Principle 1
Have a clear vision
The 30-second test that exposes whether your team has a strategy or a procurement event.
Stop building AI programs your team won't use.
The change-management playbook for getting real AI adoption inside $30M-$500M companies. Free. 30 pages.
Built from workshops with PE firms, manufacturers, and professional services teams.
Free, no sales follow-up unless you ask. You'll get the playbook plus my weekly newsletter, unsubscribe anytime. Protected by reCAPTCHA.
Trusted by leadership teams across private equity, industrial manufacturing, and professional services.
AI rollouts stall because of people, not tech. This is the playbook for the ones that don't.
The AI rollout that's failing
You're not the only one seeing these patterns. They show up at PE-backed industrials, professional services firms, and mid-market tech companies alike. The technology isn't the problem. The rollout strategy is.
Every one of these has a structural fix. The playbook walks through all of them.
You licensed Copilot. Usage is at 8%.
If you've looked at your utilization dashboard and felt a knot in your stomach, you're not alone.
Your top reps are running prompts in a personal Claude tab on the side.
If you're seeing shadow AI tools before the official program has launched, the problem is the program.
Your CISO just asked what happens when AI gets something wrong in front of a client.
If the risk question hit before you had an answer ready, the incident column was already missing from your dashboard.
Legal's been gating the program for four months and counting.
If legal feels like a blocker rather than a partner, the champion map isn't in place yet.
What's inside
Six principles, each with a reusable artifact and an anecdote from client work.
Most AI change-management content is either too abstract ("you need executive sponsorship") or too vendor-specific ("here's how to roll out our platform"). This playbook sits in between: a framework you can apply regardless of which tools you're using, with artifacts you can actually put in front of your team.
Principle 2
Have an accountable owner
Why AI councils kill AI programs (and the one person who has to own it instead).
Principle 3
Create connective tissue
How a champion turned four months of legal blockers into the program's biggest internal advocate.
Principle 4
Lead with a carrot, not a stick
Why mandates produce malicious compliance, and the exception that requires a fence.
Principle 5
Top down, bottom up
The sidecar pattern for an early win that earns firm-wide credibility, plus the middle-manager role redesign.
Principle 6
Show clear business value
The metric column missing from almost every AI ROI dashboard, and what your CFO actually needs to see.
Get all six principles + 8 reusable artifacts. Free.
Free. No sales follow-up unless you ask. Protected by reCAPTCHA.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Who this is for
I wrote this for operators, not theorists. If you're responsible for actually getting AI into the workflow of a mid-market company, this is for you. If you're researching the AI market or evaluating model vendors, there are better resources.
This is for you if:
- You're a head of AI, CIO, CTO, or COO at a $30M-$500M company
- Your team has tried (or is trying) to roll out AI
- You're seeing malicious compliance, shadow tools, legal stalemates, or a flat ROI dashboard
- You want a framework, not a vendor pitch
This is not for you if:
- You're at a Fortune 100 with a 50-person AI team
- You're a sub-$30M startup
- You're shopping for a model vendor or an LLM benchmark
What you'll learn
Six change-management principles, each with a concrete artifact and an anonymized anecdote from client work. Plus a 30-60-90 day execution sequence you can adapt to your situation.
The vision test.
A 30-second question that reveals whether your team has an AI strategy or just a procurement event.
Why AI councils kill AI programs.
And what a single accountable owner with a real mandate looks like instead.
How to turn legal from blocker to advocate.
One company did it in three months. The champion strategy that made it happen.
The carrot-vs-fence split.
How to mandate the right things without killing adoption in the process.
The sidecar pattern.
A visible early win that earns firm-wide credibility without touching your most complex legacy workflow.
The metric column most dashboards are missing.
The incident column is what protects the program when your CFO asks hard questions.
A 30-60-90 day execution sequence.
Adapted from real client workshops. You can start running it tomorrow.
Sound like you? Get the playbook.
Free. No sales follow-up unless you ask. Protected by reCAPTCHA.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Questions
The playbook is free. No form other than an email address, and you can unsubscribe from the newsletter after the first send. I'm not running a drip sequence, pitching a course, or adding you to a retargeting list. You get the playbook and a weekly newsletter about AI change management, CX, and the kind of leadership thinking that doesn't end up in LinkedIn carousels.
About the author
Drew Burdick
Founder & Managing Partner, StealthX
I'm the founder and managing partner at StealthX. We help mid-market leadership teams roll out AI in ways that survive the first incident and the first round of board scrutiny. The change-management half, not the model-vendor half. Our clients are PE firms, manufacturers, and professional services teams.
Onward & upward 🤘
Ready to get your AI program past the pilot?
Get the 30-page playbook, plus a weekly newsletter with the change-management thinking I'm working through with mid-market leadership teams.
Free. No sales follow-up unless you ask. Protected by reCAPTCHA.