In this recap, we look back at the insightful session with SweetRush's John Cleave and Jennifer Yaros where they shared their expertise on crafting an effective AI training roadmap
SweetRush L&D experts Jennifer Yaros & John Cleave share insights on AI strategy, business alignment, and impact from Training Industry’s Strategy Summit.
We couldn’t all meet up in Milwaukee for the Training Industry Strategy Summit, so we sent two experts to represent us: SweetRush Solution Architect Jennifer Yaros and Director of Systemic Solutions John Cleave.
Jen and John led a workshop on AI literacy and fluency and the role of these crucial competencies in learning strategy; they also enjoyed some great conversations with fellow L&D leaders and innovators.
We caught up with them for some key insights and impressions from this meeting of the minds. Here’s what they shared:
The Strategy Summit reinforced something I’ve been hearing a lot from L&D leaders: They’re already knowledgeable about AI and are not interested in shiny objects; they're seeking genuine solutions.
Training Industry’s conference app supported this engagement with a feature that allowed attendees to schedule one-on-one consulting time with vendors. That functionality helped us have richer, more in-depth conversations with folks looking for answers to a specific challenge.
Quality over quantity was a recurring theme to the event: We all shared a sense of urgency around L&D strategy, upskilling, and tackling organizational silos—and the intimate setting fostered better conversations. Something I heard from many attendees was that they were sent by their companies with an explicit directive to develop a strategy for everything from AI implementation and adoption to the rollout of large training initiatives.
This focus on strategy highlights a crucial shift I felt at the Summit: L&D is finally being recognized as a strategic thought partner for leadership. We are uniquely positioned because we are already aligned with employees’ wants and needs. When we’re invited to the table to discuss high-level business goals, we can effectively help organizations drive strategy forward and achieve measurable business outcomes. This strategic role was the heartbeat of the conference.
One of my takeaways is that, as an industry, we’re ready to move past "what if" scenarios and provide concrete plans of action, checklists, and capability models. I’m excited to maintain the momentum by working with clients to bring their organization’s strategic goals to fruition through practical, effective, and measurable learning programs.
Something that struck me when speaking to attendees at the Summit is the widespread "AI fatigue” L&D leaders and professionals are experiencing. There is an onslaught of articles, vendors, and industry pundits speaking to the virtues of AI but, to many L&D folks, the talk is around abstract concepts and empty promises. People are hungry for practical, implementable applications.
It seems clear to everyone that AI is coming: We did a poll by show of hands in our session, and 90% of the people in the audience agreed. But what’s been lacking is useful advice and recipes on how to use it—that is, clear, concrete plans of action. My conversations with other practitioners uncovered a critical need for simple, actionable steps that deliver immediate operational value.
The goal is to provide scalable solutions, such as AI-enhanced simulations and personalized tutoring. AI promises to address Bloom’s “2 Sigma” problem: His study found that students who received personalized tutoring perform two standard deviations above those who don’t, but traditionally it takes an unscalable level of effort to provide such tutoring to everyone. AI has the potential to address this problem, enabling L&D teams to provide a personal tutor to each learner. We have been actively exploring how to train large language models (LLMs) on the procedures and tasks that an individual needs to be successful in a role, so it can provide feedback and information to each learner on the road to mastery.
Another area that AI may bear fruit is in competency modeling and performance improvement: using job descriptions, performance rubrics, and AI to develop models and frameworks, which can be used both to measure proficiency and to provide resources and learning experiences that help people to grow.
As L&D leaders, our focus should be on building operation strategies that position the L&D function as a driver of core business performance, and developing a roadmap that gets an organization from where they are today to somewhere better tomorrow. By prioritizing practical application and measurable results, we can move the AI conversation forward from hype to genuine, values-driven adoption.
Want more thought leadership from the stars of the Strategy Summit?
Check out Jen’s eBook on strategic onboarding for employee retention, L&D’s role in change management, and staff augmentation for L&D teams.
Or delve into SweetRush’s Transformational Design Standards with John’s article on the eight vital principles, and webinar featuring real-life examples of transformational learning programs.
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