Dashboard

Forms

Page banners

Plan landings

Main navigation

Gallery

Upload

Media library

Memberships

All tickets

Create ticket

Prepaid tickets

Users

ELE brings leaders together across companies and industries to work through the messy stuff: decisions, risk, handoffs, execution drag, and what it takes to move from idea to action.

UPCOMING CALENDAR

LATEST IDEA EXCHANGE

RECENT INSIGHTS

WHO WE ARE

Schedule a Meetup

About ELE

Schedule a Local Meetup

Bring a real bottleneck. Name what's stuck, what's at stake, and why it matters now.

Community-Powered Calendar

Signal what matters most. Your vote shapes what this community tackles next.

Companies In Our Network

Contact ELE

Find the peer conversation that moves your work forward.The right exchange builds better leaders, closes capability gaps, and cuts through what internal meetings can't.

Figure out if ELE is for you. Straight answers on what ELE is, who it’s built for, and how contributing members actually work together. Still have a question? Contact us.

Get answers about how Executive Learning Exchange (ELE) works — peer-powered leadership development that fixes real work issues, reverses burnout, and accelerates business value. No programs. No vendors. In the flow of work.

Real challenges. Real peers. Clear next moves.

This is where people-leaders get sharper.

Want ELE to come to you? Propose a local gathering — the community decides what gets scheduled.

Executive Learning Exchange (ELE)

<blockquote class="ml-2 border-l-4 border-border-300/10 pl-4 text-text-300">
"I went from a blank to having a pretty good rough draft that I can go then and edit, and makes my time much more productive." — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/dirk-tussing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dirk Tussing</a>
</blockquote>
Here's the business problem that kicked this off: small and mid-sized companies know leadership development isn't working. Classroom training isn't building AI-ready leaders. And the people who do understand AI can't always translate it into what a 500-person manufacturing company actually needs to do differently on Monday morning.
That was the challenge Mike Grubich brought to ELE's April 10th <a href="https://www.ele.llc/insights/design-charrette-stop-talking-start-building-ai-leaders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Design Charrette — </a><a href="https://www.ele.llc/insights/design-charrette-stop-talking-start-building-ai-leaders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stop Talking, Start Building Leaders</a>. The charrette generated raw peer insight and a partially filled action planning worksheet. April 16th was about turning that raw material into something a leadership team could actually use.


<hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5" />
This one was open to anyone — members, guests, and curious colleagues alike. No slides, no formal structure. Just Dirk walking through the live workflow with a small group willing to watch AI do the heavy lifting in real time.


<hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5" />
The workflow: Charrette → Action Plan → Playbook
ELE's new sprint model is a three-step sequence. The Design Charrette starts with a real business problem and generates peer-tested insight. That becomes the input for an AI Action Planning hour — where AI tools help complete Aaron Olson's Action Planning Worksheet (from Strategy and Change), a structured tool designed for exactly this kind of high-disruption, hard-to-focus moment. The completed worksheet then feeds an AI Practical Lab, where the community co-creates customized implementation playbooks.
As <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/patricia-ouzounian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patti Ouzounian</a> put it during the discussion:

<blockquote class="ml-2 border-l-4 border-border-300/10 pl-4 text-text-300">
"You're taking what was done in the charrette and all of the transcript items and pieces to come up with a new and improved, updated action planning worksheet — so it can stand as the premise for the AI practice sessions, and then ultimately the playbook."
</blockquote>
That's the architecture. And the April 16th hour was proof it works.


<hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5" />
AI doesn't replace the thinking — it accelerates it
Dirk walked the group through the live workflow: drop in the Zoom transcript, the group chat, and the partially filled worksheet; run a CRIT prompt (Context, Role, Interview, Task); let the AI interview you with three targeted questions to sharpen the focus; then watch it fill out the worksheet with situation framing, insights, choices, risks, opportunities, and measurable actions.
The output wasn't perfect. It wasn't supposed to be. The point was to go from blank page to credible rough draft — fast — and then scrub it before sharing.

