An executive team's away day on AI should end with rules on paper. By the end of the day the team should have written, in its own words, what its systems may do, who can stop each one, and what it will report to the board.
The answer, in one line
Six things in writing: the rules for what systems may decide, a stop list with names, an incident definition, the capabilities to keep, a plan for how junior people still learn, and the measures the board will see each meeting.
Definition#
An executive AI away day is a day in which the leadership team, one layer below the board, writes the operating rules for AI in its own words before buying or rolling out more of it, and leaves with owners and dates against each rule.
Six things to have in writing by the end#
- The rules. What the company's systems may decide or draft, and what stays with a person. Short sentences the team would be willing to read aloud to staff.
- The stop list. For each system that matters, the named person who can stop it and how long a stop takes.
- The incident definition. What counts as an AI incident here and who hears about it within what time. Thresholds are discussed on what counts as a serious AI incident.
- The capabilities to keep. What the organisation must remain able to do without its tools, and how it will keep people practised. This site calls that record custody.
- The people plan. How junior staff will still learn the work the tools now do. The risk is described on the missing rungs.
- What goes to the board. The few measures the board will see each meeting, with the override rate among them. A worked list is on what management should report to the board on AI.
How it differs from a board away day#
The board decides what it must be shown and what it will not delegate. The executive team decides how the work is run. An executive day goes further into operations: which processes, which teams, which tools, by when. A board day that tries to do that turns into management. Running an executive day first often gives the board something real to approve.
Starting from the team's own evidence#
A short anonymous survey of the people who report to the executive team, a week before the day, changes the conversation more than any presentation. Ask what they can no longer do unaided, who would notice if a system were wrong, and how often anyone overrides one. The team then argues about its own business rather than about AI in general.
Signs the day produced nothing#
- The output is a slide deck rather than a page of rules.
- Every action belongs to "the AI working group" rather than to a named person.
- The next tool purchase is already scheduled and nothing written on the day would change it.
Rules Before Tools. One day with the executive team, writing the rules in the room's own words before another tool is bought. The session.
For the board. The board's version of the day, and the briefing. How to run a board away day on AI.
Essay · SS-2026-410
Hirji, R. (2026). What should an executive AI away day produce?. The SuperSkills evidence base, SS-2026-410. https://thesuperskills.com/research/what-should-an-executive-ai-away-day-produce. Last reviewed 4 October 2026.
An evidence review by Rahim Hirji, not peer-reviewed research. For a material claim, cite the underlying study as well; every study here carries its own permanent link.
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