Hello Friend,

In this issue, we have:

• RESEARCH: The current state of AI in GTM and how to deploy AI effectively
• IN PRACTICE: Docebo CMO’s AI approach across the marketing function
• EVENTS: Many ways to engage with WbD – in-person or online
• PAVILION PARTNERSHIP UPDATE: New changes coming November 21st
• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 3 NEW offerings – all focused on Growth – released last month
• REVENUE ACADEMY COURSES: Enroll in upcoming courses across the Bowtie

RESEARCH: From Outsourcing to Ownership - The State of AI in GTM

A new era of GTM is emerging—and it’s no longer about buying AI tools, but building AI expertise. Outsourcing AI strategy to vendors is a losing game. Just as no one would outsource their spreadsheet skills, high-performing teams are now internalizing AI fluency, treating it as a permanent capability rather than a one-off experiment.

Winning GTM organizations don’t “install” AI—they design systems around it. They start with process design first, defining specific jobs to be done (JTBD), and only then “hire” AI to perform those jobs. The principle is simple: don’t buy tools to solve undefined problems—clarify the problem, then apply automation with intent.

Process First, AI Second

Every major technological leap—from telephony to SaaS—began not with tools, but with process redefinition. The same is true for AI in GTM. Teams that succeed in deploying AI do so by embedding it at multiple points in the customer journey—rather than relying on a single vendor solution. This shift is accelerating rapidly: more than a dozen new GTM-specific AI tools launched in Q1 2025 alone, and leading teams are using modular combinations of agents rather than monolithic platforms.

Kyle Norton, CRO at Owner.com, exemplifies this shift. By designing an AI GTM “operating system” around existing workflows, he doubled ARR within a year—targeting high-impact stages and layering specialized agents to achieve automation and scale.

Designing AI Around the Job to Be Done

The most advanced teams now use the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework to map AI opportunities. Instead of asking “what tool should we use?”, they ask:

• What’s the problem or friction?
• What inputs, outputs, and decisions define it?
• What should the AI handle—and what should humans own?

Each JTBD is then scored by complexity and impact to decide whether it’s an assistive AI task (AI supporting human judgment) or an agentic AI task (AI acting autonomously). This clarity ensures teams scale automation responsibly while maintaining human oversight.

Building Momentum with Quick Wins

AI maturity isn’t achieved in one leap—it’s earned through credibility and iteration. High-performing GTM teams start small, using targeted wins to prove value and build internal confidence. These early projects often include:

• Automating CRM enrichment and data hygiene.
• Using AI to summarize customer calls and surface risk signals.
• Deploying AI SDRs for low-stakes outreach and pipeline qualification.
• Creating “AI copilots” to streamline onboarding or account handoffs.

These small, well-scoped pilots quickly demonstrate ROI, turning internal skeptics into advocates and paving the way for broader automation.

The Role of the AI Strategy Owner

Every successful GTM organization featured in the research has one common denominator: an AI strategy owner.

This role sits at the intersection of data, process, and execution—aligning AI initiatives with business priorities, orchestrating cross-functional adoption, and managing vendor relationships without bias toward any platform.

Without clear ownership, AI initiatives risk fragmentation and stalled progress. With it, companies move from experimentation to execution, embedding AI as a structural advantage within RevOps.

— The Bottom Line —

The winners of 2026 will be those who stop renting AI capability and start owning AI strategy. They’ll know when to deploy vendors, when to build, and how to orchestrate AI as part of a connected GTM system.

AI isn’t a department—it’s an operating layer. And the companies designing for that reality today are already pulling ahead.

These insights are from a recent article written by Winning by Design Revenue Architect, Walter Velazquez Taboada. The full piece can be found in our Growth Journal - subscribe here.

Figure 1: Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) prioritization framework - a method to determine which problems to solve (via assistive or agentic AI) and the order in which to tackle them based on supposed impact and implementation complexity.

IN PRACTICE: Turning AI Strategy into Storytelling

Docebo CMO Kyle Lacy believes that the future of marketing lies in the partnership between automation and emotion. His approach mirrors the above research’s “process-first, AI-second” model—design the system first, then deploy AI to amplify what humans do best.

“Marketers shouldn’t have to spend their days buried in spreadsheets. Instead, AI should take on the heavy lifting of delivering the data they need in real time. That frees marketers to do what they do best—use creativity to build real human connections.”

At Docebo, that philosophy comes to life through a disciplined process. Before layering in AI, Lacy’s team mapped how data flowed across marketing, sales, and customer success, ensuring every system and signal tied back to the customer journey. Only then did they introduce AI agents to manage the predictable work—data enrichment, ICP tracking, and performance reporting. The outcome: automation that enhances creativity rather than replacing it.

Cross-functional alignment is the multiplier. Using Winning by Design’s SPICED framework, Docebo connects its entire GTM motion through a shared customer language. AI provides context and precision; humans provide perspective and empathy.

“The only way you’re going to win in the future is by telling a story to the customer, in a creative way that moves them emotionally.”

For GTM and RevOps leaders, Lacy’s approach is a model for how to operationalize AI without losing humanity:

• Design first. Define the workflow before you automate.
• Deploy intentionally. Let AI handle repeatable, data-heavy tasks.
• Keep storytelling at the center. Use the time AI gives back to create emotional, resonant customer experiences.

Docebo’s evolution shows what happens when process discipline meets creative intelligence—where AI powers the system, but human stories still drive the growth.

