How marketing leaders are re-writing the playbook in the age of AI.

THE HARD/CALL

The smartest organizations don't have AI figured out. They're learning in real time. This show makes that learning public.

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/ The show

The playbook is dead.
Time for a new one.

Every episode is one decision — made by a senior marketing leader navigating AI transformation before there was a playbook.

These aren't case studies. They're the stories behind the decisions, made while the outcome was still uncertain.

Most conversations about AI reward certainty. We're looking for honesty. Because leadership doesn't wait for certainty. It acts anyway.

/ What you'll hear
  • The decision — named specifically, not vaguely
  • What they knew and what they didn't
  • The alternatives they rejected and why
  • The consequences — including what they got wrong
  • What they'd do differently
/ Latest episode
Episode 001 — Coming soon

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Guest Name — Title, Company

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Your guest pull quote goes here — the one line from the episode that makes someone stop scrolling.

A two to three sentence description of the episode. What decision did the guest make? What was at stake? What makes this conversation worth an hour of a CMO's time. Replace this with real copy when Episode 1 is recorded.

David Shih
/ The host

David Shih

Host & Executive Producer

After twenty years working alongside CMOs and senior marketing leaders, David Shih is no stranger to hard calls. He's seen it all on the front lines of strategy, technology, and organizational change.

The Hard/Call is built on the belief that the most useful conversations about AI transformation happen before the case studies get written — when the outcome is still uncertain and the decision is still raw.

That's the conversation this show is after.

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