---
id: "action-executive-demonstration"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ Three Guiding Principles"]
tags: ["leadership", "communication"]
related: ["concept-executive-buy-in-tactics"]
action: "Demonstrate AI capabilities to the board using visceral, personalized examples like deepfakes."
outcome: "Rapidly convinces leadership of the technology's radical implications and secures strategic buy-in."
speakers: ["Rob Fauber"]
sources: ["execution"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-execution"
originDay: 8
articleStem: "hbr-cl-93-legacy-financial-all-in-genai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/03/how-a-legacy-financial-institution-went-all-in-on-gen-ai"
sourceTitle: "How a Legacy Financial Institution Went All In on Gen AI"
---
# Use Visceral Demonstrations for Executive Buy-In

## Action — Use Visceral Demonstrations for Executive Buy-In

**Do:** When presenting paradigm-shifting technology to a board or senior leadership, **bypass theoretical slide decks**. Use **visceral, personalized demonstrations** — such as a **deepfake video of the CEO** delivering a fictitious earnings call — to immediately convey both the **power** and the **risk** of the technology.

**Outcome:** Rapidly convinces leadership of the technology's radical implications and secures strategic buy-in.

### Connections
- The concept: [[concept-executive-buy-in-tactics]] (staged at the Q2 2023 board meeting by [[entity-rob-fauber|Rob Fauber]]).

### Caveat (enrichment)
The deepfake anecdote is supported **only by the HBR account** in the provided sources — a memorable tactic, but treat as a reported anecdote rather than a corroborated benchmark.