AI Strategy for Executives
Executives don’t need to learn what AI is. They need to lead it.
Most AI problems inside organizations are leadership problems in disguise. This one-day program gives executives three practical frameworks to recognize failure patterns, set vision before strategy, and make governance decisions they can act on immediately.
Any questions?
Michiel will gladly help you further with any personal or in-company needs you might have.
Michiel Zeinstra
Training Advisor
Why should I follow this training?
AI fails at the top
70% of AI transformations miss their objectives. The root cause is rarely the technology, it’s the leadership. This training names the 5 failure patterns executives create, and gives you the tools to stop them.
No disclosure required
Every exercise uses anonymized scenarios. You never need to reveal confidential strategy to gain genuine insight.
Tools, not theory
You leave with three frameworks you can use in the next AI conversation you walk into. Not a certificate. Not a summary document. Decision tools, applied the same day.
Executives don’t need to learn what AI is. They need to lead it.
You are already surrounded by people who know how AI works. The question is whether you know how to lead it.
Xebia has accompanied over 40 organizations through AI transformation. The pattern we see repeatedly is not a technology problem, it is a leadership problem. Executives delegate AI strategy without owning it. They buy tools before building capability. They invest without anyone accountable for outcomes.
This one-day program names those patterns out loud. Then it gives you three frameworks to change them: the Nightmare Map, the North Star, and the Cube.
By the end of the day, you will use all three on real decisions, without disclosing anything confidential.
You leave with a decision-making lens, a governance question set specific to your role, and a 30-day leadership commitment.
Key takeaways
- After this training, you will:
Name the failure pattern you’re already in. Recognize which of the 5 ways executives derail AI strategy is present in your organization right now before it costs you further. - Stop leading AI backwards. Understand why setting vision before strategy changes every AI conversation you’ll have and what goes wrong when organizations get that sequence reversed.
- Use two frameworks on your own context, safely. Apply the North Star and the Cube to your actual situation without disclosing anything confidential. The exercises are designed for that.
- See the full board before you move a piece. Trace how one AI investment decision disturbs five other dimensions of your organization, operating model, governance, talent, culture, technology, before you commit.
- Score AI proposals honestly. Evaluate whether an AI initiative creates value that actually exceeds its total cost of transformation, not just the implementation budget line.
- Leave with three questions your board can’t dodge. Design the governance questions your leadership team must answer before your next major AI investment, questions specific to your role that you couldn’t have written this morning.
Program
This one-day training is a structured working session, not a lecture. Every framework is introduced in a short burst and immediately applied, so you leave knowing how to use it, not just what it means.
The day is built around one consistent principle: no company disclosure required. Every exercise uses anonymized scenarios. You work on real leadership decisions without revealing your strategy to anyone in the room.
You leave with three tools you will use in the next AI conversation you walk into and a 30-day commitment.
Surface the Pressure
Before any framework is named, you map the real AI leadership failure scenarios you face. The room names what hasn’t been said out loud in the boardroom and builds the shared vocabulary for everything that follows.
Three Frames
The Nightmare Map, the North Star, and the Cube each delivered in a short burst, each applied before the next one begins.
You receive a tool, you use it, you move on.
Real Decisions, Safely
Apply all three frameworks to anonymized scenarios in your sector. Stress-test investment proposals.
Trace how one AI decision disturbs five other dimensions of your organization. Surface the governance gaps you didn’t know you had.
Your Next Move
Design the three governance questions your board must answer before your next AI investment.
Write your 30-day leadership commitment.
Leave with a personal agenda not a general action list.
Who is it for?
We designed this training for senior leaders who are responsible for the direction of their organization and who recognize that AI is now reshaping which direction is even possible.
You belong in this room if you are:
- A C-suite executive (CEO, CTO, CDO, COO, CHRO) setting your organization’s AI agenda
- A senior director or VP accountable for business units where AI is already present — or should be.
- A Strategy, Transformation, or Innovation lead who needs to move from AI awareness to AI ownership.
- A Governance or Risk leader who needs a framework for accountability before the next investment decision.
This is not the right fit if you are looking for hands-on AI tools, coding skills, or data science techniques. See our [LINK: AI Skills for Teams] program for that.
Requirements
No preparation required and no need to share confidential strategy at any point during the day
Our people and locations
What else should I know?
After registering for this course, you will receive a confirmation email with practical information. A week before the training, we will ask about any dietary requirements.
In-company options
Running this for your leadership team? We adapt the sector scenarios, Cube examples, and governance exercises to your specific context.
Course information
Course materials and frameworks (digital) included
Lunch and refreshments
No preparation required and no need to share confidential strategy at any point during the day
Bring your laptop.
Meet the trainer(s)
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