Warren Zenna hosts Ryan Staley, Founder and CEO at Whale Boss, to separate AI spectacle from strategic value for revenue leaders. They explore where the technology truly helps CROs versus where demos overpromise, and how practitioners can spot durable use cases. Ryan frames adoption as a pragmatic process focused on measurable outcomes rather than chasing every shiny new feature.
They map three practical stages of AI adoption—augmentation, targeted automation, and cross‑functional orchestration—and show how each raises team capacity. Ryan gives concrete examples like automated call scoring that produces next‑best actions, converting call transcripts into playbook inputs, and feeding live sales insights to marketing and product to guide priorities and messaging.
The conversation tackles workforce impact and essential skills: which roles are most exposed, where leaders should retool, and why structured prompting remains a competitive advantage. Ryan stresses validating outputs to reduce hallucinations and recommends methods—multiple source checks and reverse‑engineering high‑performing content—to ensure AI-driven recommendations are reliable before operationalizing them.
For CROs and CEOs ready to move, Ryan advises starting with daily personal use, identifying a few high‑value pilots, and scaling proven projects across teams. Warren and Ryan outline a practical rollout cadence that builds momentum without disruption. Listeners leave with a clear roadmap to integrate AI into revenue operations and pointers to connect with Ryan on LinkedIn for prompts and resources.
Creators and Guests
Janelle Pierini
Janelle is my Co-Facilitator
What is The CRO Spotlight Podcast?
Are you a CRO looking for insights and ideas from your peers?
Are you a Revenue Leader with aspirations to become a Chief Revenue Officer?
Are you a CEO looking to appoint a CRO to scale your business?
Welcome to the CRO Spotlight podcast, a weekly show featuring insights from Chief Revenue Officers, B2B Revenue Leaders, and CEOs.
Hosted by Warren Zenna, Founder and CEO of The CRO Collective, the show goes deep behind the scenes with the people who have been there, done that, and have seen the results.
The CRO Spotlight Podcast is an open, free-form conversation that digs into real issues that Revenue Leaders and CROs grapple with everyday.