Steep Sierra mountainside.

5-foot wide crevice… plunging into darkness.

Temperature dropping to 20°F that night.

We had to get back to base camp.

No possible communication for rescue.

Here’s the kicker:

My hiking partner, the “mapping expert,” confidently guided us all day off-trail…

until he realized we were on the wrong mountain!!

The crevice was our only path back.

🚨 Our options:

→ Jump: One shot. Miss and you’re done. Back to base camp tonight.

→ Stay: No plan. No food. No shelter. Cold freezing snow. No path back.

I jumped.

Crashed into the snow, then slid down the steep mountainside, dodging trees and rocks in complete terror.

—

Sound familiar?

That trapped feeling between equally challenging options?

Making tough decisions is hard. AI makes it harder.

In my work with CEOs, I haven’t found any with adequate AI preparation.

→ Some jumped blind — we’re repairing damage

→ Others freeze — paralyzed by stakes

→ Smart ones — launch with expert validation

The irony?

I trusted the wrong expert. Nearly died.

Now execs trust wrong AI “experts.”

Business damage follows.

—

What that mountain taught me:

Even good experts make mistakes.

You’re an executive for a reason.

But you need the right advisor to navigate complexity.

AI leadership isn’t about becoming technical.

It’s about leading through complexity.

▶ Message Jim Vickers for AI leadership insights ◀