01 / DISCUSS
Small-group roundtables
Online conversations focused on practical challenges people are facing in their organizations.
Applied AI Leaders
Honest conversations about putting AI to work.
A peer community for people putting AI to work inside their organizations. We share real implementations—what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re still figuring out.
Practical peer learning. No hype. No sales pitches.
The demo is the easy part. The real work starts when AI meets your workflows, people, and systems.
The reality
Putting AI into an organization raises practical questions about data, security, adoption, cost, and what happens when a promising pilot meets everyday work.
Those conversations are easier with peers who are working through the same decisions—and willing to talk about what didn’t go to plan.
How it works
A place to compare notes, not give presentations.
We make room for specific questions and honest experience, without pretending anyone has the complete playbook.
02 / SHARE
Ongoing exchange
LinkedIn conversation keeps useful questions and peer learning going between roundtables.
03 / LEARN
Real work, real lessons
Talk about what you tried, what surprised you, what fell short, and what you’d do differently.
The conversation
Useful because it stays grounded.
Bring a live question, a decision you’re weighing, or a lesson you learned the hard way.
One real issueFocus on a specific implementation or adoption challenge, not AI in the abstract.
Peer discussionMembers compare approaches and trade-offs. No vendor presentations or sales pitches.
Room for uncertaintyIt’s fine to be early, to have a failed experiment, or not to know the answer yet.
Who it’s for
For people doing—or learning—the work.
We’re especially interested in people responsible for bringing AI into real organizations, and we welcome anyone genuinely doing or learning applied AI work.
Leaders driving adoption
Executives, VPs, directors, and others making decisions about how AI is introduced and used across teams.
Practitioners building in context
Technical and business-side people working through implementation, governance, workflow, and change.
Ground rules
Trust is part of the format.
No sales pitches
Share what you use when it’s relevant. Don’t use the community to sell products or services.
Confidential conversations
Roundtable discussions follow the Chatham House Rule: insights may be shared, but not who said them or where they work, unless they give permission.
Candor over polish
Talk about the limitations, setbacks, and trade-offs alongside the things that worked.
About
Started by people who wanted a more useful conversation.
Applied AI Leaders is being built as a peer community around the practical work of putting AI to use inside organizations.
Dan Herman
Founder and host
Dan works in marketing and AI at Gage Technologies and started Applied AI Leaders to make space for candid peer learning.
Jaden Joner
Co-builder
Jaden is the founder of Rabid and is helping build the community and its online home.
Applied AI Leaders is an independent community, not a sales channel for either host’s company. The no-pitch rule applies equally to everyone.
Take part
Bring the question you’re working through.
If you’re putting AI to work—or learning how—tell us a little about what you’re focused on.
Get involved