The CMO survival guide for the AI board meeting you are about to get
Three slides, two metrics, and one demo. The deck structure we would take into an AI board conversation, and why.
The 'AI update' has become a standing board agenda item. Most CMOs walk in with a strategy slide. Our argument: walk in with a working demo instead.
The deck that's working has three slides. Slide one: one workflow we automated this quarter, with the before/after cost and cycle time. Slide two: one capability we built in-house that we used to buy. Slide three: one role we redesigned (not eliminated, redesigned) and what that operator now owns.
The two metrics: cost per qualified output (down) and cycle time per campaign (down). Both are defensible without a measurement debate. Both are the language the CFO already speaks.
The demo is non-negotiable. Walk in, open the laptop, run the workflow live. The board does not need to understand the prompt. They need to see the output appear.
The board doesn't want a strategy slide on AI. They want to see one workflow that runs, today, without you in the room.
- 01Three slides: one workflow, one capability, one role.
- 02Two metrics: cost per qualified output, cycle time per campaign.
- 03Run the demo live. The board needs to see the output appear.
- 04Redesign roles. Don't eliminate them. Boards punish elimination theatre.
- Published
- May 21, 2026
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