Your voice is one of the most powerful leadership tools you have.
Voice is one of the most defining characteristics of being human. In the era of AI, we find ourselves holding on even more tightly to what makes us human. Our voice becomes the vehicle through which we express ideas, share emotions, challenge assumptions and connect with one another.
As leaders, our responsibility extends to knowing how to use our voice wisely. There are moments to speak with conviction and moments to ask better questions. There are times to address the room, and times to step back so that someone else’s voice can finally be heard.
A voice is recognised by its tone, delivery and intent. It can convey respect or disregard, humility or ego, confidence or uncertainty. Long after people have forgotten the exact words we used, they often remember how our voice made them feel.
In marketing, we spend a great deal of time helping organisations find their brand voice. Yet perhaps we should spend just as much time reflecting on our own. Every conversation, presentation, difficult discussion and moment of encouragement leaves an impression. Every person has a voice, and using it deliberately means being present and in the ring.
Perhaps the greatest gift our voice offers is not the ability to persuade, but the ability to create understanding. When we communicate with clarity and empathy, we build connections that establish trust.
And trust has always been the most powerful voice in the room.
Long before marketing existed, stories were already moving through civilisations, cultures and generations. They were how people made sense of the world.
Stories are relational. They need a storyteller and a captivated audience willing to imagine a different world or be carried somewhere new. Stories are how we’ve passed on knowledge, wisdom and culture. They help us learn, remember and stay connected.
The best storytellers have a knack for stopping time and creating pleasurable anticipation. They introduce heroes and villains. They know when to reveal a twist, when to pause for effect, and when to leave something unsaid.
While writing The Marketing Movement™, I found myself thinking constantly about the reader and, later, the listener too. How would I make people feel something, reflect differently, and see marketing through a new lens? How could I make it accessible to anyone interested in creating movement in their work or life?
I didn’t want to write as a teacher or a preacher, although many sections do share useful knowledge and insights. That’s probably an old habit from a career spent making marketing and communications easier to understand. When it came time to choose the audiobook narrator, I was looking for a warm storyteller whose delivery could ebb and flow with the manuscript in the same way it had been written.
Stories, metaphors and analogies became the most natural way to communicate the book’s ideas because the human mind is like a parachute. It works best when it is open.
Writing a book is a lot like developing a product. Delivery and packaging matter just as much as the ideas and creativity do. This audiobook journal entry is an ode to storytelling because stories became my greatest shortcut to reaching my audience while writing a non-fiction book that I hoped would feel different from traditional marketing books.
The intention behind the book was always to move you emotionally, challenge conventional thinking, and help you move forward.
I almost chose an AI voice during the narrator auditions for The Marketing Movement™ audiobook.
I wasn’t looking for one, nor was I expecting an AI voice to be presented as a human audition. Clearly, people are testing boundaries and exploring just how far technology can go.
What bothers me is how easy it could have been to fall for this perfect voice audition sample. The pacing and tone were right. Everything sounded polished and professional, so in many ways it was perfect.
After a few days, the excitement wore off and I found myself returning to the sample with a growing sense of suspicion. I couldn’t explain it and there was no obvious reason to question it, and yet something felt off. As humans, we carry emotion whether we intend to or not. Our voices reveal far more than the words themselves ever could. That’s what I eventually realised I was listening for. Machines, on the other hand, seem remarkably good at maintaining an ideal state. They can be consistently positive, consistently clear, and consistently polished, to the point that I’d call it soulless.
What makes a voice believable is it’s depth, quirks, and the subtle shifts in energy that are often the very things that tell you there is warmth and a real person behind the words. Audiobook listeners deserve a voice they can trust, enjoy, and believe.
Eventually, I pushed for more information, and both my publisher and I discovered that the voice we were questioning was, in fact, AI-generated.
I wasn’t disappointed by the technology. Quite the opposite. I was impressed by how convincing it had become. But I’m so glad I listened to my gut.
Sometimes we follow our intuition long before we can explain it. The explanation arrives later, after we’ve trusted ourselves enough to keep asking questions, and that is human judgement in action.
The search for the right narrator ended up taking months. What I assumed would be a straightforward production step became an entirely separate project with its own process, challenges, and lessons.
In the end, I didn’t choose the AI voice, nor did I select any of the original audition voices.
Instead, I found a talented human narrator from within my own network and took a chance on someone whose voice felt right from the beginning.
Entrepreneur Alarabiya recently featured this translated to English interview as part of its coverage on leadership and innovation in the region. In the conversation, I discuss why marketing remains a strategic starting point even in the age of AI and why leadership, not tools, determines impact.
I explore the “human → machine → human” model, the importance of digital fluency, and how organisations can embed AI across every function without losing alignment or rhythm.
