The AI roadmap for leaders: 3 levels to reinvention

“Absolutely, Rob — this roadmap nails the real challenge: moving beyond theory to disciplined execution. In my years leading enterprise AI, ISO/IEC 42001, and ISMS programs across Fortune 50 organizations, I’ve seen the same pattern: firms get stuck at Level 1 because governance, integration, and risk-aware oversight are treated as afterthoughts. The leap to Level 2 and beyond requires structured AI assurance frameworks, embedded enterprise workflows, and auditable feedback loops — not just pilots. When AI is coupled with rigorous governance, continuous performance monitoring, and alignment to enterprise risk appetite, it stops being a novelty and becomes a scalable, trustworthy engine for innovation and decision-making. Momentum is built when strategy, architecture, and operational controls move in lockstep — exactly what separates leaders from the rest.”

Most AI maturity models miss a critical layer. They show the tech roadmap—Tools → Agents → Orchestrators. But ignore the mindset shift required to actually evolve. Here’s what that shift looks like when viewed through an Agile lens: Level 1 – Generative AI AI as a tool. • Mindset: “We want faster output.” • Reality: AI is used like a digital intern. • Outcome: Lots of pilots, little progress. Level 2 – Agentic AI AI acts. Humans steer. • Mindset: “We inspect and adapt.” • Reality: Cross-functional AI workflows emerge. • Challenge: Legacy systems and compliance friction. Level 3 – AI Reinvention AI learns. The enterprise evolves. • Mindset: “We optimize for learning.” • Reality: AI shapes how you compete, not just how you operate. • Outcome: Organizations become adaptive systems. You don’t leap to Level 3. You earn your way there by building Agile capacity— not just technical capability. Don’t just scale tools. Scale learning. Scale trust. Scale flow. Poll Where is your organization today on the AI adoption curve? • Level 1: Using AI tools, not yet integrated • Level 2: Building agentic workflows and automation • Level 3: Actively reinventing business models • Not sure / Still figuring it out 📥 Get the visual: https://cxo.fm/brief Follow Rob Llewellyn for more on transformation.

This is a great breakdown. So many companies are stuck in Level 1, treating AI like a shiny new toy for one-off tasks. The real value unlocks at Level 2 and 3, when you start building repeatable, automated processes. That's the leap from pilot projects to actual business transformation.

The Only AI Roadmap That Matters—And What Most Leaders Miss AI transformation isn’t about sprawling frameworks—it’s about movement. Complexity keeps organizations stuck in theory while market-shapers press ahead. Here’s the simple map every executive should use: ✅ Level 1: Generative AI AI creates, humans guide. Quick wins; marketing, HR, and support get a boost with prompts, drafts, and summaries. But at this stage, there’s no integration or real autonomy—just accelerated output. ✅ Level 2: Agentic AI AI acts, humans steer. Integration begins. Now you’re connecting data, APIs, and governance. Agents analyze, plan, recommend—and humans remain accountable for execution. Integration is messy, compliance slows progress, but this is where true business value emerges. ✅ Level 3: AI Reinvention AI learns, enterprise evolves. Business models begin to shift, systems and partners connect in real time, and processes self-optimize. Leaders focus on oversight and innovation; momentum compounds. The hard truth? Most organizations stall at Level 1. They debate frameworks while pilots gather dust. The solution isn’t another vision deck or theoretical strategy—it’s clarity and shared language. Movement, not admiration. My addition: 🔹 Conduct an “AI Momentum Audit”—stop overanalysing your AI project portfolio. • Where are your pilots stuck? • Which use cases have moved beyond paper? • What’s the real bottleneck—skills, governance, or systems? Align teams on the level you’re actually at, not the level you talk about. Build toward the next step—fast. Momentum beats perfection. It’s time to master the level you’ve earned, then earn your way to the next. Where is your organization today—and what are you doing this quarter to break through? #AILeadership #BusinessTransformation #AgenticAI #AIReinvention #MomentumOverTheory

