From Marcus

The AI Leadership Brief

Practical thinking on AI strategy, leadership, and what's actually working for the executives ahead of the curve.

May 2026

The Agency Equation: What Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index Means for Every Senior Leader

Microsoft surveyed 20,000 knowledge workers across 10 countries, analysed trillions of productivity signals, and arrived at a conclusion that should land hard in every boardroom: the bottleneck to AI value is not the technology. It's the organisation.

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May 2026

Which AI Tool Is Best for Marketing Teams? What Marketing Managers Need to Know About Creative AI

Most marketing managers evaluate AI tools the same way they evaluate everything else: did it do what we asked, and does it look good? New research from Contra Labs suggests that framework misses something important — and the gap between what it misses and what it measures may be costing creative teams more than they realise.

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April 2026

Why Smart CEOs Are Replacing SaaS Tools With Custom AI — and What You Should Be Asking

For thirty years, the largest enterprises had leverage over their software vendors. That two-tier system is now collapsing from the bottom up. When any organisation can move from idea to functional application in days, the leverage dynamic inverts. This is the shift most executives haven't fully priced in.

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April 2026

AI and your workforce: what 81,000 people told Anthropic

A new Anthropic study is the most substantive look yet at how AI is actually landing inside organisations — not through a vendor's lens, but through the words of real workers. Here is what every senior leader needs to understand from it.

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April 2026

Claude Design Explained for Chief Marketing Officers

What Anthropic's new design tool means for brand output, agency relationships, and the speed at which marketing teams can move.

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April 2026

What the Stanford AI Index 2026 Means for Leaders

The most comprehensive, independently sourced analysis of where AI actually stands — not where the press releases say it stands. Here are the findings that belong in your strategic planning, your board conversations, and your risk frameworks.

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April 2026

How leaders can use Agent Skills

Claude Agent Skills are quietly transforming how the most effective leaders use AI at work. Here is what they are, why they matter, and what executives should pay attention to now.

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April 2026

How to Build an Internal AI Advantage — A Practical Guide for C-Suite Leaders

Most executives are using AI. Far fewer are using it in a way that actually compounds. The distinction matters — and the gap between those two trajectories, sustained over two or three years, becomes structural.

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