Are you a senior executive who talks about AI but has never actually tried it?  Here’s how to start. 

“I need to learn AI,” an accomplished CEO told me yesterday, “but I haven’t had time.

He reminded me of the CRO I met last week, who asked, “Can you recommend a course in AI? I know my team is using it, but I’m embarrassed to say that I have no idea what they’re doing.”

And all too often I hear bright businesspeople say things like, “Yeah, I tried AI the other day, but the results weren’t accurate. It’s not good enough yet, so I’m not going to use it.”

In short, while they may read countless articles on Artificial Intelligence and might even be exploring strategic AI opportunities for their companies, many leaders have never actually tried using AI themselves.  At NextAccess, we see this situation frequently.

I understand where they’re coming from – given the hype around the term “AI,” it can feel like yet another challenge for busy execs to have to tackle amidst a barrage of other obligations. Indeed, we’ve found that the top reason smart executives avoid teaching themselves AI is “I don’t have time.”  Another key reason: “I don’t know where to start.

I feel you.  But AI is in fact far more intuitive than you might think – and can dramatically benefit you as a leader (not just your teams) by streamlining your own tasks.  In this article, I’ll help you get started.

First, I’ll share a few insights on generative AI (“gen AI”) to give you the confidence to dive right in, including a useful framework for “prompting” (giving instructions to a gen AI chatbot like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini). Then I’ll walk you step by step through three quick exercises that can help leaders in their own day-to-day work…and ideally provide a springboard for you to explore AI’s power and potential further by yourself.  

Here's what you’ll be able to do – in record time – after reading this:

1. Draft content such as detailed emails, memos to the board, or authoritative market insights for your team

2. Summarize and digest large amounts of information, from industry research to complex legal documents to meeting transcripts and more

3. Accelerate and simplify decision-making by fleshing out pros/cons of a new initiative, deal, or product, then iterating through different potential scenarios

All you need to do is sign up for a ChatGPT account – and prepare to be amazed.  

Note: I’m talking to first-timers here – business leaders across industries who haven’t yet experimented with generative AI on their own or who've only tried it in a rudimentary way.  And while we generally recommend the paid version of ChatGPT, the exercises below assume that you’re starting with the free option on your laptop or desktop (browser-based GPT-4o at the time of this writing). 

AI is Your 24/7 Assistant (Explained!)

A helpful tip for starting with gen AI is to consider it an “assistant.” Yes, that term is often coupled with “AI” in chatbot marketing materials, but what does it really mean?

Imagine that you have a bright new hire, fresh out of college, who brings exceptional skills in research, writing, summarizing, analyzing data, design, logic, building spreadsheets, and more.  Despite being a speed demon and an analytical powerhouse, this hire is also naïve, with zero context about you, your business, or your needs. To get useful results from that human worker, you would provide guidance, background, data, and information – in other words, clear verbal instructions. 

And that’s all you need to do in order to use gen AI.  While the term “Artificial Intelligence” may imply that this new technology operates brilliantly on its own, the reality is that gen AI’s power to help you depends on how you guide it.  

Here’s the key: guiding a chatbot is similar to guiding a human assistant because you use natural language to do it. If you’ve ever given careful instructions to people for any task, you can hit the ground running with AI.  

For first-timers who fear that “learning AI” will be a time-consuming chore, this bears repeating: you use natural language. That’s all that “prompting” is – it’s just using everyday language to give clear instructions. Therein lies the magic of gen AI: what was once the purview of trained engineers – programming a machine and getting it to perform valuable tasks faster than a human can – is now in the hands of everyone (i.e., YOU).  

Prompting Tips – the CRISP Approach

Before we get into playing with AI to accomplish some tasks, let’s touch on key success factors for instructing the chatbot to do your bidding.  Just as if you’re guiding a human, clarity and context are vital.  

AI will deliver viable results even with simple prompts, but general instructions tend to yield generic output. This is why so many people (wrongly) dismiss AI after just one or two basic tries…and miss out on the incredible value it can provide when prompted correctly.

To remember best practices for prompting, I developed the acronym CRISP, which stands for:

Clear: Be clear and specific with your prompts to get accurate responses. Avoid ambiguity.

Relevant: Provide information relevant to your situation (who you are, what you do, etc.) so the AI tailors responses to your needs. The more context you provide, the better the outcome.

Intentional: Convey your intent – i.e., what you’re looking for or trying to accomplish – in simple, direct language.