🚨 AI is eating technical skills alive. Not long ago, our team spent 40 hours building a strategic plan for a client. Manual. Slow. Painstaking. Today? That same process takes 10 hours and the quality is higher. The difference? AI. But here’s the thing: this isn’t just a story about efficiency. It’s a story about the end of technical skills as we know them. Because when every business leader has a “little expert in their pocket”… 👉 The real advantage shifts. 👉 The edge isn’t coding faster, analyzing better, or writing cleaner. 👉 The edge is human judgment, empathy, and strategy. That’s the twist no headline is telling you. The value of execution is shrinking. The value of being human of leading is skyrocketing. In our latest post, we dive into: ✅ Why technical skills are declining in value ✅ How AI is reshaping revenue, cost, and speed in business ✅ The new human skills CEOs, founders, and COOs must double down on ✅ A simple framework to redesign your Human + AI team If you’re wondering what your role as a leader looks like in the AI era—this is your roadmap. 👉 [Read the full post: Human vs AI in Business: Why Technical Skills Alone Are No Longer Enough] https://lnkd.in/gT2bmVqd

Our teams have AI-powered superpowers. Velocity is at an all-time high. Yet, for many organizations, strategic impact remains stubbornly flat. This is the modern Productivity Paradox: tactical efficiency is soaring, but it feels like we’re just accelerating into a wall. The tools are working, but the system is breaking. Decades ago, Neil Postman warned that television would create a culture "amusing itself to death," drowning truth in a sea of irrelevance. Today, we face a new evolution of this problem. The issue isn't just that we're consuming triviality; it's that generative AI has enabled us to manufacture it internally at an unprecedented scale. We call this "Augmented Triviality." It’s the endless stream of auto-generated reports nobody acts on. The backlog of AI-suggested features disconnected from strategy. The illusion of progress that masks a deep crisis of purpose. We're not just in a feature factory; we're building an Automated Chaos machine. The solution isn't to reject the tools. It's to fundamentally change the leader's role. We must move from being managers of output to architects of meaning. This requires Design Leadership —the discipline of building an Intentional Culture where the most important work is deciding what is worth doing, long before we ask AI to do it faster. Without this shift, AI doesn’t solve the Productivity Paradox. It automates it. Is your AI strategy creating strategic value, or just a more efficient way to produce organizational noise? __________ The Memetic Design Lab helps organizations solve the Productivity Paradox. We redesign the hidden 'memes'—your company's core assumptions and rituals—to build resilient cultures that can innovate wisely. ✺ Follow our page for more on building an Intentional Culture.

AI and Competitive Advantage: A CIO Briefing My new Forbes article takes a deep dive into the future of competition in the AI era. It looks across the entire enterprise — from strategy and finance to operations, marketing, and people — to show how AI is reshaping the foundations of competitive advantage. But for those CIOs and CTOs who are too busy keeping the systems running to sit down with a full seven-minute read, this outtake is for you (and yes, I’ll be sharing outtakes for other leadership roles in the days ahead) . Here’s what AI and competitive advantage mean for technology leaders right now: 1. Legacy systems are holding you back. Old ERPs and patched-together platforms are now more than inefficient. They will be a barrier to your company's competitiveness. 2. IT must understand how the business works, not just how the code runs. IT leaders must approach the technology from the perspective of customer journeys, business process handoffs, and the real flow of work through the organization. 3. Any gap between IT and the operating side of the business is costly. Closing it requires effort from both sides: technology teams that understand business processes, and business leaders who can translate their needs clearly. 4. AI won’t fix a broken process. If your systems are strong, AI helps them scale. If they’re weak, AI just makes the cracks show up faster. 5. Tech skills alone aren’t enough anymore. IT teams need to understand business processes, not just systems. The firms that make that shift will outpace the rest. The bottom line: IT's strategic importance is not new, but in the AI era it becomes central as a direct driver of strategy. CIOs and CTOs who embrace this shift will define their companies’ competitive edge. Full Forbes article link in the comments. #BusinessStrategy #AI #BusinessGrowth #ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalTransformation #IT

