Part of the People Ops AI Brain — ← Back to Hub
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AI CHAMPIONS PROGRAM MENTAL MODEL │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ THE SCALING PROBLEM (Why Champions) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ WITHOUT CHAMPIONS: WITH CHAMPIONS: │
│ ────────────────── ─────────────── │
│ ┌→ Champion A → Team A │
│ You ───────→ Everyone You ──┼→ Champion B → Team B │
│ (bottleneck) (overwhelmed) └→ Champion C → Team C │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ CHAMPIONS = DISTRIBUTION, NOT BACKBONE │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ⚠️ WARNING: Champions spread capability. They don't CREATE it. │
│ │
│ Still need: Standards │ Governance │ Skill library │ Training │ Leadership │
│ │
│ Champions without backbone = Inconsistent chaos │
│ Backbone without champions = Capability that doesn't spread │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ THE IDEAL CHAMPION PROFILE │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ESSENTIAL: NOT REQUIRED: │
│ ────────── ───────────── │
│ ✓ Curious about AI ✗ Technical background │
│ ✓ Good at explaining ✗ Senior title │
│ ✓ Respected in team ✗ Previous champion experience │
│ ✓ Willing to spend time ✗ Perfect AI skills (yet) │
│ │
│ COMMITMENT: 3-5 hours/month (~5-10% of time) │
│ RATIO: 1 champion per 8-15 people │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ THE CHAMPION TRAINING JOURNEY │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ WEEK 1-2: FOUNDATION WEEK 3-4: PRACTICE WEEK 5+: ACTIVE │
│ ──────────────────── ───────────────── ─────────────── │
│ • Complete AI Brain • Practice questions • Answer peer Qs │
│ • Build 3 skills • Shadow champion • Deliver demos │
│ • Learn governance • Prep first demo • Join sync rhythm │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 30-DAY LAUNCH PLAN │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ Week 1: PREPARE → Charter, identify 3-5 champions, create resources │
│ Week 2: RECRUIT → Invite, train Modules 1-2, set up channels │
│ Week 3: ACTIVATE → Modules 3-4, practice, soft launch │
│ Week 4: LAUNCH → Announce program, first demos, celebrate wins │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
<aside> 🌟
Champions are your force multiplier.
You can't be everywhere. You can't train everyone. You can't maintain every skill. Champions are how AI capability spreads, sustains, and scales across your team and organisation.
</aside>
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ THE SCALING PROBLEM │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Without Champions: │
│ │
│ You ──────────────────────> Everyone │
│ (bottleneck) (overwhelmed) │
│ │
│ With Champions: │
│ │
│ ┌─> Champion A ──> Team A │
│ You (strategy) ────┼─> Champion B ──> Team B │
│ └─> Champion C ──> Team C │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Distribution
Sustainability
<aside> ⚠️
Critical warning: Champions are distribution, not the backbone.
Champions spread capability. They don't create it. You still need:
Champions without backbone = inconsistent chaos.
Backbone without champions = capability that doesn't spread.
</aside>
| Activity | Time Commitment | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Answer peer questions | 15-30 min/week | As needed |
| Demo new skills/capabilities | 30 min | Monthly |
| Contribute to skill library | 1-2 hours | Monthly |
| Attend champion sync | 30-60 min | Bi-weekly |
| Test and feedback on new capabilities | 30-60 min | As needed |
| Total commitment | 3-5 hours/month |