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Leading in the AI era: A CHRO’s portfolio approach to real business value

Uncategorized Aug 20, 2025
CHROPartners
Leading in the AI era: A CHRO’s portfolio approach to real business value
10:06
 

 

 

Course Title:

Leading in the AI era: A CHRO’s portfolio approach to real business value

Why CHROs Need This

AI isn’t just a technology shift - it’s a leadership moment. But many CHROs are stuck managing disconnected pilots and vendor-driven experiments that don’t scale or deliver clear value. In this session, your digital co-hosts from CHRO Partners Ian and Alex unpack how CHROs can lead AI adoption with confidence - by using a portfolio approach that connects AI investments to employee experience, operational efficiency, and future innovation.

 

What You’ll Learn (and Why It Matters to CHROs):

  • The AI Sandwich - Explained.
    Understand the full stack: embedded tools, custom builds, and the all-important trust layer. 

Why it matters: without a framework, AI investments fragment fast - and CHROs lose influence over adoption and impact.

  • Three Returns That Actually Matter.
    Get clear on Return on Employee (ROE), Return on Investment (ROI), and Return on Future (ROF) - a...
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The Talent Advantage Playbook: Transform Your Workforce Before AI Replaces It

Uncategorized Aug 18, 2025

Part 2 of 5 in The CHRO’s Reframe series How CHROs Can Design Roles, Pipelines & Strategy Around Human Value

Welcome back to Week 2 of this five-part series on the biggest AI conversations CHROs need to lead right now.

Last week, we looked at how to assess where AI is already creating risk or value in your organization, often without any formal oversight.

This week, we shift to what may be your biggest leadership opportunity: shaping how your workforce evolves in the age of AI.

Let’s be honest, there’s pressure to cut. But the companies that will win? They’re the ones upskilling, redeploying, and redefining human advantage. That starts with you.


 

🔹 Domain 2: Strategic Workforce Transformation for Business Advantage

AI is already changing the work your people do. Your job is to make sure it doesn’t just reduce headcount, it increases value.

Here are the three questions every CHRO should be asking now:


 

1. What’s our strategic approach to capturing and leveraging institut...

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The CHRO’s Reframe: Lead the AI Transformation Without Chasing Every New Tool

The CHRO’s Reframe: Lead the AI Transformation Without Chasing Every New Tool

Part 1 of 5: 19 Power Questions That Turn Curiosity into Business Strategy

Over the next five weeks, I’m breaking down the five big conversations every CHRO should be leading in this AI era. These questions come from months of research, expert interviews, and insights from the CHRO Mastermind community and our events.

Not the “here’s another tool to test” conversations.
Not the “IT has it covered” conversations.

I’m talking about the boardroom, C-suite, and offsite-level questions that actually shape how AI will transform your business.


Here’s what’s coming

↳Enterprise AI Risk & Opportunity Assessment
What’s already happening with AI in your company (spoiler: it’s more than you think) and how to turn it into advantage.

↳Strategic Workforce Transformation for Business Advantage
Using AI to make your people more valuable, not just replace them.

↳Enterprise AI Risk Management & Competitive Intelligence...

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The real risk isn’t falling behind on AI - it's staying silent

Uncategorized Aug 03, 2025

Here's what most CHROs are getting wrong (and how to fix it in 25 mins)

 


 

The wrong question:

“Where do we start with AI?”

The better question:

“What business problem are we trying to solve?”

 


Most CHROs I talk to don’t have a tech problem.
They have a clarity problem.

They’re being asked about AI at the executive table… but haven’t been given the time or tools to go beyond “We’re exploring it.”


So what happens?

  • Panels and webinars stack up in your inbox

  • Demos blur together

  • Meanwhile, your peers start dropping phrases like “agentic AI” and “internal copilots” like they’ve had this figured out for months


"It feels like the early days of the pandemic again."
Lots of noise. Little clarity.
And no one’s handing you the playbook.


Which is exactly why I built this.


Here’s the truth:

↳ You don’t need to be technical.
↳ You do need to be fluent.


"Fluent in what’s possible. Fluent in the business implications. Fluent in how to guide a t...

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What CHROs Need to Know About AI (Before IT Leaves You Behind)

Uncategorized Jul 27, 2025

In this Mastermind session, Jessica and Chris McKay cut through the AI noise and show why HR—not IT—should be leading the conversation.

They didn’t just demo tools. They reframed what it means to be a strategic HR leader in the age of agentic AI—where digital coworkers are real, and the cost of intelligence is rapidly approaching zero.

Key takeaways:

  • Agentic AI is no longer theoretical. It’s already reshaping how businesses scale—without adding headcount.

  • CHROs must now manage both human and AI “employees”—from onboarding to offboarding.

  • The true differentiator in the AI era won’t be who has the smartest tools—it’s who has the most clarity around people, data, and business context.

  • AI fluency and governance are fast becoming HR's strategic edge.

  • Chris introduced the USAGE framework and a maturity model to help HR teams benchmark and guide adoption.

Why this matters now:
If HR isn't shaping how AI enters the workforce, someone else will. And chances are, they won't be thinki...

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How I Use ChatGPT Projects to Turn Transcripts into a Week of Content

 

Today I want to show you how I use ChatGPT Projects - sometimes I call them “folders” - to make content creation from transcripts ridiculously simple.

