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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

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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.

Human Synergistics

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Change is no longer an event. It's the environment.
This experiential session drops you into a Human Synergistics survival simulation designed to reveal how your people respond when the stakes are real and the answers aren't obvious. You'll feel firsthand how trust, psychological safety, and collective judgment show up differently in remote and hybrid contexts, and what it takes to cultivate them intentionally. In a world where AI is reshaping how teams work, communicate, and solve problems, the human dynamics at the core of great teamwork matter more than ever. You'll gain practical perspective on leading teams through change, fostering innovation across distributed environments, and creating the conditions that make groundbreaking solutions possible.
And you'll have a great time doing it.

<blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #990000; margin: 20px 0; padding: 10px 20px; background-color: #f8f9fa; font-style: italic; color: #555; font-family: 'Calibri', sans-serif; font-size: 1.1rem;">What happens next? This post captures our live framework. In a few days, we will update this page with the real-time breakthroughs, questions, and insights shared by our executive peers during the conference dialogue. Stay tuned!</blockquote>
</div>

Simulation: The Ground is Shifting--How Great Teams Navigate What's Next!|

future of work

Engagement &amp; Culture

Future of Work

leadership development

psychological safety

problem solving

adaptability

hybrid teams

Team Dynamics

Strategic Leadership

Trust Building

innovation culture

Organizational Health

michael.kern

cathleen.cooke

Navigating Change

human synergistics

wise2026

insights-wise-2026

experiential simulation

remote collaboration

collective judgment

communication barriers

distributed workforces

operational effectiveness

behavior patterns

Alter Domus

Precisely

Scout

<div style="font-family: 'Calibri', 'Candara', 'Segoe UI', 'Optima', Arial, sans-serif; color: #333; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 800px; margin: auto; font-size: 1.1rem;">
Leadership development often happens too far from the moment leaders need it.
For people leaders, AI creates a new opportunity: support managers closer to the decision, conversation, or handoff where leadership is actually tested.
This lab explores how AI can strengthen in-the-moment leadership without replacing human judgment, context, or accountability.

<blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #990000; margin: 20px 0; padding: 10px 20px; background-color: #f8f9fa; font-style: italic; color: #555; font-family: 'Calibri', sans-serif; font-size: 1.1rem;">What happens next? This post captures our live framework. In a few days, we will update this page with the real-time breakthroughs, questions, and insights shared by our executive peers during the conference dialogue. Stay tuned!</blockquote>
</div>

AI Practical Lab | Leadership Development in the Moment

Digital &amp; AI

Leadership

chris.olson

anton.maletich

marty.murrillo

frontline managers

change leadership

ai practical lab

artificial intelligence

capability building

just in time learning

talent enablement

leadership accountability

manager enablement

human judgment

Decision Support

strategic choices

peer reflection

workflow integration

modern workforce

in-the-moment support

real-time coaching

behavioral shift

Lurie Children's

BARYONS

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Most organizations have rolled out the tools. That does not mean adoption is happening.
For people leaders, the real challenge is helping managers lead the identity shift, reinforce new behaviors, and connect AI use to business value.
Senior leaders must frame the why and the business value first—so HR, learning, and reskilling efforts can connect capability-building to the transformation the business is actually trying to drive.
This keynote explores why managers are the leverage point—and why leadership development has to move from awareness to transformation.

<blockquote style="border-left: 4px solid #990000; margin: 20px 0; padding: 10px 20px; background-color: #f8f9fa; font-style: italic; color: #555; font-family: 'Calibri', sans-serif; font-size: 1.1rem;">What happens next? This post captures our live framework. In a few days, we will update this page with the real-time breakthroughs, questions, and insights shared by our executive peers during the conference dialogue. Stay tuned!</blockquote>
</div>

Leadership Development | Driving AI Transformation

Change Management

maryann.kennedy

technology adoption

AI transformation

michael.hruska

manager capability

identity shift

performance frameworks

tech integration

changing behaviors

value creation

organizational alignment

shared practice

executive strategy

transformation leverage

strategic implementation

business value

cultural change

leadership responsibility

baryons.aimentor

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

dirk.tussing

onboarding

deborah.lenchard

peer-learning

HR and learning trends

patricia.ouzounian

david.scherer

clarity

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

ELB Learning

Conversations That Stick. Connections That Last.
APR 8 | Drop in anytime 6:00–8:00 p.m. Eastern Time | Victory Brewing, Philadelphia.
We invite you to join us for an evening of conversation at Philadelphia’s premier innovation brewery.
Hosted by the Executive Learning Exchange (ELE), this first Philadelphia meetup brings together talent, learning, and employee engagement leaders for a live, in-person exchange on what’s actually changing at work—and what leaders are doing about it.

