CEO AI PLAYBOOK 2027
The 7 new rules for leadership, organisation & recruiting
AI is changing not only how people work, but also how companies are built. When AI and AI agents make work scalable and extend human capacity, fundamental assumptions are put to the test: how many people a company needs to grow, how organisations should be structured, which kind of leadership still creates value and which talents make the difference.
That is exactly what the CEO AI Playbook 2027 is about.
The question that changes everything: how would you build your company today if you could start from scratch with the possibilities of AI?
76 pages | PDF | free | in German
Growth no longer automatically requires more people
For a long time, a simple equation applied: more revenue means more work, more work means more employees, and with them coordination and complexity grow. AI breaks this equation. Today, capacity is also created by AI agents, automation and new processes.
So don’t ask “How many people do we need?” first. Ask instead: “What capacity do we need, and how do we create it with people, AI and processes?” That is what the CEO AI Playbook 2027 is about.
AI needs a new organisation, not just new tools
Many companies build cutting-edge technology into structures that were made for a different world of work. They automate processes, equip roles with AI and make their management more efficient. But they don’t ask the more important question: do you still need these processes, roles and structures at all?
When a team consists of people, AI agents, data and decision rights, an org chart is no longer enough. The playbook shows you how work, organisation, leadership and talent interact.
The 7 new rules for CEOs
- 01
Growth is increasingly decoupled from headcount. Corporate productivity has to be rethought.
- 02
Rebuild the organisation instead of building AI into the old one. Structures, levels and responsibilities must be tested for their future necessity.
- 03
Management tasks are changing. Leadership gains weight. The value of leadership shifts from information and coordination to judgement, direction and responsibility.
- 04
Redistribute work: deploy people and AI deliberately. The competitive advantage comes from the right Human+AI operating model.
- 05
Experience needs evidence for the future. Companies must redefine which skills and leaders create exceptional value in a world of work shaped by AI.
- 06
Start with the business problem. Strategic recruiting starts with future impact, not with a job description.
- 07
Know the right people before you need them. Strategic talent access becomes a CEO task and begins long before the vacancy.
Not another AI white paper. A playbook for decisions.
This is not about the next trendy tool, but about the questions you have to answer as a decision-maker:
- How is AI changing your capacity model?
- Which roles should you not automatically refill?
- Which work belongs to people, which to AI and which to a Human+AI system?
- Which leaders bring not only experience, but also future fit?
- Which business case must a strategic new hire fulfil?
For this, you get concrete CEO tools and recommendations, from the Future Fit Test and the Leadership Business Case to building strategic talent access. The Future Fit Test, for example, does not assess candidates by their CV, but by evidence of judgment, adaptability, builder capability, human capital and AI leverage.
Strategic recruiting does not start with a job description
You don’t hire a leader because a position is vacant. You hire them to solve a business problem or seize an opportunity. That is why the playbook asks: what difference should this person make in the next 24 to 36 months?
With the Leadership Business Case, you define concrete goals and verifiable evidence for a position. This lets you check whether someone can really solve your problem, not just whether they fit the job description.
You should know the best leaders before you need them
Strategic talent access begins long before the open position. The playbook gives you a 90-day plan for this:
- 10identify relevant leaders
- 5build real access to at least 5 of them
- 3have a personal conversation with at least 3
A LinkedIn connection is not yet access, a conversation is. It is not about hiring someone right away. It is about having options before a position becomes vacant.
Who is the CEO AI Playbook 2027 for?
The playbook is for CEOs, managing directors, board members, entrepreneurs and executives who are responsible for growth, transformation, organisation or strategic personnel decisions. It covers AI transformation, AI leadership, organisational design, Human+AI and strategic recruiting, from a business perspective rather than a technical one.
If you were to rebuild your company with AI today: what would you do differently?
Which work would disappear? Which processes would you abolish instead of automating them? Which roles would you redefine? And which people would you want to get to know today, even though you will only need them in two or three years?
The CEO AI Playbook 2027 gives you the mental models and tools to answer these questions.
76 pages | PDF | free | in German
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