Skip to main content
XCurveAI

AI for CXOs and Business Leaders

LEAD-101

From AI noise to a board-ready plan. A half-day executive masterclass for C-suite executives, board members and heads of function who need to make AI decisions they can stand behind. No tools, coding or laptops needed; you leave with an AI ambition, a shortlist of opportunities and a 90-day plan.

Level
Foundation
Duration
Half a day (4 hours)
Delivery
Classroom, Live virtual, Private team
Language
English
CPD hours
4
Suitable for
OrganisationsIndividuals
See upcoming datesTrain your team

Overview

AI decisions are already on your desk

Your organisation is being asked which pilots to fund and which tools to license. At the same time, anyone can now describe an application in plain English, chat to an AI model and have it built in minutes. Some of your people are already doing it. But the apps they build can look finished long before they are safe, accurate or supportable. Leaders need a clear understanding of AI to make sound calls and lead adoption with confidence. This masterclass gives you that.

Built for regulated and risk-aware organisations, including financial services and the public sector. A practitioner's view of what AI does well, where it fails, what it really costs and how to keep control of your data and suppliers.

How it runs

  • Short briefings, live demonstrations, case discussion and decision prompts
  • Half a day: 4 hours, including breaks
  • In person or live online, for 8 to 20 leaders
  • No tools, coding, accounts or laptops needed, and no confidential data: the cases are fictional

Your leadership team takes away

  • AI ambition. One sentence that links AI to your outcomes, users, boundaries and evidence.
  • Shortlist. Priority opportunities scored on value, feasibility, risk and readiness.
  • 90-day plan. A short, sequenced plan with owners, measures and review dates.

The shape of your first 90 days

  • Days 1 to 30, Discover: confirm priority problems and baselines; take stock of tools, data and ownership
  • Days 31 to 60, Pilot: run bounded pilots with real users, agreed measures, monitoring and stop criteria
  • Days 61 to 90, Decide: review value, risk and cost; scale, adapt or stop, and confirm who owns it

Tailored to you

A short call with your sponsor covers your audience, priorities, current tools and two or three live challenges. Cases can be set in banking, insurance, the public sector or other regulated industries. We provide the briefings, cases, demonstrations and reference pack; you provide a sponsor and a room with a display, or an online meeting platform. An optional 30-day check-in, a 90-minute session a month later, reviews the 90-day plan, tests early results and decides what to scale, adapt or stop.

What you will learn

  • Understand what AI can and cannot do for your business, and what it really costs
  • See where AI creates value in your organisation, and where it does not
  • Judge AI ideas, tools and suppliers with confidence
  • Choose and rank a small number of AI bets worth funding
  • Set governance and risk appetite for AI, including AI agents
  • Decide whether to build, buy or partner, including open-weight and self-hosted options
  • Lead adoption with a clear direction and a 90-day plan

Who it is for

CXOs, board members and non-executive directors; business-unit heads and senior functional leaders; and leadership teams who want to agree an AI direction together. Built for regulated and risk-aware organisations, including financial services and the public sector. Mixed levels work well.

Prerequisites

None. No prior AI knowledge, coding, tools, accounts or laptop is needed, and no confidential data: the cases are fictional.

What's included

  • AI ambitionOne sentence linking AI to your outcomes, users, boundaries and evidence
  • Opportunity shortlistScored on value, feasibility, risk and readiness
  • 90-day planSequenced, with owners, measures and review dates
  • Reference packExecutive glossary, tool landscape guide, proposal and supplier checklist, every template
  • Optional 30-day check-inA 90-minute session a month later to review the plan and early results
  • Certificate of completion

Course outline

  1. What AI is, and what it costs4 topics, 1 objective

    Topics

    • Prediction versus generation, and why a fluent answer can still be wrong
    • What retrieval and fine-tuning do
    • The main tool categories and what drives running cost
    • Exercise: spot the error in an AI-written briefing

    Objectives

    • Decide what evidence would make an AI output safe enough to use
  2. From copilots to agents2 topics, 1 objective

    Topics

    • Agents use tools and take actions; autonomy is a design choice
    • A procurement case that moves from summarising requests to raising orders

    Objectives

    • Decide which decisions can be delegated to AI, and who stays accountable
  3. Where AI creates real value3 topics, 1 objective

    Topics

    • Looking past isolated tasks to bottlenecks and customer outcomes
    • Spotting when simple automation is enough
    • Scoring three opportunities on value, feasibility, risk and readiness

    Objectives

    • Judge what result would justify investment, and what would make you stop
  4. Readiness, governance and regulation3 topics, 1 objective

    Topics

    • Data quality, privacy, security, monitoring and ownership
    • The EU AI Act and sector obligations
    • Supplier dependence, data sovereignty, and when open-weight or self-hosted models make sense

    Objectives

    • Decide who can approve, support and stop an AI service
  5. Your AI ambition and 90-day plan3 topics, 2 objectives

    Topics

    • Drafting your ambition in one sentence and challenging it
    • Turning it into a short plan where funding follows evidence
    • A decision to make, an assumption to test and an action to sponsor

    Objectives

    • Leave with a draft AI ambition, a shortlist of opportunities and a 90-day plan
    • Name what you still do not know, and how you will find out

Questions

Course

Do I need any AI knowledge?

No. Mixed levels work well, and no coding, tools, accounts or laptop is needed.

Will we use our own data?

No confidential data is needed. The cases are fictional, and can be set in banking, insurance, the public sector or another regulated industry to match your audience.

Logistics

How many people can attend?

Groups of 8 to 20 leaders, in person or live online.

What happens after the masterclass?

An optional 30-day check-in, a 90-minute session a month later, reviews the 90-day plan, tests early results and decides what to scale, adapt or stop. A separate hands-on half-day workshop is available for leaders who want to build and test a working AI prototype themselves.

Payment

What does it cost?

Fees are on request. Tell us about your audience and timing and we will send a proposal.