Gather with us in a relaxed setting where leaders share what they’re navigating, simplify top-of-mind business challenges, and learn from one another’s practical experience. Come ready to share ideas, compare approaches, and explore practical ways to strengthen capability and engagement without the noise or sales pressure.

👉 Share a business challenge you’re seeing or wrestling with:
<a href="https://www.ele.llc/faqs/share-top-of-mind-business-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.ele.llc/faqs/share-top-of-mind-business-challenges</a>

This is a relaxed, interactive conversation designed to help leaders:
✅ Practical ideas from peers ✅ Real-world examples and emerging trends ✅ Practical peer exchange on real business challenges
Format: A live interactive discussion centered on the challenges and opportunities leaders are working through right now, including developing and retaining next-gen talent, building a stronger culture of engagement, and exploring practical applications of AI in the flow of work.

Space is limited to keep the conversation useful, candid, and interactive.

👉 RSVP to join this first ELE Philadelphia meetup.
You’re also welcome to bring a colleague who cares deeply about improving team capability and business performance.

ELE Philadelphia Meetup | Connect, Share & Lead (Victory Brewing)

single-event

Talent Executives

Team Leaders

Meet-ups

tomas.ramirez

meetup

talent development

in-person event

learning and development

HR leaders

leadership strategy

Collaborative Conversations

executive networking

ali.glaser

cliff.cheek

Philadelphia

Marquette University

Conversations That Stick. Connections That Last.
APR 8 | Drop in anytime 4:30–7:00 PM CT | Bronzeville Winery, Chicago.

<div>

Bronzeville is the birthplace of jazz and blues—music rooted in listening, craft, and collective expression.
<div>

In that same spirit, this ELE experience will be an intimate gathering for Marquette alumni and leaders who are passionate about improving people’s capability and performance in today’s evolving workplace. Together, we’ll engage in a shared “listening strategy”—surfacing real, local business challenges and insights that can inform ELE’s broader conversations, including our upcoming annual conference hosted by Marquette University’s Business School.

</div>
<blockquote>
<div>This experience connects business performance with evolving talent strategies in the era of AI—keeping ELE’s work human‑centered, practical, and peer‑driven.</div></blockquote>
<div>👉 Share a business challenge you’re seeing or wrestling with:</div>
<div><a href="https://www.ele.llc/faqs/share-top-of-mind-business-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.ele.llc/faqs/share-top-of-mind-business-challenges</a></div>
</div>
<img class="aligncenter" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026-04APR-08-ELE-Bronzeville-Meetup.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="570" />
<div>

What to Expect:

</div>
<ul>
 	<li>A curated listening experience focused on the intersection of business performance and talent strategy in the era of AI</li>
 	<li>Peer‑driven insight sharing grounded in real leadership challenges—practical, human‑centered, and relevant</li>
 	<li>Meaningful connection with thoughtful leaders in a relaxed, no‑pitch setting</li>
</ul>
Who Should Attend:
<ul>
 	<li>Marquette alumni with a passion for strengthening team capability and organizational performance</li>
 	<li>HR and Talent leaders shaping leadership development, upskilling, and workforce readiness</li>
 	<li>L&amp;D leaders (VP, Director, Head of Learning or Talent Development) navigating AI‑driven change</li>
 	<li>Curious business leaders who value smart peers, real talk, and practical takeaways</li>
 	<li>Leaders interested in contributing a perspective that informs ELE’s broader learning ecosystem</li>
</ul>
Why You Should Come:
<ul>
 	<li>Reconnect with peers in a relaxed, thoughtfully designed environment</li>
 	<li>Gain perspective on how leaders are linking business performance with evolving talent strategies</li>
 	<li>Contribute insight that helps shape practical, peer‑driven learning across the ELE community</li>
 	<li>Enjoy a no‑pitch experience rooted in listening, reflection, and shared leadership curiosity</li>
</ul>
<div>👉 RSVP to join this ELE Smokin’ Jazz experience.</div>
<div>You’re also welcome to bring a colleague or fellow Marquette alum who cares deeply about improving team capability and business performance.</div>
<div>Bonus: Bronzeville Winery hosts live music and DJs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:00–9:00 PM—adding to the atmosphere of the evening.</div>
&nbsp;

