I've watched a lot of executive AI training programs run, including a few of mine that didn't work the first time. There's a pattern in the failures.
Failure 1: Teaching how transformers work. Executives don't need to know about attention heads. They need to know how to evaluate a vendor pitch. The fact that the program is rigorous about the technical fundamentals is exactly why it doesn't change behavior. It gives participants information they cannot operationalize.
Failure 2: Generic case studies. "Here's how Netflix uses AI" is interesting and useless. The participant cannot use this information in their next decision. Case studies from a different industry, different scale, different regulatory regime do not transfer.
Failure 3: No live decisions. If participants don't make real decisions during the training, no behavior changes. Slides go in, slides come out, calendar fills back up with the same kind of meetings.
Failure 4: Cohorts segmented by function. "Marketing AI for marketing leaders" sounds tidy. It also reinforces the silos AI cuts across. The valuable conversations happen when merchandising and supply chain are in the room together and realize they're talking about the same demand-forecasting problem.
Failure 5: No follow-on. Six weeks of training, no quarterly check-in, no champion network, no ongoing forum. Knowledge depreciates. Three months later the participants are the same person they were before, except with more vocabulary.
What works. Real decisions during the program. Mixed-function cohorts. Industry-specific scenarios. Champion development inside the program. Ongoing office hours after.
The last item is the most under-priced. A 6-week program with no quarterly follow-on is a 3-week program in effective half-life.