Strategic Exercises

Four hands-on exercises to practice AI investment decision-making using strategic frameworks.

Before You Start: AI Leadership Style Assessment

Take this 5-minute assessment at the start of the day (9:00 AM) to discover your natural approach to AI strategy. Retake at the end of the day (4:25 PM) to see how your thinking evolved.

Take Assessment →

Exercise 1: AI Tech Radar

Portfolio mapping with capability cards

45 min

Map your organisation's AI capabilities using 12 capability cards. Place cards (Post-it notes) on the AI Transformation Matrix (butcher paper) to identify strategic gaps and portfolio imbalance.

Time: 9:55-10:40 AM

Frameworks: AI Transformation Matrix, Data Value Pyramid

Materials:

  • 12 AI Capability Cards (view on your device, write on Post-its)
  • Butcher paper with matrix, Post-it notes, markers (provided by facilitator)
Key Learning: Most organisations cluster in "Optimize" quadrant (60-80%). Strategic leaders intentionally balance across all four quadrants.

Exercise 2: AI-Assisted Strategic Analysis

Human + AI collaborative thinking

70 min

Experience AI as strategic thought partner. Brainstorm threats and opportunities, then use AI tools (Google Gemini/ChatGPT/Claude) to challenge assumptions and identify blind spots.

Time: 11:20 AM-12:30 PM

Frameworks: Three Horizons Model

Technology: BYOD with Google Gemini (recommended, free, no login)

Materials:

Three AI Techniques:

  • Risk Deep-Dive: AI finds threats you missed
  • Reverse Prompting: AI asks YOU questions
  • AI Debate: Create strategic debates to see multiple perspectives
Key Learning: AI as augmentation (not replacement). Best results come from human expertise + AI analysis. Prompt engineering is an executive skill.

Exercise 3: Dragon's Den Investment Simulation

Investment pitch & portfolio allocation

70 min

⭐ CORE LEARNING ACTIVITY ⭐

Where strategic frameworks meet real investment decisions

The Challenge: RetailFlow has $2M AI budget. Four competing initiatives. Investment Committee must allocate strategically.

Time: 2:45-3:55 PM

Four AI Initiatives:

  • Customer Service Chatbot: $525K, 119% ROI, low risk, safest choice
  • Dynamic Pricing: $1.3M, 150% ROI, HIGH ethical risk, exceeds budget
  • Inventory Optimization: $1.25M, 163% ROI, highest ROI but exceeds cap
  • Fraud Detection: $1.05M, 169% ROI, 6-mo data prep delay, ethical concerns

Project Teams pitch (7 min + 5 min Q&A). Committee evaluates using AI Investment Model, deliberates, and allocates $2M budget strategically.

Pitch Scenarios:

Tools Available:

The Dilemma: Highest ROI projects have AI-specific red flags (ethics, data prep, budget). Traditional ROI analysis would fund the WRONG projects. AI-specific criteria matter.

Exercise 4: Strategic Response Scenarios

Rapid decision-making under pressure

15 min

Three rapid-fire strategic decisions with anonymous voting (MS Forms). Apply frameworks to realistic dilemmas: competitive threats, pilot performance, emerging technology timing.

Time: 1:15-1:30 PM (post-lunch energizer)

Frameworks: Innovation Adoption, Scale/Pivot/Kill Criteria

Format: 90 seconds to decide, vote anonymously, see results, discuss reasoning

Materials:

Three Scenarios:

  • Competitive Threat: Fast-follow vs Differentiate vs Wait?
  • Pilot Performance: Scale vs Pivot vs Kill?
  • Emerging Tech: Pioneer vs Fast-Follower vs Wait?
Key Learning: Frameworks become decision-making muscle memory. You're now using them automatically under time pressure.