ELE Smokin’ Jazz Meetup: Strategic Listening for Capability & Performance | Bronzeville Winery

newton.moore

jean.ryan

chicago

shonda.cromwell-rashad

ashanti.morgan

<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>

Strategy & Change in Practice: Turning Uncertainty into Better Decisions

Strategy

aaron.olson

critical thinking

Talent Strategy

matt.sernaker

rachel.kaberon

cindy.pinkstaffmiller

risk management

strategic thinking

1Q2026

strategy and change

Human-Centered Transformation

insight choice risk

learning in the flow of work

team capability building

team-based learning

decision-making under uncertainty

choice architecture

design charrettes

L&amp;D leaders

Conversations That Stick. Connections That Last.
MAR 19 | Drop in anytime 4:00–6:00 PM CT | Wrigleyville
Join us for an informal ELE + ELB Learning meetup at <a href="https://www.ele.llc/venues/murphys-bleachers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Murphy’s Bleachers (Wrigleyville)</a>—a relaxed way to reconnect with fellow HR, Talent, and L&amp;D leaders.
You're Invited! Learning Leaders Meetup with Dirk Tussing &amp; Kevin Adams 
Come when you can, leave when you need. Let’s catch up and share ideas. Work is changing fast, and this is a simple, relationship-first evening to compare notes on what’s shifting and what’s working—no pitches, just smart peer conversation.

What to Expect:
<ul>
 	<li>Open Dialogue: Contribute your experiences, discuss current challenges, and share your perspectives in a welcoming and collaborative atmosphere.</li>
 	<li>Networking: Forge meaningful connections with peers who are passionate about the evolution of Learning and Development.</li>
 	<li>Connect with ELB Thought Leaders: Kevin Adams and others from ELB 's earning client solutions team, offering a unique opportunity to connect directly with our extended thought leadership.</li>
</ul>
Who Should Attend:
<ul>
 	<li>HR/Talent leaders shaping leadership development, upskilling, and workforce readiness</li>
 	<li>L&amp;D leaders (VP/Director/Head) of Learning, Talent Development</li>
 	<li>Curious people leaders who enjoy meaningful networking: smart peers, real talk, practical takeaways</li>
 	<li>Bring a smart Chicago talent colleague you’d like to reconnect with</li>
</ul>
Why You Should Come:
<ul>
 	<li>Reconnect with peers in a relaxed setting—plus meet leaders from ELE and ELB Learning.</li>
 	<li>Gain fresh perspectives and insights through open and engaging conversations.</li>
 	<li>Connect relationships within Chicago’s L&amp;D community in a relaxed, no-pitch setting.</li>
</ul>
Please RSVP as soon as possible. Feel free to invite a colleague who’d enjoy the conversation.
Bonus: parking is easy—Murphy’s has a free parking lot across the street, which makes Wrigleyville meetups surprisingly convenient.

