Keynote · Interactive Workshop

AI Without the Hype

The CEO's Practical Playbook for 2026

A working session that turns AI from an anxious agenda item into a short list of moves your group can make this quarter. Built for peer discussion. No jargon, no fear, no product pitch.

90-min workshop or 45-min keynote In person or virtual Prepared for Vistage & CEO peer groups
Check a date for your group Download the one-sheet (PDF)
Zero product pitch. Zero selling from the stage.

This is pure education for your members. Dwight is an operator sharing what works, not a vendor selling software.

Why this, why now

AI is everywhere, and nowhere.

Every CEO is told AI will change everything. Few have seen a real company actually run on it. Pilots stall, vendors oversell, teams are anxious, and the board keeps asking for the strategy. In 2026 the ground shifted again, from AI that helps to agents that do the work. Your members do not need more hype. They need clarity and a first move they can trust.

What your group walks away with

Five things every CEO can use Monday

A simple ROI lens

Score any AI opportunity in minutes, so the right projects get funded and the rest stop wasting attention.

Hype versus leverage

Tell a real productivity gain from a slick demo, and know the questions that expose the difference fast.

The four expensive mistakes

The predictable ways companies burn budget on AI, and the simple guardrails that avoid each one.

Your leverage map

Map the jobs in your own business an agent can take on now, ranked by payoff and ease.

Top three moves

Leave with a written short list of the three things to do next quarter, owners and a way to measure each.

Plus a take-home tool

Every attendee leaves with a one-page worksheet to run the same scoring on their own team.

How the session flows

A playbook, not a lecture

Roughly half content, half discussion. Real examples from a company that runs on AI, with structured moments for your members to pressure test each idea against their own business.

01

The honest map of AI in 2026

What actually changed, what is still hype, and where agents fit. Plain language, no buzzwords.

02

The three questions before any AI spend

A fast filter every CEO can apply to a vendor, a pilot, or an internal idea before a dollar is committed.

03

The leverage map exercise

Members map their own business live, ranking the jobs an agent could take on by payoff and effort.

04

The four expensive mistakes

Where companies quietly waste AI budget, drawn from real deployments, and the guardrails that prevent each.

05

Your top three, written down

Each member leaves with three concrete moves for next quarter, an owner, and a number to watch.

How it runs

  • 90-minute interactive workshop. Roughly 60 minutes of content and 45 to 60 minutes built for peer discussion and Q and A.
  • 45-minute keynote option for conferences or shorter slots.
  • In person or virtual. The workshop is designed to work live on video, not just on a stage.
  • Customized to the room. A short call before the date tailors examples to your members.

Who it is for

  • CEOs, presidents, and owners. Built for the person who has to decide and fund, not the engineer.
  • Any industry. The frameworks apply whether you run manufacturing, services, or software.
  • Non technical by design. No code, no math, no acronyms left unexplained.
  • Ideal for Vistage, E O, Y P O, and CEO roundtables that value processing over presenting.
Dwight Holcomb
Your speaker

Dwight Holcomb

An operator who runs his own company on a team of AI agents, then teaches CEOs to do the same without the hype.

Dwight is the CEO of HC Development and the founder and lead developer of SalesSpark AI, the platform his own company runs on. He is the bestselling author of The Lean CMO and The AI Sales Architect, a Forbes Business Council member, host of SaaS CEO Success TV, and President of the UCLA Anderson Alumni Board of Directors. His talks come from building and running real AI systems across sales, marketing, operations, and support, which is why CEO audiences trust them. His work has been endorsed by leaders from Sony Pictures Television, DocuSign, Mattel, Atari, Boingo Wireless, and the C-Suite Network.

Founder & Lead Developer, SalesSpark AI CEO, HC Development Author, The Lean CMO & The AI Sales Architect Forbes Business Council UCLA Anderson Alumni Board, President
What rooms say

Vouched for by the people who book speakers,
and the CEOs who heard him

“
Ranked number one in engaging the audience at our C-level conference. The feedback on his content and delivery was outstanding.
Daniel Tan
Daniel TanConference Producer, Asia Insurance Review
“
Attendee feedback ranked his presentation highest in engaging the audience. He gave our members something they could use right away.
Ron Berg
Ron BergExecutive Director, ACT
“
The feedback was extremely positive on both his content and his expertise. Our group left energized and clear.
Lucy Allard
Lucy AllardExecutive Director, UCLA Anderson
Mike Hopkins · CEO, Sony Pictures Television Keith Krach · Chairman, DocuSign Bryan Stockton · Former CEO, Mattel David Hagan · CEO, Boingo Wireless Nolan Bushnell · Founder, Atari Jeff Hayzlett · Chairman, C-Suite Network
Book the talk

Bring AI Without the Hype to your group.

Pick a date that works and tell me about your members. I will tailor the session and confirm quickly.

Book this talk Discuss your event first Download the one-sheet
dwight@hcdevelopment.com (626) 689-2484