CMX Masterclass - How to Gain—and Sustain—Executive Buy‑In

This session, hosted by CMX and led by Chris and Alan, introduces the Three E’s Impact Model—Experience, Enablement, and Evaluation—to help community professionals align strategy with business goals. Drawing from 20 years of experience, Chris shares how storytelling and data can demonstrate ROI, strengthen executive buy-in, and showcase community impact.

In case you missed anything, here’s the full recording of the session, along with some key takeaways that we’re sure you’ll want to put into action right away!

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Actionable Insights

✳️ Use the 3E Stakeholder Canvas to Turn ‘Nice-to-Have’ into ‘Must-Have’:

Book 30-minute discovery chats with 3–5 priority partners (Product, Support, CS). Ask “What does success look like for you this quarter?” and map their answers into Experience → Enablement → Evaluation. Their KPIs become your KPIs—and your community projects get green-lit faster.

📊 Pair Hard Metrics with One Hero Story:

Pair a tight KPI snapshot (active members, case deflection, time-to-answer, % accepted solutions) with a single member story that shows business impact. Same cadence, same format, every quarter—so execs learn to expect it and start citing your numbers in their meetings.

⏰ Protect Strategic Time to Build Business Credibility:

Calendar-block 10–20% of your week for exec-facing work: stakeholder outreach, story mining, KPI analysis, and one non-community business read. If bandwidth gets squeezed, escalate priorities (“Which two should we drop?“). Discipline beats intentions—and earns you ‘strategic’ status.”