Throughout most of the last century, the executive coaching industry occupied a predictable corner of the business world—useful for refining communication, sharpening leadership style or resolving managerial bottlenecks. But the demands placed on modern executives have grown considerably more complex. The CEOs and founders now steering companies through technological disruption, political volatility and increasingly competitive capital markets require something more sophisticated than leadership seminars. They need guidance that cuts across policy, investment and public perception.
This emerging need has given rise to a new category of advisor: one who blends strategic intelligence with narrative architecture, public-interest framing and targeted access to decision-makers. These are not corporate coaches in the traditional sense. They are influence engineers.
Among the most intriguing examples is Miro Cernetig, an award-winning filmmaker, former foreign correspondent and the CEO of CityAge—a network of more than 30,000 leaders across mayors’ offices, boardrooms, laboratories and investment firms. His proposition is both simple and unusual: in 90 minutes, he aims to diagnose a leader’s strategic blind spots, reconnect their work to public benefit, and map the handful of relationships that could materially alter their company’s trajectory. The structure is remarkably precise, almost clinical in its efficiency, and sharply different from the meandering conversations that characterise many executive consultations.
A Compressed Masterclass in Influence
Cernetig’s process resembles a blend of newsroom interrogation, venture-capital pattern recognition and public-policy analysis. The first 15 minutes are diagnostic: a direct examination of why a leader’s brand or narrative is failing to resonate. There is, by his own description, no sugar-coating. Leaders who have spent months—or years—circulating pitch decks, press releases or public-affairs messaging often discover that the core issue lies not in presentation but positioning. Their story may be internally coherent but externally irrelevant.
The next phase focuses not on broad networking—an activity that often dissipates more energy than it creates—but on identifying the three to five people who can genuinely change a company’s prospects. These are not abstractions. They tend to be funders, policymakers, CEOs or institutional anchors positioned to accelerate adoption, open regulatory doors, or provide credible validation. The implicit thesis is that strategic momentum comes not from volume but precision. In a fragmented attention economy, the right five conversations matter more than the next fifty.
The third portion of the session moves from diagnosis to design. For 30 minutes, Cernetig works with the leader to reverse-engineer a six-month roadmap from a clearly defined goal—whether capital, media visibility, partnership or government contracting. This is where his hybrid background is most apparent. Journalists are trained to collapse complexity into narrative clarity; public-policy analysts to observe structural incentives; and entrepreneurs to think in pathways rather than abstractions. The combined perspective produces a plan that aims to be both grounded and actionable.
The final quarter-hour introduces what Cernetig often calls the “one principle that matters”: act in the public interest. In his view, corporate messaging that fails to demonstrate public benefit is increasingly doomed in an era marked by government intervention, industrial policy and heightened scrutiny. The Public Interest Pitch template he provides—used by clients to raise more than $50m—reflects this logic. Leaders must articulate not only what their companies do but why society needs them to succeed. The result is a narrative capable of resonating with investors, grant evaluators and media alike.
Why Leaders Are Seeking Sharper Guidance
Executives are turning to such frameworks for several reasons. Capital markets have become both more fluid and more demanding. Investors now expect founders to explain not only their business model but their relevance to national priorities—resilience, sustainability, infrastructure modernisation and technological competitiveness.
Media, meanwhile, has bifurcated: mass attention is fleeting, but elite opinion remains influential. The right feature, panel or podcast can position a leader as an authority; the absence of such positioning can relegate them to obscurity even with a promising product.
Government, too, has shifted from a regulatory actor to a market-maker. Industrial strategies in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia have poured billions into climate tech, transportation, urban infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. Companies unable to articulate their public benefit often find themselves overlooked for grants, partnerships or pilot programmes.
Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising that leaders increasingly seek advisors who understand not just business but ecosystems—people who can decipher how investors think, how policymakers choose, and how journalists frame.
Who Benefits—and Who Does Not
Cernetig’s 90-minute sprint is not aimed at all executives. It is designed for founders raising capital who keep hearing “not quite ready,” for leaders who believe they should be onstage or on-air but are not, and for organisations doing substantial work that the world is somehow missing. It is decidedly not intended for those seeking shortcuts, viral hacks or the illusion of momentum without the effort to sustain it.
The testimonials are strikingly consistent. One UrbanTech founder claims Cernetig “cut through three years of spinning wheels in 90 minutes.” Another CEO notes that what he assumed was a branding problem turned out to be strategic misalignment. The comments hint at a pattern familiar to many growth-stage leaders: the obstacle is rarely effort; it is misdirected effort.
The Subtle Economics of High-Signal Introductions
A recurring element of Cernetig’s model is the three introductions he provides after the session. The number may seem small. Yet in elite networks, the quality of an introduction often matters far more than quantity. High-signal introductions—those that come from trusted intermediaries with credible judgment—can accelerate investor diligence, top-tier media interest or government engagement. They reduce friction in systems built on asymmetric information.
Such introductions also create a psychological shift. Leaders who once viewed their ecosystem as opaque or inaccessible begin to recognise its structure. They see how influence circulates, which actors matter, and how to position themselves within the flow.
Why the Offering Attracts Scarcity
In a world crowded with generic advisory services, Cernetig’s approach is intentionally scarce. He limits the number of sessions to four per month. At first glance, this may appear as a standard scarcity tactic. But the deeper logic is capacity: influence engineering is not easily scalable without losing its potency. And the promise of targeted introductions only holds value if the network is curated, not exhausted.
The Case for a Single High-Leverage Conversation
The broader trend reflected in Cernetig’s model is clear: leaders now seek high-leverage conversations rather than long advisory cycles. The demands of modern leadership—raising capital, securing relevance, navigating public interest, earning media credibility—are too intertwined to tackle through siloed expertise.
Executives are beginning to treat influence as a form of capital, narrative as a form of infrastructure, and introductions as a form of acceleration. In this landscape, a tightly compressed, strategically intensive session has become a surprisingly rational investment.
A Quick Note for Leaders Ready to Move Faster
For founders and executives who recognise that their brand, capital access or visibility is lagging not because of the quality of their work but because of how it is positioned—or to whom it is visible—the 90-minute session offers a pragmatic starting point.
Leaders who wish to identify their most urgent narrative gaps, map the relationships that could rapidly change their company’s trajectory, and build a six-month plan grounded in public-interest logic can explore the offering directly.
To book a session with Miro Cernetig and access the CityAge network, visit:
Book Your Session