<blockquote class="ml-2 border-l-4 border-border-300/10 pl-4 text-text-300">
"Senior leaders need to stop treating AI leadership as a content rollout and start treating it as an execution choice."
</blockquote>
That line came out of the AI-assisted worksheet completion, drawing directly from Mike's business challenge. It's the kind of reframe that takes a room an hour to land on. The AI surfaced it in minutes — because the charrette had already done the real work of naming the problem.


<hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5" />
The part that surprised the room
<a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/david-scherer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Scherer</a> raised something worth flagging:

<blockquote class="ml-2 border-l-4 border-border-300/10 pl-4 text-text-300">
"I love these features — I really appreciate how we can leverage ELE in so many different ways outside of the organization."
</blockquote>
That's not just a compliment about the platform. It's pointing at something real: when you contribute to an ELE Design Charrette, you're building a documented, shareable artifact of your thinking. One you can actually point to. For senior leaders navigating career transitions or gig work, that matters.


<hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5" />
What to try next

<ol class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-decimal flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3">
 	<li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Run your own CRIT prompt on a current challenge. You don't need ELE's full workflow to start. Take a business problem you're stuck on, give an AI tool the Context, assign it a Role, ask it to Interview you (max 3 questions), then name the Task. Notice how different the output is from a generic prompt.</li>
 	<li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Use the worksheet as a pre-read filter. Before your next leadership team conversation about AI adoption, run the Action Planning Worksheet on the situation yourself — even partially filled. It forces you to separate symptoms from signals before you walk in the room.</li>
 	<li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Identify whose "business why" is missing. In most organizations, AI adoption stalls because senior executives haven't articulated why it matters for this business, this team, this year. Name one executive in your organization who should own that framing — and who isn't yet.</li>
</ol>
Early evidence signal: Within two weeks, can you get one senior leader to articulate AI adoption as a business execution decision — not a training initiative?


<hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5" />
If any of these insights resonate — and you've got a top-of-mind talent business problem you'd like the ELE community to work on — send it our way.
Members can submit their business challenge here: <a class="underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current" href="https://www.ele.llc/faqs/share-top-of-mind-business-challenges">Submit My Business Challenge Now</a>
Looking to turn these ideas into action? Access the <a href="https://community.ele.llc/t/pre-chat-post-chat-leadership-development-drives-ai-transformation/5860/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Idea Exchange Post-chat</a> for an updated Action Planning Worksheet.

Co-create Live with ELE | From Charrette to Action Plan: Watching AI Do the Heavy Lifting

Digital &amp; AI

Leadership

dirk.tussing

onboarding

deborah.lenchard

leadership development

peer-learning

HR and learning trends

patricia.ouzounian

david.scherer

clarity

ai practical lab

networking

Workforce Transformation

AI Adoption

organizational learning

knowledge sharing

ELE Office Hour

idea exchange

fresh ideas

new members

re-engagement

Q&amp;A

mike.hoyt

2Q2026

Design Charrette

confidence

capability

ELE 2026

action planning

business problem

CRIT prompting

senior leaders

execution strategy

<div class="insight-content-wrapper" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6; color: #333;">

When <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/aaron-olson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Olson</a> keynoted in person at ELE’s October conference at Zurich North America (Schaumburg campus), he launched his new book <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/bookshelf/strategy-and-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategy &amp; Change</a>—and the room lit up because it wasn’t theory. It was usable.

So we invited him back for a live interactive workshop discussion on Feb 27, and he delivered again—this time with the group applying the ideas to real decisions, in real time.

In the simplest terms, Aaron’s message was this: stronger teams get better at avoiding blind spots → making clearer choices → naming risk early—because that’s where real opportunities get unmasked. He also walked through how to prepare yourself with a simple Action Planning Tool.

