An AI reading programme for leadership teams
Updated 2026-10-07
Leadership teams are being asked to have a view on AI before most of them have used it seriously. A shared reading programme gives everyone the same starting point and turns a vague debate into concrete questions about your own business: which decisions would change, which jobs would be redesigned, and what rules you want. We've chosen books that are clear to non-specialists and ordered them so each one builds on the last.
Who it suits
- Leadership and management teams of five to fifteen people
- Companies starting to plan how they will use AI
- Boards and senior teams who want a shared vocabulary before making decisions
How it runs
- Six weekly sessions of about an hour, hosted by members of your own team
- Five or six books, depending on how much reading time your team has
- A small task between sessions, starting with using an AI tool on real work
- Copies sourced in the format you want and delivered to your offices
The books
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Prediction MachinesAjay Agrawal · 250 pages
Week 2. A framework for where AI earns its cost: it makes prediction cheaper.
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Power and PredictionAjay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb
Week 3. Why the gains come from redesigning systems, not automating tasks.
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Competing in the Age of AIMarco Iansiti, Karim R. Lakhani · 288 pages
Week 4. How companies built around data and algorithms are organised differently.
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Human + MachinePaul R. Daugherty · 249 pages
Week 5. Redesigning jobs so people and machines each do what they're better at.
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Bridgital NationN. Chandrasekaran, Roopa Purushothaman
Week 5, alongside. Technology and India's workforce, from the chairman of Tata Sons.
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Power and ProgressDaron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson
Week 6. Who gains from new technology, and what that means for your choices.
A six-week outline
One way to run it. We change the order and pace to suit your group.
| Week | Reading | Focus | Discussion prompt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Co-Intelligence | Using it | Use an AI tool on one real piece of your work. What surprised you? |
| 2 | Prediction Machines | What it makes cheaper | Which predictions does our business make every week? |
| 3 | Power and Prediction | Why change is slow | Did our last pilot change a task or a system? |
| 4 | Competing in the Age of AI | The shape of the company | Which process depends most on data we collect but don't use? |
| 5 | Human + Machine | People and jobs | Pick three roles. What would each person do if AI took some of their tasks? |
| 6 | Power and Progress | Risk and responsibility | Who gains if we use AI the way we've discussed, and who loses? |
Questions teams ask
- Does anyone need a technical background?
- No. Every book here is written for general readers, and the first week is about using the tools rather than understanding how they work.
- Can we swap books in or out?
- Yes. Some teams want a shorter programme, some want more on risk and society. We adjust the set to your team and explain each change.
- What do you charge?
- We quote each programme, because team size, format and delivery vary. The quote separates the cost of the books from our fee, and nothing is ordered until you approve it.
- Can we run it ourselves?
- Yes. Our guide to a six-week AI reading programme sets out the whole plan, including what to try between sessions.
Get a quote for your group
Tell us about your group and we'll suggest the right version of this programme, with a price. Nothing is ordered until you approve it.