AI has quickly become a fixture in C-suite conversations, but here’s the honest truth no one wants to admit: many executives are feeling stuck and frankly, behind.
They’ve implemented the tools. They’ve honed their understanding of prompt engineering. But most haven’t changed the way they lead or engage with AI.
Earlier this month, Talentfoot Founder & CEO, Camille Fetter, hosted our first session in our private C-suite AI series, featuring Geoff Woods, bestselling author of The AI-Driven Leader (buy it here). It wasn’t just another tech talk. It was a sobering look at the gap between knowing you need to lead with AI – and actually doing it.
If you’re feeling the pressure to “unleash the power of AI” but unclear on how to drive real value, you’re not alone. Boards and investors are demanding transformation, teams are looking for clarity, and AI is evolving faster than your quarterly planning cycle.
Geoff made one thing clear: the leaders who will win in 2025 aren’t those who dabble in AI tools. It’s those who redefine their relationship with AI, moving from automation to augmentation, from tactical helper to strategic thought partner.
If AI won’t replace you, a leader who uses it strategically will.
Below I unpack the frameworks, mindset shifts, and future-ready leadership practices Geoff shared—and why now is the time to move from experimenting with AI… to leading with it.
The Most Important Leadership Skill No One Has Time For
Geoff began with a deceptively simple question: “What’s the #1 most important behavior for a leader?” The answer: strategic thinking.
The problem? Most leaders don’t have time to think strategically, let alone do it well. We’re overwhelmed by noise, complexity, and a flood of new tools. And in the scramble to adopt AI, too many leaders are focused on efficiency gains rather than transformation.
“The biggest threat to your business isn’t your competition. It’s your own thinking.” – Geoff Woods
According to Fortune, 90% of executives are using AI to increase productivity. But only 20% are using it strategically to achieve results. That 20% is pulling away, fast.
From Search Bar to Strategic Partner
Most leaders use AI like a glorified assistant: writing emails, summarizing notes, analyzing spreadsheets. Geoff called this out as the “80% trap”, the mistake of investing in AI for tasks that only drive incremental value.
“AI can be your assistant, or it can be your thought partner. That is a fundamentally different relationship.”
To harness AI strategically, Geoff introduced a simple framework that has helped transform multi-billion-dollar companies:
The CRIT Framework: How Strategic Leaders Engage with AI
Rather than feeding AI simple prompts, Geoff encourages leaders to engage AI like a boardroom advisor, using the CRIT framework:
- Context: Provide deep, relevant background information.
- Role: Assign AI a strategic lens, e.g. I’m a CFO, Board Chair, Brand Strategist and you’re a CEO, GTM Expert, COO of a Fortune 500 Tech Company.
- Interview: Ask AI to interview and question you to pull more insight.
- Task: Give it a defined strategic outcome to deliver.
“I don’t ask AI questions. I ask it to ask me questions. That’s when things get interesting.” – Geoff Woods
Geoff keeps two sticky notes on his desk: “How can AI help me do this?” and CRIT: “Context. Role. Interview. Task.” – because becoming an AI-driven leader is a daily habit, not a one-time decision.
The Digital People Board Is Already Here
Perhaps the most mind-bending insight came when Geoff described how one CEO used CRIT to build an AI-powered simulation of his actual board. By feeding in slide decks, AI was able to predict reactions from individual board members, down to “Susan”, who was prone to derailing meetings over detailed slides.
In five seconds, AI warned: “Page 8 will trigger a 30-minute detour.” It was right.
“Six months later, the chairman said: ‘That was the best board meeting we’ve ever had.'”
But Geoff didn’t stop there. He introduced the concept of creating your own AI advisory board, a council of AI agents trained on the philosophies, patterns, and temperaments of some of the greatest business minds in history.
Imagine having:
- Steve Jobs advising you on product design and innovation
- Warren Buffett weighing in on long-term strategy and risk mitigation
- Indra Nooyi offering insights on purpose-driven leadership and global expansion
- Jeff Bezos pushing your thinking on customer obsession and operational scale
- Even your future self, helping you reverse-engineer who you want to become
This isn’t sci-fi, it’s a real capability.
Geoff built this for himself using CRIT, embedding his vision, business plan, strengths, and blind spots into a system that now challenges and refines his decisions in real time.
“My future self is on my board so I can have a conversation with the man I want to become today.” – Geoff Woods
You don’t need a large enterprise to start doing this. You need vision. Because the most strategic leaders in 2025 won’t just build AI products, they’ll build AI partners who elevate their thinking, strengthen their decisions, and help future-proof their companies.
The Real Management Disruption Is Coming From the Top
A 2025 World Economic Forum report flags 40% of programming tasks as automatable by 2040. But Geoff warned that this isn’t just about task automation, it’s about reinventing management itself.
“Leadership is no longer just about direction. It’s about designing a system where AI and humans collaborate at scale.” – Geoff Woods
As roles evolve, so must leaders. Those who delegate AI to their tech team will fall behind. As McKinsey recently reported, the #1 predictor of ROI from AI isn’t the tool, the budget, or the team. It’s the CEO’s involvement.
Your 30-Day Challenge
Geoff believes any executive can become AI-driven in just 30 days. Here’s how:
- Start with two sticky notes on your desk: “How can AI help me do this?” and “Context. Role. Interview. Task.”
- Use CRIT daily on one strategic challenge.
- Treat AI like a top-tier analyst whose work you evaluate, not copy.
This isn’t about tech adoption. It’s about leadership transformation.
“If Eric Schmidt is right, and the next five years will completely redefine your company… the real risk isn’t AI. It’s waiting too long to lead.”
Let’s Go Deeper in May
Our next private session in the Talentfoot AI C-suite Series will move from frameworks to application, revealing how forward-thinking executives are actively moving from AI strategy to AI execution.
Email me if you’re a C-suite member and would like an invitation to this private, virtual event.