Structured: Ask the chatbot to deliver responses in an organized, step-by-step manner. This keeps the answers structured and logical.

Precise: Refine and iterate your prompts to improve precision in responses. Fine-tuning or re-focusing your queries is vital for generating highly relevant, useful results.

We’ll apply these best practices to our three exercises.

Using AI as an Executive Leader

While you’ve heard about the myriad ways that AI can add value to businesses and employees across functions, those benefits are often a step removed from executives’ daily challenges. So let’s move on to the good stuff: using AI to empower yourself.

These exercises will go more quickly than you can imagine. For each, I’ve laid out a Sample Situation you might face and a Basic Prompt that you can copy-and-paste right into the ChatGPT input field – just to get an initial response and easily learn how the chatbot works. You’ll then find a CRISP Prompt to add in order to refine and improve the output (to help you experience the power of effective prompting), along with notes for Further Experimentation. 

These are merely examples – please feel free to customize them to your own needs. And have no fear of making a mistake: the chatbot won’t judge you. It exists solely to do what you ask.  

EXERCISES

Once you’re signed into ChatGPT, you’ll need to initiate a new chat for each exercise. Just click on the small square icon on the upper left of your screen (it looks like a notebook with a pencil).

Exercise 1: Draft Content

Whether it’s emails, board memos, or internal announcements, executives spend a significant portion of their time crafting communications. AI can help you create drafts quickly, allowing you to focus on refinement and personalization.  

Sample Situation: You need to write an email to your entire company announcing a new strategic initiative. 

Basic Prompt: “Draft a company-wide email announcing that we have a new Customer-First initiative. The email should be motivating and clear, around 300 words long.” Hit return.

You’ll get decent output in seconds, but it will likely be generic.

CRISP Prompt: To get a relevant and tailored draft, provide context about your company and the specific initiative. Start your next prompt with key details like this:

“I need more detailed output. Our company is a regional bank with 1,000 employees across 50 branches. We’re launching a new ‘Customer-First’ initiative to improve our service and increase customer satisfaction. Key points of the initiative include:

1. Implementing a new customer feedback system

2. Providing additional customer service training to all staff

3. Introducing a customer loyalty rewards program

Now, draft a company-wide email announcing our new customer-first initiative. The email should be motivating and clear, around 300 words long.”

Again, the draft will be generated in seconds. Review it – what do you think? It may be satisfactory, but I suggest you experiment by iterating with the chatbot. You could type in, “The tone is a little dry. Rewrite this using punchier sentences.” You may want to add in relevant metrics or give credit to a team leader. Add any editorial instructions you like.

For Further Experimentation

• To witness the power of the chatbot, try this prompt: “Rewrite the original draft in the style of a Tony Robbins inspirational speech.” The same messaging will appear rapidly, but in classic Robbins style.

• For even more creative output, try: “Rewrite the original draft in the style of a rhyming Taylor Swift ballad” or “…in the style of a Shakespeare Sonnet.” Your jaw may drop.

This is just a taste of what gen AI can do. You can instruct ChatGPT to draft any type of content, then iterate the output – adding instructions or new information – until it meets your needs.

Exercise 2: Summarize and Digest Large Amounts of Information

As an executive, it’s crucial that you stay informed on a multitude of issues, but time is a precious commodity. Gen AI can help you quickly distill key insights from industry research, legal documents, educational materials, etc. – and customize the output to your requirements.

Sample Situation: you’re meeting with the senior team in 20 minutes to discuss how trends in AI may impact your company’s strategy. You planned to do research last night, but didn’t, and you now need to get up to speed – fast. You downloaded a meaty government report, but even the Executive Summary is long and dense, with complex information. ChatGPT to the rescue:

Basic Prompt: “Please summarize this document for me.”

You’ll need to include the contents of the document. Here’s an example to try: link to this government report, then copy the Executive Summary (which is verbose and opaque) on pages 11-12 of the PDF, and paste it into ChatGPT. Hit return. 

You’ll get a decent summary, but it will be broad. To make it more relevant, enhance the prompt. 

CRISP Prompt: For this next prompt, you should provide valuable context by briefly describing your company, role, industry, and – importantly – your intent.  Try this:

“I run sales for a mid-sized consumer products company, and I want to understand how AI trends may impact my business and customers. Can you rewrite your summary with key headings and bullets, so it’s more digestible, and highlight and provide relevant detail on the four most important trends that would impact my business?”

