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The AI Leadership Crisis: What Top Companies Know That Others Don’t

Episode 5: Interview with Kevin Oakes, CEO, i4cp

The AI skills gap is widening between high-performing organizations and those falling behind. With only 27% of HR leaders feeling ready to advance their AI strategy, what separates the leaders from the laggards? Join Kim Bohr and i4cp CEO Kevin Oakes as they dive into groundbreaking research on workforce readiness in the era of AI, revealing shocking statistics about executive training and organizational success. [Download the executive summary here]

Drawing from extensive research comparing high and low-performing organizations, Kevin shares how leading companies are leveraging AI to achieve up to 30% higher productivity through comprehensive training programs. Discover why companies like Moderna and Mastercard are succeeding with AI adoption rates of 80%, while others struggle to get started.

Learn why waiting to embrace AI might be the biggest risk of all, and how to position your organization for success in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Key Takeaways:

  • High-performing organizations are 17 times more likely to train their executive leaders on Gen AI, creating a significant competitive advantage
  • Only 11% of organizations are fully embracing AI across their enterprise, with top performers focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness
  • Organizations successfully scaling AI achieve up to 30% higher productivity through comprehensive training programs
  • The role of HR in AI strategy has dramatically improved, with non-involvement dropping from 41% to 22% in recent years
  • Creating a “change-ready” culture is crucial for successful AI implementation, emphasizing learning over knowing

Tune into the Courage to Advance podcast sub-series every 3rd Thursday, right here on The Empathy Edge!

To access the episode transcript, please search for the episode title at www.TheEmpathyEdge.com.

About Kevin Oakes, CEO at i4cp

Kevin is CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), the world’s leading human capital research firm focusing on people practices that drive high performance. He is the author of Culture Renovation®, an Amazon bestseller which details how high-performance organizations successfully change organizational culture. Kevin has an extensive background in HR technology and corporate development, previously founding SumTotal Systems and serving as Chairman & CEO of Click2learn. He currently serves on several boards and is dedicated to advancing human capital practices that create lasting organizational success.

Connect with Kevin Oakes

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Episode Resources:

Workforce Readiness in the Era of AI executive brief cover image

Lead Through AI Transformation

Gain actionable insights from i4cp's groundbreaking research on workforce readiness and learn how high-performing organizations are successfully navigating the AI revolution while building future-ready teams.

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