Foundations of AI-Driven Leadership

This unit introduces the forces that maintain organizational inertia, the audiences and stakeholders for an AI-centered business playbook, and the strategic benefits and growth opportunities of adopting AI-driven leadership. Students will explore leadership narratives, C‑suite pathways, and an introductory framework that prepares them to diagnose where change must occur and to design initial action steps in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze organizational inertia by identifying at least three internal and external factors that impede change in a provided business scenario
• Evaluate organizational and business benefits of AI adoption by comparing potential impacts on efficiency, revenue growth, and competitive advantage for two case examples
• Interpret leadership pathways to the C-suite by assessing how formative experiences and nontraditional (‘rogue executive’) strategies influence strategic decision-making in a short written case analysis
• Apply the introduced framework to a real or hypothetical company to produce an action brief that pinpoints where ‘rubber meets the road’ and recommends three prioritized next steps for implementation in Units 2–4