And the best part? The community didn’t just nod along—we sharpened the framework with the kind of reflections you only get when experienced leaders are willing to be honest about what actually happens inside organizations.

<hr style="margin: 40px 0; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #eee;" />

The takeaway that hit hardest: don’t outsource your judgment
As <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/marty-murrillo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marty Murrillo</a> put it - especially with AI in the mix:
<blockquote style="border-left: 5px solid #ccc; margin: 1.5em 10px; padding: 0.5em 20px; font-style: italic;">“You can’t… abdicate your critical thinking to a machine, nor should you ever give your voice to a person or a machine."</blockquote>
That line landed because it names a very real risk pattern: teams move faster, they generate more output… and leaders slowly stop owning judgment.

The point wasn’t “don’t use AI.” The point was: don’t give away your voice. When leaders do that—whether to a tool or to the loudest person in the room—capability erodes quietly.

Why “challenge” is the hidden lever in better decisions.
One reflection that really stuck with the group was how culture shapes decision quality—even before the decision starts. <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/rachel-kaberon1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rachel Kaberon</a> named the blocker we all recognize when we’re being honest:
<blockquote style="border-left: 5px solid #ccc; margin: 1.5em 10px; padding: 0.5em 20px; font-style: italic;">“The word challenge becomes a choice… that interpersonal exchange is part of the choice architecture."</blockquote>
That’s it. That’s the whole game. If challenging assumptions feels socially risky, people avoid it. If people avoid it, blind spots stay protected. And if blind spots stay protected, the “choice” is basically pre-decided—just with nicer language around it. So when we say “we need clarity,” what we often really mean is: we need a better room for real challenge.

Insight isn’t just “more data.” It’s sensing what others miss.
<a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/jean-ryan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jean Ryan</a> added a strategic layer that sharpened the “Insight” part of Aaron’s framework: if you only listen to the loud, obvious signals, you’re already behind.

She described the power of going after weak signals—especially outside your industry—because they challenge your current assumptions before the change becomes unavoidable.

Strong signals are easy to spot. They’re already loud. Weak signals take intention. But that’s where the early advantage lives: noticing shifts in behavior, expectations, education, and adjacent markets before they turn into urgent problems. This is one of those leadership muscles that looks “soft”… until you realize it’s the difference between being prepared and being surprised.

What made this practical: a one-page tool teams can actually use
Here’s where Aaron made it actionable.

The Strategy &amp; Change | Action Planning Worksheet is a practical tool for senior leaders because it turns the framework into a single page teams can work through together—in the flow of real decisions. (<a href="https://ideation.ele.llc/LC_Reskilling/20260227_Strategy-and-Change-Worksheet-editable.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here to download the editable worksheet</a>)
<img class="aligncenter" src="https://cdn.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Strategy-and-Change_Action-Planning-Worksheet.jpg" alt="Strategy and Change Worksheet" width="972" height="562" />
It helps teams:
<ul style="margin-bottom: 25px;">
 	<li>surface blind spots without turning it into a debate club</li>
 	<li>clarify the real choice being made (and the tradeoffs)</li>
 	<li>name risk early enough that it helps—not late enough that it hurts</li>
</ul>
And there’s a bigger reason we’re excited: Even better: this worksheet is the backbone for ELE’s next Design Charrette—because it forces the exact moves teams need to build Confidence, Capability, and Clarity while they’re solving something that actually matters.

<hr style="margin: 40px 0; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #eee;" />

Want to go deeper?
This mini-workshop draws on ideas from Strategy and Change by Aaron Olson and co-authors—focused on insight, choice, and risk when leaders face disruption.
<ul>
 	<li>Explore the book on ELE’s Bookshelf (<a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/bookshelf/strategy-and-change">learn more or purchase</a>)</li>
</ul>
</div>

Co-create Live with ELE | From Charrette to Action Plan: Watching AI Do the Heavy Lifting

Strategy & Change in Practice: Turning Uncertainty into Better Decisions

Login