Marketing orgs are starting to look different. Human–AI teams are emerging.

Teams are not just using AI as tools. They are training, guiding, and embedded like real teammates where the AI does the repetitive tasks, helps with ideation, and supports workflows.

At the CMO Alliance’s June 11 CMO Summit, I’ll share how one marketing team achieved:

• 75% faster content creation

• 98% lead qualification accuracy

• 35% better campaign performance

I’ll also walk through how to build your first AI teammate — your digital twin.

As a CMO, your digital twin helps you catch blind spots, pressure-test your thinking, and scale your strategic guidance across the team.

It’s one of the highest-leverage AI teammates you can create. It strengthens your leadership, reinforces your judgment, and supports your team, especially when you’re not in the room.

Beyond my session, the virtual summit features a lineup of insightful topics and speakers covering the latest in marketing leadership, AI integration, and strategic innovation. It’s a comprehensive opportunity to learn, connect, and grow.

Join us and explore what’s possible. Let’s learn together.

Register here: https://lnkd.in/grri63xu

A Harvard study says people who use AI are less stressed. I believe it and I’ve felt it. The work gets lighter, you move faster, and you’re not staring at a blank screen as often.

But I also think we have to be careful. That relief might be temporary. History shows that when we gain new capabilities, we raise the bar. We don’t just enjoy the space, we fill it. And often, we don’t even realize we’re doing it.

That’s something I’m trying to stay aware of and actively manage.

I use AI not just in my work, but in my life. I’ve used it to plan family vacation adventures, help my daughter evaluate colleges, choose the best board games for teens, and more. I listen to AI podcasts while driving, running on the treadmill, or putting on make-up. It’s how I multi-task life.

Managing stress is important to me. I’ve set up my workspace outdoors this summer: walking pad, laptop on a stand, and my fur babies and a couple hummingbirds always close by. If needed, I listen to the fountain and take a little power nap in the hammock. Being surrounded by nature is making a real difference in both stress and creativity. (Photo below.)

Research backs this up:

• 50% creativity boost – Just 4 days in nature increases creative problem-solving by 50%. Even brief walks produce twice as many creative ideas as sitting.

• 60% more ideas – 81% of people who walked came up with 60% more creative ideas than those who sat. The benefits continued even after they stopped.

• Less stress, sharper thinking – Nature exposure measurably reduces stress hormones and blood pressure while improving focus and mood. The perfect setup for both creativity and productivity.

Even if you can’t work outside, studies show that simply standing while working and adding plants to your workspace can provide similar benefits.

I enjoy using the extra time AI gives me for strategic thinking and introspection. I like exploring new angles, getting to the deeper meaning, and finding clearer, simpler ways to express complex ideas. And I enjoy doing that even more with AI. It’s not just me and my jumbled thoughts anymore.

But I’m mindful of the balance. Because if I’m not, it’s easy to let expectations quietly creep up. To do more because I can. To let stress sneak back in disguise.

So I’m trying to use the time to think better, not just work faster. That feels more useful right now. How are you managing this new way of working with AI? Share your ideas so we can help each other.

Link to Ethan Mollick’s article about the Harvard study is in the comments for those curious, https://lnkd.in/gWHBJQ4W

Ethan Mollick’s article about the Harvard study that shows “People using AI reported significantly higher levels of positive emotions (excitement, energy, and enthusiasm) compared to those working without AI.” https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-cybernetic-teammate

The boldest AI moves aren’t coming from teams with the most money, tools, or time. They’re coming from the ones with the least.

Frank Nardi, CEO at Cloud Coach, didn’t have the luxury of hiring more marketers. He built adaptive AI personas that test messaging before campaigns launch.

Frank’s next step is to automate this into live agents connected to real-time prospect data, latest emails, transcripts, and win/loss signals to keep the feedback loop fast and actionable.

His lean team breaks down GTM silos and now competes with companies 10x their size.

Megan Ratcliff, Integrated Campaigns Director at Dice, faced a new product that didn’t fit their traditional go-to-market playbook.

Instead of spending months in alignment meetings, she created an AI strategist that ties together new cross-functional motions.

Instead of fearing replacement, Megan is truly evolving her role with AI from a campaigns director to a GTM strategy architect and orchestrator.

Neither started with a perfect AI strategy.

They started with pain: static personas, misaligned teams, zero extra headcount.

They didn’t automate chaos. They reimagined how work flows.

Both trailblazers learned that whether you’re a CEO or individual contributor, you can’t delegate understanding AI. You have to put hands on keyboard and learn by doing and thinking critically.

In this newsletter, I share:

• The exact AI tools and playbooks Frank and Megan used

• Why constraints force breakthroughs that big budgets can’t buy

• A 5-step process to turn your limitations into strategic advantage

• How this applies whether you’re a startup or an enterprise

Read the full issue below.

Prefer to listen? There’s a 10-minute AI-generated podcast version that breaks down the key insights. Link in the comments.

Many thanks to Frank and Megan for showing us what’s possible. We can’t reimagine the future by simply automating the past. I’m grateful to be part of your AI learning journey.

Here’s the 10-min AI podcast version of this newsletter. Listen to it during lunch, while driving, walking the dog 😉 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iDEfijadBybqty9GWfnlFKXYTtDeSpJ9/view?usp=share_link

Once you hit play, give it just a few seconds then it will start.

Disclaimer: This podcast was generated by AI based on this written newsletter and reviewed by me to ensure ethical and responsible AI use. It’s designed to provide an efficient, more inclusive way to consume information.

Being resource-strapped might be your AI superpower. When resources are tight, teams can’t just work harder. They have to work differently.

That pressure is driving some of the most innovative AI use cases I’ve seen.

• A CEO redesigned how their team creates buyer personas and messaging. No more static docs gathering dust. They built an adaptive AI system that evolves with customer signals and tests messaging before it even launches.

• A marketing director built an AI strategist that coordinates go-to-market across sales, product, and marketing. Now, cross-functional alignment happens through AI, not endless meetings.

Both started with constraints but ended up with a competitive advantage.

Tomorrow (May 29) I’m sharing exactly how they did it, the AIs they used, and the frameworks they followed in my newsletter. Subscribe here so you get the newsletter directly in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/eg48-RXp

UPDATE (May 29): Here’s are the real-life case studies in this newsletter, https://lnkd.in/g7uwZKtZ

Also, I was curious about Google’s new Gemini video generator powered by Veo 3, so I created the video below with this basic prompt to reinforce the point:

“Create a short video of a female GTM executive in business casual clothing in an office with a cityscape background. She says with confidence and naturally, ‘The boldest AI moves are coming from companies with the tightest budgets and the leanest teams. They have no choice but to reimagine work.’”

I tried a few 8-sec video creations and this is the best one. I noticed in some that audio is not synched with video and there were subtitle spelling errors.

This is the least capable AI we’ll ever use moving forward. Pretty amazing.