At its core, the discussion reinforces a central belief that AI accelerates execution, but leadership shapes direction.
Marketing has always been a strategic starting point in mature organisations. Even in the age of AI, brand creation, positioning, and content strategy must be built early to influence demand and long-term value. AI accelerates execution, which is why I rely on the “human → machine → human” model to ensure relevance and quality.
In well-aligned organisations, marketing leadership is central to revenue, reputation, and value creation. Where this isn’t yet the case, there is real opportunity for organisations to elevate marketing’s strategic contribution. Budgeting should be shaped around business strategy, with tight cross-functional alignment to drive sustainable growth.
How can AI tools create true integration that enhances all aspects of the product, operations, and leadership, rather than simply automating tactics?
AI must be embedded across the entire organisational workflow, from product innovation and development to marketing, operations, and customer experience. It shouldn’t be an afterthought, but a capability that enables smarter decisions and greater efficiency. It also requires experimentation and digital fluency to master tools with purpose.
Leaders must sponsor this shift, because AI transformation is ultimately a change-leadership challenge. While marketing may feel the impact first through generative AI and speed, every function becomes more effective as AI enhances processes, amplifies talent, and strengthens the organisation’s operating system.
Some brands flow through their marketing operations with a harmonious rhythm. How can AI tools support this holistic alignment without disrupting the workflow dynamics of small businesses?
All brands, large or small, need a smooth marketing workflow to build a strong foundation that influences demand. AI shouldn’t disrupt that rhythm; it should protect and enhance it. With so many tools on the market, organisations should focus only on those that genuinely improve efficiency or effectiveness and leave the rest. The goal is to integrate AI into established workflows so teams can access tools that truly lift productivity. When introduced intentionally and incrementally, AI strengthens alignment across marketing and operations without disturbing the natural cadence of the business.
What initiatives are driving major transformations in companies that use AI in marketing?
AI has been influencing marketing long before the rise of generative tools, from predictive analytics and personalisation to programmatic algorithms and CRMs intelligence. What’s changed with generative AI is scale and accessibility. The most transformative initiatives focus on sponsoring the learning curve across the organisation and shifting digital fluency from a team capability to an individual responsibility. Every professional must understand how and why to use AI in their work. At the organisational level, leaders are building governance frameworks to manage risk, quality, and transparency. When paired with a human → machine → human model, AI enhances efficiency, creativity, and go-to-market impact rather than being a shiny add-on.
What do you think about the role of leadership-driven marketing under AI dominance, and can teams change their culture as AI takes over routine tasks?
Marketing leadership is non-negotiable in the AI era. Leaders must set the conditions for a healthy marketing function and guide teams through their digital fluency journey. AI won’t dominate unless organisations allow the noise to overwhelm them. Adoption should be purposeful providing intention and skill. As routine tasks are solved through AI, culture change becomes a change-leadership initiative, starting with leaders who actively sponsor digital literacy and new ways of working across the organisation. When leaders champion these programmes, teams adapt with confidence, and marketing becomes genuinely leadership-driven rather than tool-driven.
What new language does marketing need to replace outdated terminology, especially with AI introducing data-driven precision?
Technology has fundamentally changed how we communicate, accelerating everything across digital ecosystems. In this environment, where marketing channels are constantly evolving, marketers are evolving too. The industry needs to move past legacy terms like “digital vs traditional,” for example which no longer serve us. They don’t reflect how audiences behave or how modern marketing teams operate. Creativity and technology have already merged in practice, and that convergence is shaping a new marketing leadership vocabulary; a shift I explore further in my book.
Inc. Arabia (December 2025 / January 2026) edition published this piece as part of a broader editorial focus on leadership, growth, and modern marketing in the region. In it, I explore why effective marketing today is less about dashboards and outputs, and more about the ability to read the room by understanding people, culture, emotion, and momentum inside organisations.
The article looks at the role of the “movement maker” in marketing: leaders who can connect data with human insight and align teams. It’s a return to fundamentals, as a way forward in increasingly noisy environments.
Reading the Room as a Movement Maker
There’s a widening gap between what brands say and what people feel, and that is why a different kind of marketer is emerging.
A movement maker operates at a much higher level. They go macro – looking at culture, people, psychology, and the deeper forces that move individuals and communities. They understand the emotional fabric inside an organisation just as well as the world outside it. They pay attention to what creates attachment, what inspires action, and what gives people a sense of progress or identity. A movement is deeply emotional and sits well beyond the logic of purchase psychology, which is why a movement maker functions almost like a brand psychologist – someone who can translate human meaning into strategic direction. Their job is to read culture, interpret people, align what is on offer, and help the brand become relevant in ways that truly resonate.
You can read the full feature in Inc. Arabia here (pages 22-23):
