AI for Managers III: Decision Making and Leadership

This equips managers to use AI as a genuine thinking partner in solving process problems - not a shortcut, but a way to see a process clearly, find its real bottleneck, generate and stress-test fixes, and prove the case for change. Delegates learn to use structured AI prompting to explore scenarios, compare options and challenge their thinking, while retaining ownership of the problem, the decision and the business case. They leave with a repeatable method they can apply to any recurring process pain point, plus practical confidence using AI as part of their decision-making process.

Mapping the Process
We start by working backward from the finish line, mapping a shared example step by step until every stage of the process is visible. This reverse approach surfaces detail that forward mapping quietly skips over, giving every delegate a common reference point before they apply it to their own process. We use AI to challenge a process map, identify potentially overlooked steps and explore the process backwards from the desired outcome.

Topics include:
• Reverse (backward) process mapping
• Working from end-point back to start
• Spotting the steps forward-mapping misses

Diagnosing the Real Bottleneck
Here we use the 5 Whys technique to dig past symptoms and find the bottleneck that is actually worth fixing. We also introduce early “canary” signals - the easy-to-miss warning signs that a bottleneck is forming before it becomes a real problem. We use AI to challenge the initial diagnosis, ask alternative “why” questions and explore whether the identified problem is actually the root cause or simply a symptom.

Topics include:
• The 5 Whys technique
• Recognising early warning signals
• Separating symptoms from root causes

Generating Fixes with AI
With the bottleneck named, we bring AI into the room as a genuine thinking partner. Delegates see how free and paid tools compare side by side, then apply structured prompting approaches - scenario planning, comparative prompting and backward prompting - to their own process problem. We use AI as a genuine thinking partner through scenario planning, comparative prompting and backward prompting to generate, compare and stress-test potential solutions.

Topics include:
• Comparing AI tools honestly (free vs paid)
• Structured AI-prompting techniques
• Turning AI output into a workable fix

Building the Case
We help delegates build a short, credible case for their fix - one they could paste into an email or say out loud in a budget meeting. The focus stays on the three numbers that matter: what the bottleneck costs, what the fix costs, and how quickly it pays back. We use AI to pressure-test the logic of a proposed business case, identify assumptions and anticipate stakeholder objections around cost, value and payback.

Topics include:
• Framing cost, fix cost and payback
• Anticipating pushback on cost
• Making an honest, defensible estimate

Making It Stick
We close by giving delegates a simple way to stop a hard-won fix from quietly reverting. Using a three-part Owner, Signal, Habit plan, each delegate leaves with clear ownership, one thing to monitor, and one recurring moment where that gets checked. We use AI to help translate the Owner, Signal, Habit approach into a practical monitoring routine that keeps the improvement visible and reduces the risk of the process reverting.

Topics include:
• Assigning clear ownership
• Setting one simple monitoring signal
• Building a check-in habit into existing routines

Every workshop we publish is also delivered in-house — at your premises anywhere in South Africa and beyond, at one of our venues, or live online. Before we deliver, our course designers can adapt AI for Managers III: Decision Making and Leadership to your team: your industry’s examples in the case work, your real challenges in the exercises, your operational rhythm in the schedule. We meet you, agree the outline together, and only then do you place the order.

In-house rates drop per delegate as the group grows — for larger teams it is usually the more affordable option as well as the better-fitting one.