let’s build a Snowdome in the middle of the desert,’ and it would happen,” she recalls. “That kind of audacity fuels progress.”
In business today, speed is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity.Sophie Devonshire
CEO, The Marketing Society
The art of setting the right pace
Yet, Devonshire warns against mistaking speed for chaos. Her philosophy, detailed in her book Superfast: Lead at Speed, is about strategic acceleration—knowing when to push forward and when to pause.
“You can’t just scream at an organization to go faster,” she explains. “True leadership at speed is about trust, inspiration, and storytelling. It’s about setting a pace that people can follow and sustaining energy over the long term.”
This philosophy is reflected in her work at The Marketing Society, where she helps leaders navigate the increasing demands of modern business. “CEOs and CMOs often say to me, ‘I know we need to move faster, but my organization is slow.’ My response is always: structure for speed, set the right frameworks, and manage energy—not just time.”
Lessons in leadership: the power of the pause
One of the most counterintuitive aspects of Devonshire’s speed philosophy is the emphasis on the power of the pause. “Building in strategic pauses is critical,” she notes. “In the same way elite athletes structure rest days into their training, businesses need moments to reflect, recalibrate, and refocus.”
She advocates for the concept of the ‘pre-mortem’—anticipating what could go wrong at the start of a project to preemptively address roadblocks. She also emphasizes the need for leaders to celebrate progress, using past successes as momentum for future acceleration. “Progress drives pace,” she explains. “If you’re always looking at what’s next without recognizing how far you’ve come, you risk losing motivation.”
True leadership at speed is about trust, inspiration, and storytelling. It’s about setting a pace that people can follow and sustaining energy over the long term.Sophie Devonshire
CEO, The Marketing Society
A new model for high-velocity leadership
As businesses face increasing complexity, Devonshire believes leaders must evolve beyond traditional command-and-control approaches. “The best leaders today aren’t just taskmasters; they’re energy managers,” she says. “They know when to accelerate, when to pause, and how to inspire teams to move at the right speed for success.”
Her own leadership at The Marketing Society reflects this belief, with a focus on fostering collaboration and creating environments where people feel empowered to act with urgency and clarity.
“We live in an era where speed matters more than ever,” Devonshire concludes. “But the leaders who will thrive are those who don’t just move fast for the sake of it—they move with purpose, direction, and precision.”
For anyone looking to navigate today’s high-velocity business world, Devonshire’s message is clear: acceleration is not just about speed—it’s about momentum, direction, and impact. Listen to the full interview, out now on our Pivot Points podcast.
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