112: AI-Driven Leadership: Using the CRIT Framework Make Faster, Smarter Decisions with Geoff Woods

AI adoption stalls when leaders delegate the thinking. In this episode Chris sits down with Geoff Woods, bestselling author of The AI-Driven Leader and founder of AI Leadership, to explore why AI strategy must begin with the CEO and executive team. Geoff explains the difference between using AI for minor tasks and using it as a strategic thought partner for the decisions that shape enterprise value.

They break down the CRIT framework, practical prompts for solving major business problems, a financial review exercise that created stronger operating visibility, and a leadership exercise designed to multiply the value of high-performing employees. Geoff also shares what changed in the updated 2026 edition of his book and how leaders can access its companion training and bonuses. Listen to learn how to move AI from scattered tool usage into a leadership discipline that improves judgment, alignment, and execution.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction
03:23 From Executive Operator to AI-Driven Leader
07:12 Why AI Leadership Belongs to the CEO
10:10 Solving Strategic Problems With the CRIT Framework
15:48 Two Sticky Notes for Daily AI Adoption
17:01 The AI CFO Prompt and Financial Visibility
24:37 Scaling AI From Strategy to Company-Wide Execution
27:19 How AI Champions Drive Cultural Adoption
34:27 What Changed in the Updated Edition
37:58 The Executive Multiplier Exercise
43:16 Book Bonuses, Leadership Training, and the Team Accelerator

🔎 Find Out More About Geoff Woods:

Geoff Woods Official Bio: https://www.aileadership.com/geoff-woods/

Geoff Woods on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-woods-8534774

Book: The AI-Driven Leader, updated 2026 edition: https://www.aileadership.com/book/

Bonus redemption page:
https://www.aileadership.com/book/redeem

AI Leadership: https://www.aileadership.com/

AI Leadership Newsletter: https://www.aileadership.com/newsletter

The AI-Driven Leader Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2qSY9ZFTBJisoKp9eACbeb

The AI-Driven Leader Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-driven-leader/id1723615439

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned:

The CRIT Prompt Framework

CRIT stands for Context, Role, Interview, and Task.

Context: Describe the problem in vivid detail.

Role: “You are a world-class chief growth officer who is also an aggressive, growth-minded board member. You think strategically about the business that could put us out of business and how we could build it first. Focus on the 20% that drives 80% of the results.”

Interview: “Interview me. Ask me one question at a time, up to three questions, to gain deeper context.”

Task: “Give me the top three high-impact, non-obvious strategies I can deploy to solve this problem.”

CRIT framework resource:
https://www.aileadership.com/newsletter/crit-happens-the-viral-framework-transforming-how-leaders-think

Financial Review CRIT Prompt

Context: “Here are my financials for the last month.” Attach the relevant financial statements.

Role: “You are a world-class CFO who is excellent at telling a CEO what they do not know, but should know, about their business based on their financials.”

Interview: “Interview me. Ask me one question at a time, up to five questions, to gain deeper context.”

Task: “Tell me the top five things I am not seeing that I should be seeing, and what I should do in the next 30 days to improve the financial health of my company.”

Executive Multiplier Exercise

Write a CRIT prompt that asks AI to help you identify your greatest strengths, including strengths you may not currently be using inside the business. Compare those strengths with the company’s goals and cast a vision for how you could bring 10 times to 100 times more value.

Then identify:

• The high-value work to double down on
• Work that should stop
• Work AI can augment or automate
• Work that still requires a human
• The responsibilities, priorities, onboarding plan, and job description for the person who could take over the remaining work

This exercise is based on the leadership example Geoff shares during the episode.

The Two-Sticky-Note Exercise

Sticky note one: “How can AI help me do this?”

Sticky note two: “Context, Role, Interview, Task.”

Place both notes where you work and use them as a daily trigger to apply AI to meaningful strategic problems rather than only administrative tasks.

ChatGPT
https://chatgpt.com/

Claude
https://claude.ai/

Microsoft Copilot
https://copilot.microsoft.com/

Google Gemini
https://gemini.google.com/

Claude Code
https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code

ElevenLabs
https://elevenlabs.io/

AI Leadership Collective
https://www.aileadership.com/collective/