ROI in the Age of AI: Building Your AI-Era Learning Business Case

Join Dr. Angela Jackson, Harvard University and Founder and CEO of Future Forward Institute, for an interwoven discussion on how learning and people leaders—and the ecosystem that supports them—can build compelling, evidence-based business cases in the age of AI.

In conversation with lessons from McKinsey and Cisco, this session will explore how organizations are making the case for next-generation, AI-enabled learning models in real time.

As learning becomes increasingly embedded in the flow of work and budgets come under greater scrutiny, leaders must translate capability-building into clear business impact. This discussion will equip participants with practical tools and real-world insights to connect learning investments to outcomes that matter—from productivity and retention to revenue and performance.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to build credibility with CEOs, CFOs, and business leaders—and how to position learning not as a cost center, but as a strategic driver of business value.

ROI Discussion Questions:

1. How do you think about ROI for this kind of work, especially as learning becomes more embedded in the flow of work and AI-enabled?
2. When you’ve seen this done successfully, what actually made the business case land?
3. Who did you need to convince—and what did they care most about?
4. What signals or metrics gave this work credibility internally, even if they weren’t perfect?
5. For leaders in the room who may not have the same level of resources or access. What’s the first move they should make to start building the case?
6. If learning leaders don’t step up as value creators in this moment, do they risk becoming irrelevant and what do they need to do differently starting now to avoid that?

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