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From AI User to Business-First AI Builder in 30 Days
AI transformation starts with leaders who build, not just evaluate.
You're approving AI initiatives you can't personally validate. Your team experiments with prompts but nobody designs repeatable workflows. You know AI should save time, but you can't quantify where or how much. Strategy decks pile up while execution stalls.
In 4 weeks, using the Business-First AI Framework and your agentic builder stack, you'll:
✅ Apply the Business-First AI Framework to discover your highest-impact workflows and build a living registry
✅ Evaluate workflow architectures on the autonomy spectrum and map them to the seven agentic building blocks
✅ Build reusable agent skills that capture your expertise for consistent, team-ready execution
✅ Design deterministic and collaborative AI workflows powered by your skills
✅ Become fluent with Claude Code, Cursor, and your full builder stack using plan mode and agentic coding
✅ Deploy multi-agent autonomous systems that handle complex workflows
This isn't theory — it's a hands-on builder methodology from training 5,000+ leaders at UC Berkeley and a decade at Microsoft. Rated 4.8/5. Intimate cohorts, 1:1 coaching, lifetime access. We build together — not lectures.
What you’ll learn
Turn AI into your competitive advantage—automate, optimize, and lead smarter with agentic workflows.
Discover high-value workflow opportunities by auditing your recurring work for automation potential and business impact.
Deconstruct workflows into AI-ready steps — identifying inputs, outputs, decision points, and the right autonomy level for each.
You'll leave with a living Workflow Registry in Notion and a systematic methodology to evaluate any workflow for AI automation.
Map AI systems on the autonomy spectrum so you can match the right level of AI control to each business workflow.
Apply the seven agentic building blocks — Prompt, Context, Model, Project, Skill, Agent, MCP — to structure your workflows.
You'll leave with your top workflows classified on the autonomy spectrum and mapped to building blocks for implementation.
Create agent skills that capture your best practices for content, research, data analysis, and strategy work.
Apply Skills across AI platforms so your workflows execute consistently — whether you run them or your team does.
You'll leave with a registered Skill library in your AI Repository, linked to workflows and ready for team use.
Build deterministic workflows with fixed rules and evaluation criteria so AI executes consistently without guesswork.
Design collaborative workflows with human review checkpoints to maintain quality control on high-stakes work.
You'll leave with at least two production workflows — one deterministic, one collaborative — powered by your Agent Skills.
Configure Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub, voice-to-text, memory, and MCP integrations as a unified system.
Use plan mode and agentic coding to design, build, and iterate on AI workflows directly from your editor.
You'll leave with a production-ready builder stack and the fluency to build workflows from your tools.
Deploy autonomous agents across ChatGPT, Claude, M365 Copilot, and Google Workspace for your highest-value use cases.
Coordinate multi-agent teams where specialized agents collaborate — mastering orchestration patterns for autonomous AI.
You'll leave with production autonomous systems so you can redirect 10+ hours per week to higher-value strategic work.
Learn directly from James
James Gray
UC Berkeley AI Instructor | Former CIO/CPO | Trained 5,000+ Leaders
Who this course is for
Leaders and professionals who believe in “learning by doing” by using cutting-edge tools and building AI solutions hands-on.
Leaders who must understand the latest AI capabilities to drive an AI-powered business strategy credibly.
Professionals who must boost their AI technology acumen to strengthen collaboration and influence with technical stakeholders.
Prerequisites
You have a paid subscription to one or more: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
The course extensively utilizes AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Some lessons are unique to these tools.
No coding experience
The course does not require coding experience, but we will use AI code editors (Cursor/VS Code) to build and refine prompts
Learning in a small, supportive cohort
This cohort experience is for people who learn best in small groups and value personalized feedback from an experienced instructor.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from James Gray in a real-time, interactive format.
Personalized 1:1 coaching
When you are stuck or want to go deep on your unique use case, book a 1:1 slot at a time that works for your busy schedule
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to. The content is updated monthly.
Private LinkedIn Group
The learning continues after the course with bi-weekly live sessions to share the latest AI tech and ways to create business value.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Maven Guarantee
This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.