I’ve set up a custom set of instructions inside the Project for exactly what I need:


âś… A polished course description
âś… A LinkedIn post
âś… A LinkedIn newsletter
âś… An email to my community
âś… A 1-minute video script
âś… A LinkedIn poll

It took some upfront time to set this up, but now? I just pop in the transcript from a blog interview, a LinkedIn Live, or one of our CHRO Mastermind sessions - and the assets are ready in minutes.

👉 First, ChatGPT gives me the course description.
In this case, it guessed the podcast length (off by a bit - it said 44 minutes; it’s actually closer to 15). But for the most part, it’s on track.

👉 I give it the green light to continue, and then it creates all the promotional assets I need for the week.

Pro tip: Sometimes I record the video myself, but other times I pop the script into Synthesia and let my AI ...

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How to build a custom GPT that thinks, coaches, and sounds like you

CHROPartners
How to build a custom GPT that thinks, coaches, and sounds like you
13:41
 

 

🎙️ CHRO Partners Presents: Maia & Kai – Your AI Podcast Hosts

Forget stiff voice overs or monotone robots—Maia and Kai are the AI podcast hosts you didn’t know you needed.

Trained on thousands of CHRO conversations, strategy briefs, and spicy Slack threads, they bring clarity, candor, and just the right amount of sass to every episode.

Think: the sharp curiosity of Oprah meets the dry wit of an over-caffeinated management consultant.

No fluff. No filler. Just sharp insights, smart questions, and the kind of conversational rhythm that makes you forget they aren’t technically human.

Every episode, Maia and Kai unpack the big questions CHROs are wrestling with—reactivity, talent strategy, internal influence, and how to finally build leverage without waiting for a reorg or another all-hands.

They're not real humans (no PTO required), but they do deliver real value.

 

Why CHROs need this:
Ever wish your AI assistant could actually think like you? Understand how you make decisi...

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No Hire Can Fix a Broken Model

Uncategorized Jun 30, 2025

Stop saying “We just need a more strategic HRBP.” Because you don’t need a unicorn—you need leverage.

If you had a dollar for every time someone said, “We just need a more strategic HRBP,” you’d probably have the budget for five more HRBPs.

But here’s the truth no one wants to admit:

Even the best hires will stall out in a broken model.


 

The Support Spiral is Real

Most HR teams aren’t underperforming because they lack talent.

They’re stuck in what I call the Support Spiral:

  • Always reacting

  • Always overwhelmed

  • Always treated like overhead

When that happens, the instinct is to hire your way out of it.

But it rarely works. The “unicorn” you hire—your strategic fix—gets pulled into the same cycle. Because the real issue isn’t headcount. It’s how the work gets delivered.

 


The Noble Trap

This is the part that stings a little.

HR often defines itself by saying, “We’re here to support the business.” It sounds responsible. Team-first. Noble.

But that mindset? It’s exac...

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From Hesitation to High-Impact: How Holly Novak Navigated the Leap to CPO with Grace at Jack Henry

Uncategorized Jun 22, 2025
CHROPartners
From Hesitation to High-Impact: How Holly Novak Navigated the Leap to CPO with Grace at Jack Henry
27:30
 

 Why CHROs Need This
Becoming a CHRO isn’t just a promotion—it’s a pivot into uncharted territory. In this candid conversation, Holly Novak shares how she went from hesitating to apply for the CPO role to leading transformation and developing AI chatbots at a 7,000-employee fintech company. You'll learn what she wishes she knew earlier, how she built deep alignment with her C-suite peers, and why HR can—and should—own the future of AI adoption.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How Holly made the leap from HR Ops to CPO, including the decision-making process with her family 
  • What she did in the first year to build trust with the CEO, CFO, CLO, and COO 
  • How her team built an internal HR chatbot—and why they scrapped the out-of-the-box solution 
  • A candid look at how AI is reshaping recruiting, onboarding, and instructional design
  • Practical tips for building resilience in one of the most emotionally demanding roles in business Best For:

CHROs who are considering a promotion into the top ro...

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How to Win Your First 90 Days as CHRO—Even If You’re on Your Third Transformation

Uncategorized Jun 06, 2025
CHROPartners
How to Win Your First 90 Days as CHRO—Even If You’re on Your Third Transformation
30:14
 

 

Why CHROs Need This:
 

Whether you’re stepping into your first CHRO role—or hitting reset after a stretch in the tactical weeds—your first 90 days can make or break your long-term impact. But most onboarding plans are either nonexistent or generic. In this candid session, Amy Messersmith (former CHRO at Builders FirstSource, Yum! Brands, and US Anesthesia Partners) shares the exact playbook she built out of necessity to navigate high-stakes transitions, earn trust quickly, and drive strategic priorities from day one.

You’ll Learn How To:

  • Structure your first 30/60/90 days—even when there’s no onboarding plan

  • Diagnose what’s working (and what’s not) across HR and talent functions

  • Get quick wins while still laying the foundation for long-term transformation

  • Let your HR team shine as the “heroes” while you build credibility

  • Engage business leaders without overwhelming them with HR-speak

  • Prepare for board conversations with confidence and clarity

  • Avoid the trap of staying s...
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