James Janega
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship
James Janega
Strategic Innovation in the AI Era
Turn Bold Ideas to Scalable, Disciplined Innovation
Next Session
October 13-October 16, 2026
View All Dates
Location/Format
In Person
Gleacher Center, Chicago
Investment Fee (in USD)
$9,000 USD
Questions? Connect with our enrollment advisors.
Next Session
October 13-October 16, 2026
View All Dates
Location/Format
In Person
Gleacher Center, Chicago
Investment Fee (in USD)
$9,000 USD
Questions? Connect with our enrollment advisors.
Strategic Innovation in the AI Era gives executives the discipline to move from promising ideas and AI experiments to results that consistently reach the P&L.
Innovation isn't only new technology—it's how an organization builds its next sources of value, whether in business models, products and services, operations, or customer experience. As AI gives organizations more ideas to pursue and more ways to execute, the advantage belongs to leaders who can determine what's worth pursuing and successfully scale it.
This four-day program helps executives build that innovation discipline—the rigor to uncover where real opportunity lies, the system to execute the bets worth making, and the credibility to unlock resources that expand momentum.
Drawing on real-world practice, behavioral science, human-centered design, and Nobel Prize–winning insights from portfolio theory and decision-making, the program offers a practical playbook for turning ideas and AI intentions into scaled, measurable results.
This program can serve as an elective to:
- Advanced Management Program — Awards Chicago Booth alumni status
Across seven sessions, you will master discovery habits to uncover real customer and stakeholder needs, make strategic bets, and validate concepts through fast and disciplined experimentation. You'll learn to diagnose organizational roadblocks, apply AI as an accelerant, align stage-appropriate KPIs to C-level outcomes, and build the storytelling capabilities needed to mobilize stakeholders and sustain momentum. You’ll leave with a clear blueprint—governance, metrics, and methods—to build a repeatable, high-performing innovation engine.
By attending this program, you will explore key themes in:
Diagnosing Barriers to Innovation
- Identify organizational, cultural, and process barriers to execution.
- Apply diagnostic tools to uncover root causes and targeted solutions.
Organizational Design, Governance & Alignment
- Build structures, roles, and decision rights that support innovation.
- Leverage a three-speed innovation system: Exploration, Validation, and Acceleration.
- Create systems that keep innovation focused and aligned.
Executing & Scaling Innovation
- Translate ideas into measurable, repeatable results.
- Enable innovation to scale across functions and business units.
- Use AI to rapidly surface and pressure-test opportunities.
Culture & Leadership for Innovation
- Foster environments where creativity and disciplined execution reinforce one another.
- Lead teams to promote collaboration, trust, and sustained engagement.
Strategy, Transformation, and a Repeatable Innovation Engine
- Integrate innovation into long-term strategy and organizational goals.
- Develop a scalable approach to sustained competitiveness.
Who Should Attend
Mid- to senior-level executives responsible for creating value by innovating offerings or business models. This includes leaders charged with moving AI pilots into measurable operating impact.
Participants generally come from established organizations and lead cross-functional teams. Leaders from any industry, including financial services, manufacturing, construction, professional services, tech, retail, and healthcare, can benefit.
Faculty Teaching This Program
At Booth, our distinguished faculty exemplify dedication and expertise, bringing deep passion to their teaching. Their steadfast commitment extends beyond traditional instruction, focusing on empowering every Executive Education participant, across all programs and global campuses, to achieve their professional and leadership goals.
Practitioner Insights
Learn Directly from a Leading Industry Practitioner
This program often features world-class guest speakers from globally recognized organizations. Participants gain firsthand insights from senior leaders who share real-world perspectives on strategy, leadership, and organizational transformation.
Program Outline
Spotting Opportunity—and How to Scale It
- Institutionalize observing, questioning, testing, and connecting behaviors.
- Hardwire curiosity and exploration into operating norms.
- Convert individual habits into enterprise culture.
Understanding What People Actually Need
- Target growth arenas using demand-side customer progress.
- Direct investment toward validated jobs-to-be-done.
- Translate insights into a prioritized opportunity roadmap.
Human-Centered Design Discovery
- Orchestrate rigorous discovery at scale across functions.
- Define advantage through differentiated customer experiences.
- Set strategic design criteria for market separation.
De-Risk Innovation with Evidence, Not Optimism
- Establish “must be true” thresholds for ideas.
- Govern learning with staged experiments and kill or pivot criteria.
- Redirect resources using evidence over intuition.
Design an Innovation Organization
- Architect the three-speed innovation engine.
- Separate exploration from exploitation with clear governance.
- Allocate portfolios by strategy, not politics.
Metrics and KPIs for Innovation
- Link learning metrics to financial outcomes.
- Build stage-appropriate leading and lagging indicators.
- Create corporate leader-ready dashboards for portfolio visibility.
Entrepreneurial Storytelling to Build Support
- Craft evidence-backed strategic narratives that compel action.
- Align stakeholders and unlock resources at scale.
- Sustain momentum through clearly aligned value paths.
Advance Registration Benefit
Fall 2026 offerings of this program include an advance registration benefit when you register by the specified date. Discount is applied during the registration process.
Upcoming Sessions
Program dates are subject to change.
Download Brochure
Download the program brochure for in-depth insights on who should attend, a schedule preview, past participant profiles, location highlights, networking opportunities, and what to expect. When doing so, you’ll also receive an editable justification letter to help you make the case to your employer for your attendance.
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Frequently Asked Questions