Course syllabus
28 live sessions • 52 lessons • 13 projects
Week 1
Mar
3
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 1 - 11 AM US ET
Tue 3/34:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)Mar
3
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 1 (repeat) - 6 PM US ET
Tue 3/311:00 PM—1:00 AM (UTC)Mar
5
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 2 - 11 AM US ET
Thu 3/54:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)Mar
5
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 2 (repeat) - 6 PM US ET
Thu 3/511:00 PM—1:00 AM (UTC)Mar
4
Optional: Hands-on Agentic AI Office Hours - 11 AM US ET
Wed 3/44:00 PM—5:15 PM (UTC)OptionalMar
4
Optional: Hands-on Agentic AI Office Hours - 6 PM US ET
Wed 3/411:00 PM—12:15 AM (UTC)OptionalMar
7
Optional: Hands-on Agentic AI Office Hours - Noon US ET
Sat 3/75:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)Optional
Session 1: Agentic AI Foundations & Workflow Identification
Assess Agentic Fundamentals and Workflow Opportunities
Optional: Wednesday Office Hours - Builder Stack Setup Help
Configure Your AI Builder Stack (Self-Study)
Session 2: Workflow Deconstruction
Deconstruct Your Workflows
Optional: Office Hours + 1:1 Personalized Coaching
Week 2
Mar
10
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 3 - 11 AM US ET
Tue 3/103:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)Mar
10
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 3 (repeat) - 6 PM US ET
Tue 3/1010:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)Mar
12
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 4 - 11 AM US ET
Thu 3/123:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)Mar
12
Hands-on Agentic AI Session 4 (repeat) - 6 PM US ET
Thu 3/1210:00 PM—12:00 AM (UTC)Mar
11
Optional: Hands-on Agentic AI Office Hours - 11 AM US ET
Wed 3/114:15 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)OptionalMar
11
Optional: Hands-on Agentic AI Office Hours - 6 PM US ET
Wed 3/1110:00 PM—11:00 PM (UTC)OptionalMar
14
Optional: Hand-on Agentic AI Office Hours - Noon US ET
Sat 3/144:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)Optional
Session 3: Agent Skills
Build Agent Skills
Configure Project Workspaces That Compound Your Work
Session 4: Prompt Workflows
Master Prompt and Context Engineering
Design Prompt Workflows
Optional: Office Hours + Personalized 1:1 Coaching
Cohort How-To Videos
Free resource
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How to Build Agentic AI as a Leader
Fundamentals of agentic systems
Gain foundational knowledge of agentic systems and their applications in automating tasks and business processes.
Designing and deploying agentic systems
Learn the process of designing, building, and deploying simple AI agents using no-code and pro-code approaches.
A live demonstration of a multi-agent system
Observe a real-time walkthrough of building and deploying a multi-agent system.
Schedule
Live sessions
4-6 hrs / week
4 hours of live instruction + assignments to apply AI to your use cases
Thu, Mar 26
3:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)
Tue, Mar 3
4:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)
Tue, Mar 3
11:00 PM—1:00 AM (UTC)
Projects
1 hr / week
Assignments are additional practice to complement the live session's hands-on exercises
Async content
1-2 hrs / week
optional for additional study and tech setup
Testimonials
- This journey transformed me from a curious non-programmer into someone who can actually create AI workflows and agentic systems. Huge thank you to James Gray for creating such a supportive learning environment where theory and practical application went hand in hand.
Istvan Borbino, PhD
Healthcare Innovator - I’ve always approached AI with a systems mindset, and taking James Gray's Hands-on AI Leadership course reinforced the importance of structuring AI workflows beyond just intelligence—it’s about reasoning, planning, and executing in a way that scales.
Sarah Payne
AI Strategy & Execution - Just completed James Gray's "Hands-on AI for High-Performance Leaders" course — a transformative experience that elevated my AI expertise through practical applications, possibly the best pound-for-pound learning experience I've had.
James Cameron
Cybersecurity & AI Executive Advisor - A huge thank you to James Gray for his incredible dedication and technical expertise throughout the course. This learning journey has equipped me with the knowledge to leverage AI in innovative ways and strategically lead AI-driven projects. Excited to apply these new skills to create value and drive transformation!
Corina Richter
Transformational Leader - I vibe-coded my first app in Cursor today. The hype train makes it sound like your grandparents could do this. Mine could not. These tools are incredibly powerful and the fact that I could do this at all (with a lot of help from James Gray, my class on Maven, and Claude), is a testament to how far they've come. I am blown away!
Lauren Taylor
Strategic Early-Stage Capital
Frequently asked questions
$1,250
USD
5 days left to enroll