Invite a Chicago Talent Colleague to join ELE | Wrigleyville (Murphy’s Bleachers)

kevin.adams

HumanSide

In last week’s ELE hands-on AI Practical Lab, a simple truth kept surfacing: when a team can’t see the work clearly, they can’t change the work confidently.
That’s why so many learning initiatives stall—not because the idea is wrong, but because the story is unreadable. The value stays invisible. Leaders move on.
Dustin Brewer put it bluntly in a way most talent leaders will recognize immediately:
<blockquote>“If the C-suite won’t read, they have to see it first.” — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/dustin-brewer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dustin Brewer</a>, HumanSide.</blockquote>
In other words: if your “insight” can’t travel in a glance, it won’t survive the week.
But the lab didn’t stop at getting attention. It pushed into the harder question: what makes people trust the message enough to act on it? That’s where Nicole DeFalco grounded the group with the reminder that capability doesn’t transfer through outputs alone:
<blockquote>“It still has to land—human to human.” — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/nicole-defalco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicole DeFalco</a>.</blockquote>
AI can speed the draft. It can’t replace the relationship.
<h5>Three insights for leaders designing team-based learning experiences</h5>
<h6>1) Legibility is a capability strategy</h6>
Teams don’t adopt what they can’t quickly grasp, repeat, and share. A crisp one-page visual, a clean infographic, even a “cover story” mock—these aren’t marketing flourishes. They’re capability tools, because they compress complexity into something a team can align around.
If your experience design ends with “we trained them,” you’re done too early. The real question is: what will the team use together next Tuesday when the pressure hits?
<h6>2) Story isn’t fluff — it’s the operating system for alignment</h6>
In the lab, “story” wasn’t treated as creativity. It was treated as structure: What changed? What’s at stake? What choice are we asking leaders to make? What proof would they trust?
That’s what makes work decidable in the room. And that’s what makes a team-based learning experience feel like real work—not a field trip.
<h6>3) AI changes roles — and raises the bar for human value</h6>
A helpful reset surfaced as a throughline in the February 12th lab: the real shift isn’t “AI is going to take my job.” It’s that AI changes how value gets created—and makes the human worker more indispensable when the work matters.
Ed brought in a quote from Shyam Sankar (CTO of Palantir) that set a new standard for how we talk about AI and work: “The American worker will wield AI to do more with less—and become more productive and valuable as a result.” That’s a stronger standard for how to view AI’s role in the workforce: not as a replacement narrative, but as a multiplier—where humans become higher-impact by focusing on judgment, clarity, credibility, and connection.
The lab reinforced what that looks like in practice. AI can accelerate drafts and options, but humans still own the parts that create trust and movement—especially verification and delivery.

<blockquote>“We’re not putting the person out of the loop. I’m going in there and verifying.” — <a href="https://www.ele.llc/members/edward-desrosiers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edward DesRosiers</a></blockquote>
AI increases speed. Human ownership increases responsibility. And that’s exactly what makes the human worker more valuable, not less.
<h5>✨ What to do Monday: four moves that build team capability in real work</h5>
Run a 45-minute story prototype sprint. Pick one live initiative—new workflow adoption, manager friction, AI integration—and build a one-page artifact plus a 30-second talk track that answers one question: what decision should a leader make differently after seeing this?
Use a simple rhythm to keep the work moving: Clarify → Co-Create → Customize → Commit. Clarify the decision and audience. Co-create a first draft with peers and AI. Customize it to stakeholder reality. Commit by piloting it in the flow of work and capturing what changed.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-44484" src="https://wp.ele.llc/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Four-Step-Model-for-AI-Workflows-ELE-4-Cs.jpg" alt="ELE's 4 C Model for AI Workflows" width="781" height="439" />

Make iteration explicit. Your first version should be fast—and imperfect—so people can react to something real instead of debating abstractions. Two quick feedback loops (peer + end-user) will teach your team more than a “perfect” deck ever will.
Treat prompting and verification as part of the experience design. Prompting isn’t a personal party trick; it’s stakeholder translation with constraints. Verification isn’t optional; it’s what makes speed safe. Give your team a repeatable checklist (sources, SME review, human sign-off) so credibility scales with adoption.
<h5>Continue the conversation</h5>
If you’re working on the toughest talent challenges—and you want capability that shows up in real work (not just course completions)—join the continuing thread on the ELE Idea Exchange:

<a href="https://community.ele.llc/t/2026-feb-ai-lab-pre-chat-post-chat/5767">2026 FEB: AI Lab Pre-chat &amp; Post-Chat</a>

✨ AI Practical Lab: From Insight to Influence — Telling Stories with Business Impact

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