What Do You Even Ask a CEO?

June Steensen
27. juni 2025
9 min lesing

Oppdatert: 31. juli 2025

Preparing my questions for my first interview.

It appears that both consultants and CEOs are asking the same questions as everyone else: What happens when AI can handle tasks traditionally assigned to consultants? What are we still paying for? What continues to add value?

To try and find the answer to this, I could have followed the conventional route: read a pile of McKinsey reports, summarized a few articles, and labeled it as research. However, let's face it: there are people far more qualified than I am to handle that.

I’m not a consultant. I’m not an AI expert. I’m not even done with undergrad. I don’t have 20 years of experience. But here’s what I can do: I can ask real questions. Honest questions. The kind that consultants often can’t ask themselves, at least not without sounding defensive.

In this case, being 19 comes with its perks, I don’t have a title to live up to or a reputation to protect, so I can just be honest. I show up to these conversations and say, “I’m not here to impress anyone, I just want to understand how things really work.” (This brings me to an important piece of advice: identify your advantage! Where can you enter a situation more easily? What benefits can you create for yourself? You don't need to make it more difficult than necessary!) This project is not about summarizing what's already been written, but digging for something new. Something honest. Something useful.

So I started with the end in mind: If I wanted to discover something amazing that might actually help consulting firms adapt to this AI shift, what would that be?

And then: What kinds of questions could possibly get me there?

Initial thoughts:

I have 20 minutes. That’s not a lot.

I had to be brutally realistic about what I could actually accomplish in that time.

Because here’s the truth: 20 minutes sounds longer than it feels, especially when you’re sitting across from a CEO.

A few minutes disappear right away; quick intros, context-setting, a bit of small talk. That leaves maybe 12 to 15 minutes. Max.

That’s it.

So here’s the challenge: How do I use those minutes to get something really good?

I want results that I can bring back to consulting firms that aren’t already in their slide decks.

And I need to get there in a way that’s respectful of the CEO’s time but still bold enough to push past the surface-level stuff.

To do this, I need good questions!

But not all questions are created equal.

Some are polite.

Some are forgettable.

Some just help fill the silence.

But the ones I’m after?

They make people pause. Think. Shift slightly in their chair.

They cut through the polished answers.

They go past the script and their learned answers.

So I built a few rules for myself:

1. If the answer could be guessed by ChatGPT, don’t ask it. If it sounds like it belongs on a press release or could be pulled from a Forbes article, it’s not worth asking. I need original thinking, not reused stuff.

2. Start where they are, not where I wish they were. It’s tempting to open with future-facing questions like, “Where do you see AI taking your industry in 10 years?” But real insight starts by understanding what’s already happening and the reason they are where they are.

3. Respect the ego, aim for the mind. CEOs are human. They want to feel respected. But they’re also thinkers. The best ones like to be challenged. So I want to challenge their views and move past the ego-protecting sugarcoating they might use in other contexts. We all want to make ourselves and our companies look better, but I want the truth.

4. Build the staircase. Don’t go straight to “How is AI going to replace consultants?” in minute one. Start with what’s familiar, then walk upward! from now → to next → to unknown.

5. Every question has to earn its place. No filler. No fluff. If a question doesn’t tie directly back to my central goal, understanding how AI is changing the role of consultants, it gets cut.

To make sure I had both depth and structure, I divided the questions into categories. You’ll see a clear split between both contents and qualitative and quantitative questions. Because when I present this back to the consulting firms, I don’t just want to say something interesting. I want to show something useful.

So with all of that in mind here are the questions:

PART 1: Before diving into AI or future trends, I had to understand how CEOs currently use consultants. What kinds of projects? What value? How do they compare that work to internal teams? If I don’t know what “normal” looks like today, I can’t understand how it’s changing.

In the first section I ask:

“How do you currently use consultants?”

“How is that different from how you use internal teams?”

“What value do you actually get from consultant projects?”

“Overall how satisfied have you been with the consultants you have worked with?”

This gives me a reality check. Are consultants still seen as indispensable experts… or expensive outsiders?

PART 2: Next comes the big shift. How is artificial intelligence changing how decisions are made at the top level? I wanted to know how CEOs are using (or avoiding) AI and how they plan to use it in the future.

I chose:

“Has AI changed how you make decisions at the leadership level?”

“Are there areas where you aren’t using AI but are considering it?”

If AI is replacing or enhancing what consultants do, I want to understand that now, not five years too late.

PART 3: Now it’s time to rewind and interlink both AI and consultants! Have there been projects in the past three years that, knowing what they know now, they would’ve handled differently? Would they have used AI instead of consultants?

“Are there projects that you have done the last 3 years that you would’ve replaced with AI fully or partially?” “Which types of projects?” “Why?”

Step 4: Look Forward From reflection now to projection. If companies are changing how they use consultants, I want to understand where it’s going. So I asked about how they were planning to use consultants in the future:

I ask:

“If you hired consultants for a big project today, how would that process be different from three years ago?”

“Are there new types of projects where you’d now consider using consultants when you wouldn’t have before?”

This helps me understand what CEOs really want next, not just what’s in their strategy slides, but how they think.

Step 5:. This part is about how consulting firms are perceived and whether they’re keeping up with AI.

I ask:

“Have the consulting firms you’ve worked with adapted well to AI?”