Still debating whether your company really needs a formal AI transformation program? Here’s the truth: Yes — you do, and here's exactly why: If your company hasn’t formalized AI transformation, you’re already behind.
And there are two big reasons every organization should treat this as a top priority:
👉 Opportunity and 👉 Responsibility. 🚀 1) The Opportunity AI isn’t hype anymore — it’s reality. It’s changing how we work, think, and compete. The companies that move beyond experiments and commit to full transformation are the ones creating new value — for customers, employees, and shareholders. If you’re not on that train yet… get to the station. Fast. 🧭 2) The Responsibility This part gets overlooked — and it shouldn’t. * Governance: Without structure, “shadow AI” creeps in — risky, fragmented, and wasteful. Leaders need to set clear guardrails and guidance. * People: The bigger responsibility is to your team. We’re living through one of the most transformational moments in modern history. Responsible employers don’t leave their people behind — they equip them with training, sanctioned tools, and support to navigate this shift. AI transformation isn’t just about efficiency.
It’s about empowering people to shape the future. Leaders who miss that aren’t just losing opportunity — they’re losing trust. 💡 And if you’re interviewing for a new role?
Ask this one question: “What does your company’s AI transformation program look like?” You’ll learn everything you need to know about how they see the future. 
At KARA Advisors, we help organizations formalize AI transformation — from readiness to implementation — so they can lead with clarity, confidence, and impact. 🌐 www.karaadvisors.net

The Future of Pricing: 5 Trends Every Executive Should Be Watching Pricing strategy is no longer a back-office function — it’s a core driver of profitability and competitive advantage. But staying ahead depends on how leaders respond to five accelerating trends: 🔹 AI & Generative AI – Pricing intelligence is being transformed. From deep analytics to tailored recommendations, AI enables faster, smarter, and more dynamic decisions. 🔹 Price Volatility – Unpredictable markets demand agility. Organisations that can adjust swiftly and confidently will outperform those tied to rigid pricing structures. 🔹 Dynamic Pricing – Real-time adjustment works only when it’s anchored in a clear value narrative and governed by sound human oversight. Automation alone isn’t the answer. 🔹 Sustainability – Buyers increasingly assess value through the lens of environmental, ethical, and social responsibility. Price must align with these evolving priorities. 🔹 Fairness & Transparency – Trust is the new currency. Customers and partners expect pricing clarity that reflects genuine value delivered. Disruption in pricing and markets isn’t temporary — it’s the new operating environment. If you’d like to explore how these trends could reshape your pricing strategy, let’s have a confidential discussion. #PricingStrategy #AI #DynamicPricing #Leadership

If AI isn’t already part of your business planning, 2026 is your last chance before you’ll be left behind. For the first time, Vistage’s Business Trends for the coming year, has a standalone AI instalment: https://lnkd.in/gPZufeGe If you only read one of these articles, it's got to be this one. What can you do now to turn AI from a buzzword to an advantage for your business? 🤖 Treat AI as a leadership skill, not a tech project. AI literacy needs to sit in the boardroom, not just the back office. The biggest advantage now goes to leaders who understand how AI changes workflows, decisions, and value creation - not just what it can automate. 🤖 Start experimenting: small, smart, and now. Waiting for the “perfect” moment means you’ll be watching your competitors pull ahead. Pilot AI tools in customer service, reporting, or admin. Learn fast, measure impact, and scale what works. 🤖 Get your data house in order. AI is only as good as the information you feed it. Clean, structured, searchable data is now a strategic asset. Businesses investing in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems will soon have instant answers to complex, cross-system questions without analysts. 🤖 Upskill your people before the gap widens. Roles that blend operational and AI capability are already in short supply - job postings for agentic AI roles grew 986% last year. The question isn’t whether AI will change jobs, but whether your team will be ready to lead that change. 🤖 Reimagine how work gets done. Agentic AI (the kind that can plan and execute multistep tasks) is moving from labs to real businesses. Think of an AI agent that processes a refund, updates inventory, notifies suppliers, and reports on product trends WITHOUT human input. It’s not the future. It’s here. The takeaway? AI is no longer a tool for coders, it’s a partner in performance - not to replace people, but to amplify them. The leaders who move from “trying AI” to truly using it will redefine what good looks like in 2026. Where in your business could AI create clarity, speed, or new value next year and beyond?