Preparing For The Masterclass

AI-Driven Business Innovation Masterclass

Preparing for the Masterclass

Overview

This document helps you prepare for the AI-Driven Business Innovation Masterclass. Please review this before the course to maximize your learning experience.

Total preparation time: 5 minutes (reflection only—no advance work required)

The Learning Approach

This masterclass uses RetailFlow Inc., a fictional mid-market retail company, as the primary case study for all exercises. You’ll learn and practice strategic frameworks through RetailFlow’s AI investment challenges, then reflect on how these insights apply to your own organisation.

Why a case study approach?

  • Safe learning environment: Practice frameworks without IP concerns or political constraints
  • Shared foundation: Everyone analyzes the same information, enabling rich debate and diverse perspectives
  • Strategic thinking: Focus on frameworks and decision-making without organisational baggage
  • Proven pedagogy: Mirrors the approach used by top business schools and strategy consulting firms

You’ll receive the RetailFlow case materials during the course itself—no need to study them beforehand.

Reflect Before Class (Private)

To maximize your learning, privately reflect on these questions. You won’t be asked to share confidential information publicly, but having this context will help you connect RetailFlow’s challenges to your own reality.

Your AI Context: 1. What’s your organisation’s approximate AI maturity level? - Just starting? Running pilots? Scaling? Transforming? 2. What AI initiatives are you currently considering or struggling with? 3. What’s your biggest AI investment dilemma right now?

Your Strategic Context: 1. What are your top 2-3 business challenges where AI could help? 2. What competitive AI threats or opportunities concern you most? 3. If you had an extra $2M for AI (RetailFlow’s budget), where would you invest it?

Your Constraints: 1. What’s limiting your AI progress most? (Data quality? Talent? Budget? Executive buy-in?) 2. How does your leadership team currently evaluate AI investments? 3. What’s been your biggest AI success or failure to date?

What to Bring to Class

Required: - Laptop or tablet with spreadsheet software (for digital exercises) - Open mind about your organisation’s AI readiness

Optional but helpful: - A specific AI investment decision you’re grappling with (for personal action planning) - Strategic questions about AI investment for group discussion - Curiosity about how your peers are approaching AI decisions

How You’ll Apply This to Your Organisation

During the course: - After each RetailFlow exercise, we’ll discuss: “How does this compare to your experience?” - Reflection prompts will help you translate case study insights to your context - You’ll identify which RetailFlow challenges mirror your own - The final session creates your Personal Action Plan for your organisation

After the course: - You’ll have five frameworks, templates, and digital tools ready to use - You can immediately apply the AI Investment Model to your pending proposals - You’ll have a concrete action plan with next steps for Monday morning - You’ll know how to evaluate your AI portfolio balance across the Three Horizons

This approach gives you the best of both worlds: structured practice on a rich case study + customized application to your real strategic challenges.

Key Frameworks You’ll Learn

In the masterclass, you’ll master five frameworks for making better AI investment decisions:

  1. AI Transformation Matrix - Classify initiatives by strategic focus and magnitude
  2. Data Value Pyramid - Assess organisational AI readiness and data maturity
  3. Three Horizons Model - Balance AI portfolio across timeframes (70/20/10 rule)
  4. AI Investment Model - Calculate ROI across four value categories
  5. Innovation Adoption Framework - Plan your phased transformation journey

You’ll practice applying these frameworks to RetailFlow’s competing AI initiatives in a 90-minute “Dragon’s Den” investment simulation, where you’ll pitch projects, question proposals, and allocate a constrained budget—just like you do in real life.

Course Logistics

Format: - 50% strategic frameworks and concepts - 50% hands-on exercises and simulations - Focus on executive decision-making, not technical details - Mix of individual work, small group discussions, and full-group debates

Materials provided: - All case study materials (RetailFlow) - Digital exercise templates - Framework reference guides - Personal action plan worksheet

Preparing for the Masterclass

The Case Study Approach

The masterclass uses RetailFlow Inc. (a fictional retail company) for all group exercises. You’ll practice applying AI-specific evaluation criteria to RetailFlow’s investment decisions, then translate these lessons to your own organisation in the final session.

Private Reflection (For Your Eyes Only)

Before class, privately reflect on your organisation’s AI context. This will help you connect RetailFlow’s challenges to your reality:

  1. An AI project you’re considering:
    • What problem does it solve?
    • What’s your data readiness score (0-10)?
    • What could go wrong?
  2. Your current AI challenges:
    • Data quality issues?
    • Explainability requirements?
    • Ethical concerns?
  3. Your strategic context:
    • What are competitors doing with AI?
    • What’s your AI maturity level?
    • What’s your risk tolerance for AI investments?

What to Bring

Required: - Laptop or tablet with spreadsheet software - Open mind about your organisation’s AI readiness

Optional: - A specific AI decision you’re grappling with (for personal action planning) - Questions about AI-specific evaluation criteria for discussion

In the Masterclass, You’ll Practice:

Using RetailFlow case study: - Map AI initiatives on the Transformation Matrix (including data readiness assessment) - Assess where AI can create competitive advantage - Identify gaps in AI portfolio balance - Evaluate competing AI investments in the Dragon’s Den simulation - Apply BOTH traditional AND AI-specific criteria - Make tough portfolio allocation decisions - Practice justifying AI investment decisions

Then apply to your organisation: - Reflection discussions: “How does RetailFlow compare to your experience?” - Personal Action Plan: Translate frameworks to your specific context - AI Investment Checklist customized for your initiatives

You’ll leave with: - Five frameworks for evaluating AI differently - AI Investment Checklist (10 questions) applied to your context - Personal action plan for your AI initiatives