“I don’t care that much about your companies,” revealed the Penguin-in-Chief while wrapping up 3 Strategy Labs with 36 CMOs last week. “My concern is the transformation story you will be able to tell in one year,” I explained.

Of course, I want their companies to grow. But, ironically, growth alone won’t secure a CMO's seat or their next opportunity. Only transformation does.

If you can lead an organization from here to there, it almost doesn’t matter what happens next. New CEO, new PE firm, new direction. You’re on solid footing because you didn’t just run marketing. You changed the business.

This is that moment.

The Chance to Change the Business

Perhaps for the first time, B2B CMOs have the opportunity to do what B2C CMOs have been doing all along: drive the strategic direction of their companies, not just support it.

And yet, most of the pressure you’re feeling doesn’t sound like an opportunity. It sounds like this: cut 30% and deliver 30% more. Those numbers may be arbitrary. The moment is not. You can respond by making marketing smaller. Or you can use this moment to make marketing matter more.

That starts with positioning.

The CMOs who win now will be the ones who help their companies own a hill. One thing. Clearly defined. Deeply understood. Aligned across the organization. When that happens, you see it everywhere. Win rates improve. Deal cycles shorten. Average deal sizes grow.

Positioning isn’t a messaging exercise. It’s business transformation.

AI in Service of Transformation

Then there’s AI. Not AI for efficiency’s sake. AI in the service of something bigger.

In Seattle, a group of CMOs began discussing a new benchmark: $1M in revenue per employee. Not $250K. Four times the output.

That’s not optimization. That’s a different way of operating.

We also heard from a startup CMO who’s already working this way. No traditional stack. No rigid systems. Just flexible, AI-driven workflows stitched together in real time. Early, imperfect, but directionally clear.

This is where it’s going.

So the question isn’t whether you’ll use AI. It’s how you’ll prioritize it.

AI in service of what? Better customer understanding. More relevant communication. Faster, smarter decision-making. A more empowered team.

And yes, you’ll need to address how your brands show up in LLMs . You’ll need to experiment. You’ll need to push legal and IT to allow access to the tools your teams need. You’ll need to connect dots across the entire go-to-market.

Lead Beyond Your Lane

This is bigger than marketing. It’s GTM transformation.

Which is why this moment belongs to CMOs who are willing to lead beyond their lane. Who can align their organizations. Who CEOs rely on for strategic guidance. Who can turn pressure into progress.

It’s easy to get buried in the day-to-day. The requests. The expectations. The noise.

But great leaders pick a hill. And then they align the organization to take it.

So I’ll leave you with the same thought I shared at the end of those Labs:

What transformation story are you going to be able to tell a year from now?

Written by Drew Neisser