— The Bottom Line —
Docebo’s approach proves that the real power of AI in GTM isn’t automation alone—it’s how structured systems free humans to focus on creativity, storytelling, and emotional connection. When process and empathy work in tandem, growth becomes both intelligent and unforgettable.

These insights are from a recent interview by Winning by Design COO, Shari Johnston. The full interview can be found in our Growth Journal - subscribe here.

Figure 2: Kyle Lacy, CMO of Docebo (second from the right), at an industry event.

EVENTS: Excited for You to Join Us in the Coming Months!

⭐ WE’RE GEARING UP FOR IMPACT SUMMIT 2026 | SAN FRANCISCO | MAY 12, 2026 / After a sold-out inaugural year, Impact Summit 2026 is back—bringing together over 200 C-level executives for a high-impact curriculum on Go-to-Market strategy. Join us for year two, where we’ll be hosting the best of the best leaders in GTM recurring revenue, working together to drive growth. Request an invite.

- OPEN WORKSHOP: GROWTH ARCHITECTURE PRIMER | NOVEMBER 19, 2026 / Join us November 19th for a workshop led by Jacco! Learn how leading “AI-Native” companies achieve breakout velocity without proportional headcount growth, and how to apply those lessons to your own revenue architecture—creating systems that compound, rather than decay. Leave with a Growth Machine Blueprint framework—a simple, visual model to help you identify where compounding stops and how to restart it and align systems, data, and teams around compounding signals. Register for the workshop.

- WbD IN THE (GTM) WILD / Over the past month, we’ve had the privilege of joining GTM leaders across several exceptional gatherings: The Growth Summit hosted by Great Hill Partners, SaaS Summit Benelux, Spectrum Equity’s Sales & Marketing Leadership Summit, and RevStar Summit. Why do we show up? The pace of change in GTM is accelerating — and now more than ever, leaders need clear models for what works, what’s changing, and how to adapt.

PAVILION PARTNERSHIP UPDATE: A New Chapter for Revenue Architecture

Over the past year, we’ve been working on a bold next step for Winning by Design — the launch of the Growth Institute. This new community brings together our courses, our research, and a global network of GTM leaders under one shared mission: to build a universal, science-based language of growth.

The Growth Institute creates one connected home for all of our growth courses and community at the forefront of everything we’re building next. It’s a place where leaders can deepen their expertise, stay on the cutting edge of GTM innovation, and grow alongside peers who are committed to operating with rigor, clarity, and impact.

As we align our programs inside this new vision, transitions are a natural part of the journey. Our goal is to provide an even more cohesive and transformative learning experience for every GTM operator who chooses to grow with us.

Beginning November 21st, Pavilion members will no longer be able to register for Revenue Architecture and Essentials in Revenue Architecture courses through their Pavilion membership. However, they can sign up through Winning by Design’s Revenue Academy or receive access via Growth Institute Membership.

While this is a change, it’s also the start of something bigger.

ICYMI: Three New Growth Offerings from WbD

The Growth Institute
The home for executives and growth leaders seeking board-ready insights, proven frameworks, and a community of peers facing the same challenges at scale. Built by the architects of Revenue Architecture, the Growth Institute equips leaders with the courses, data, case studies (first walkthrough on Dec. 2), and connections needed to navigate—and lead—the transformation reshaping our industry. See the full list of benefits and upcoming events, and become a Founding Member.

The Growth Journal
Your guide to building sustainable revenue growth, combining proven strategies with practical exercises to turn insights into action. Each issue distills the expertise of Winning by Design into bite-sized, actionable content designed for go-to-market leaders and their teams. Whether you’re scaling a startup or optimizing enterprise sales, the journal helps you stay focused on what drives repeatable growth. Subscriptions available in digital and print. Subscribe here.

Growth Architecture Course
A new course devised by Jacco to help revenue leaders learn how to blend strategy, think systematically, and leverage AI-native design to equip your teams with the tools to diagnose, design, and operationalize a modern growth machine. Enroll in the next course.

REVENUE ACADEMY COURSES: Uplevel your skills across the GTM

Sign up for Revenue Academy Open Courses —next cohorts are kicking off on November 19th.

• Selling for Impact (US) (EMEA)
• Selling into Enterprise Accounts (US) (available only once per quarter, Q1 2026 coming soon!)
• Prospecting for Impact (US) (EMEA)
• Prospecting into Enterprise Accounts (US) (available only once per quarter, Q1 2026 coming soon!)
• Customer Success for Impact (US) (EMEA)
• Account Management for Growth (US) (available only once per quarter)
• Managing for Impact (US) (EMEA)
  
• Managing for Leadership (US) (available only once per quarter, Q1 2026 coming soon!) 
• Revenue Architecture (US) (EMEA)
  • Essentials in Revenue Architecture (Single-Session) (US) (available only once per quarter)
  • Essentials in Revenue Architecture (Self-Paced) (US)
• NEW! Growth Architecture (available only once per quarter)
• Bowtie Analytics (US) (available only once per quarter)
• Insight Engineering (US) (available only once per quarter)
• Skills Course: Discovery Using SPICED (US) (available only once per quarter)
• Skills Course: Storytelling (US) (available only once per quarter, Q1 2026 coming soon!)
• Facilitator Certification (US) (available only once per quarter, Q1 2026 coming soon!)
• Complimentary SPICED Micro-Course (Self-Paced)

Cheers to a strong finish in 2026.

To impact!

The crew @ Winning by Design