The results – generated in seconds – will be clearer, tighter, and customized to your needs. If you want more (or less) detail or a different structure, just say so, and the chatbot will deliver it.

For Further Experimentation:

• You can use ChatGPT not only to summarize content, but to simplify complex language, e.g., in contracts filled with legalese. Just ask it to “rewrite these clauses using simple language so that a college student can understand them.”

• The ability to compare the contents of multiple documents is another timesaver.  “I’d like to compare and contrast these two documents. I’ll attach one first, then the other. List their similarities and their differences – in bullets, with clear headings.” 

As always, the more specific your instructions are, the more relevant the output will be.

Exercise 3: Accelerate and Simplify Decision-Making

This exercise is useful for executives who face complex decisions that require careful consideration of multiple factors. Gen AI can help you organize your thoughts and explore the pros/cons of different scenarios thoroughly and efficiently.

Sample Situation: You’re considering expanding into a new market and need to weigh the pros and cons.

Basic Prompt: “We’re considering expanding our e-commerce platform into Southeast Asia. What are some factors we should consider?”

You’ll likely get output that’s actually quite useful, but it will be more of a framework than a relevant analysis, as the chatbot has no context yet.

CRISP Prompt: To generate customized results, start your prompt with essential background information:

“We are a U.S.-based e-commerce platform specializing in home goods and furniture, with a current market presence in North America and Europe. Our annual revenue is $500 million, and we have a 15% market share in our current regions. We’re considering expanding our e-commerce platform into Southeast Asia, specifically targeting Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. Our main competitors in this region would be [Competitor A] and [Competitor B]. I would like a structured analysis of this decision, and I’ll add my desired structure in the next prompt.”

Hit return, and ChatGPT will ask you for your structure. Your next prompt: “Please provide a structured analysis of this decision, including:

1. Potential benefits (list 5)

2. Possible risks and challenges (list 5)

3. Key factors to consider (list 3)

4. Two potential scenarios: one optimistic and one pessimistic

5. A list of 5 critical questions we should answer before proceeding

Organize this information in a clear, easy-to-read format.”  

What do you think of the output? It’s likely that you’ve just saved yourself hours of analyst-type work and can quickly turn to deeper, executive-level thinking. Don’t hesitate to push the analysis further – you can tweak one of the scenarios, drill down on specific issues, and so on. 

For Further Experimentation:

The analytical value of ChatGPT (and other gen AI chatbots) is unlimited; here are just two more examples of what you can do:

• Perform comprehensive and/or deep competitive analysis quickly

• Accelerate daily decisions about anything – from, say, choosing a new software tool to repositioning a product to assessing a potential partnership

By automating analysis and offering insights to provoke your thinking, gen AI can free up precious time for executives to focus on strategy and high-level decisions. 

Final Thoughts and Inspiration

I hope this opens the door to further experimentation for you – and that you’ll quickly learn how to save hours of time (and reduce stress) as you navigate daily leadership tasks and challenges. 

And now that you see what gen AI can do for you just on an introductory level, imagine its potential to accelerate productivity and unlock growth opportunities for your teams and your business. AI can help you align operations across functions, fast-track execution of a new-market entry, provide immediate efficiencies for your sales team, uncover valuable insights into your customers’ behavior, and much more.

If you’d like additional suggestions for how gen AI can benefit you and your teams, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. At NextAccess, we deeply understand the challenges our executive clients face – because we’ve tackled them ourselves as leaders in companies of all kinds. Our senior partners specialize in specific functions across the go-to-market spectrum, and all of us focus on helping decision-makers leverage AI to drive enduring success.

And remember: as you integrate AI into your leadership approach, you’ll become part of the growing community of forward-thinking executives who are ushering in the future. We’re excited that you’re joining us on this dynamic journey. 

Dorothea Herrey is a Senior Partner at NextAccess, a boutique strategy consulting firm that delivers advanced go-to-market solutions for executive leaders. Our team of seasoned operators has a track record of leading successful sales, marketing, and product transformations at global companies across industries. We bring a unique mix of strategic insight, operating experience, analytical rigor, and sophisticated AI capabilities to drive tangible results for our clients. In short, with expertise that’s both deep and comprehensive, we cut through the noise to grow revenue and margin by harnessing the best in artificial – and human – intelligence.