“What have they done right?” “Where are they falling behind?”

“What do consulting firms need to do differently to deliver real value in an AI-driven world?”

“What would surprise consultants most if they knew how you actually use and evaluate them today?”

These questions might be a little uncomfortable but will give me some very good insight to bring to the consultants.

Step 6: Finally, the data. These are the short, scalable questions, answered on a 1–7 scale (1 is a lot less and 7 is a lot more) or percentage, that will help me identify patterns across industries.

Sample questions:

Has AI made you hire more or fewer consultants in the past year?

How do you think your consultant needs will change next year?

And over the next three years?

More senior consultants… or fewer?

More specialists vs. generalists?

What will happen to consultant pricing because of AI?

What % of consulting work could AI realistically replace within three years?

It might sound boring, but this is how I give the project real weight and is a real time saver!

How to Be a Young Professional (Without Pretending to Be a Grown-Up)

Let me be honest:

I don’t have a business degree.

I’ve never worked in an office.

I don’t own a suit.

And despite watching a deeply unhealthy amount of Suits in high school, I’m not fluent in corporate speak.

In the spirit of learning I’ve been practicing tho:)

I’ve tested out some of the classics:

“Let’s circle back.”
“That’s low-hanging fruit.”
“I don’t have the bandwidth.”
“We need to align on deliverables.”

I’ve started sneaking them into everyday conversations with mixed success. Like when I told my friend we should “touch base” about what movie to watch. Or that I didn’t have “bandwidth” to go out (aka: I was writing this blog). Or that cleaning my room was tackling the “low-hanging fruit in my personal life.”

Look, I’m trying.

This is mostly a joke... but it coincidentally led me to discover the best professional advice:

You don’t need to sound like an expert to be taken seriously. You just need to think like one.

Lately, I've been trying to present myself more polished when meeting with CEOs and executives not in a fake way, just... enhanced. Here’s what has been effective for me and what I did to prepare for my initial meetings. :) These are some simple tips I wish I didn’t have to figure out on my own:

1. You don’t need a suit. Just don’t look like you rolled out of bed.

Forget the “dress for the job you want” thing unless the job you want is to be uncomfortable all day. Instead: Dress like the most polished version of yourself. My go-to? Black on black, clean sneakers, no flashy jewelry. Enough to feel 10% more confident, but still like me

2. Bring your questions on paper.

Yes, paper. Like it’s 2003. It looks intentional. Organized. Prepared. Also, paper doesn’t have notifications, cracked screens, or low battery anxiety. You can literally flip the page and look smart.

3. Handshake = tiny moment, big impression.

If it’s in person, nail it. Firm (but not aggressive). Confident (but not a power play). And for the love of all things professional, make eye contact.

4. Start with a sentence you’ve practiced.

It doesn’t have to be deep. Just not panicked. Try:“Thanks for taking the time, I’ve been really looking forward to this.”Boom. You’re calm. You’re collected.

5. Pause before you speak.

Just a beat. It makes you sound thoughtful, not nervous. And it gives your brain one last chance to catch up before your mouth takes over. (I am a frequent victim of word vomit myself! lets try to avoid that:)

6. Follow their lead, but don’t disappear.

Yes, they’re older. Probably more experienced. Maybe even a little intimidating. So follow their rhythm but keep your voice in the room. You’re not there to blend in. You’re there to learn, to ask something real, and to leave a tiny mark.

7. Sneak in the LinkedIn ask. (Or the selfie, respectfully.)

Look. We’re young. We want receipts. Say something like:“Would it be okay if we connected on LinkedIn? I’d love to stay in touch.” If the vibe is right and it’s relevant to your project, a photo isn’t weird just be polite, professional, and maybe don’t yell “SELFIE TIME!!!” like you’re at a concert.

8. Don’t pretend to know everything. Just care enough to ask something real.

That’s it. That’s the secret. You don’t need to sound like an expert to be taken seriously. you just need to Be curious. Be prepared. Ask the question no one else is asking and actually listen to the answer.

Looking back on the days leading up to my first CEO meeting, I was terrified. Yes, I’ve done Model UN. Yes, I’ve spoken in rooms full of adults. But this felt different.

This was real. So I did what we all do when we are in need: I called my dad. (First time I called him in four weeks, not the other way around.)

And he said something I’ll never forget:

“They’re all cheering for you. They want to help. That’s why they said yes. So go in there and be a boss.”

(That’s not the exact quote, but it’s what I heard.)

And he was right.

People want to help you, especially when you’re young. They’re not scary. They’re not hoping you’ll mess up. They’re rooting for you.

So here’s my advice from one nervous young person to another:

You don’t need all the answers. But you do need real questions.
You don’t need a title. You just need to show up.
Don’t fake confidence. Build it by being prepared.

Take space. Ask boldly. You’re allowed to be there!

The most surprising part of this project hasn’t been the answers I’ve gotten. It’s that people are saying yes in the first place. Not just yes, but thoughtful, generous, supportive yes.

If you’re about to walk into your first meeting, pitch, or slightly terrifying “I can’t believe I’m doing this” moment:

Start with your questions.

Stand up straight.

And remember: They’re probably cheering for you too.

(and if they are not, I am!)

More updates coming soon; let's see the outcome of these interviews!

— June