AI is everywhere in learning right now. New tools are launching weekly, demos are impressive, production speeds are faster than ever, and new vendors are creating mass confusion as we are
inundated with unsolicited emails about the latest and greatest tools.  For many Learning & Development (L&D) teams, the core question has not changed: how does any of this actually improve learning, performance, and business results?

That question is what led us to develop our AI in Learning Framework™. The framework is a practical way to think about how AI supports learning end-to-end, not as a set of disconnected tools, but as a system that improves capability, decision-making, and performance.

What we are seeing today is a pattern that should feel familiar, as many L&D professionals lived through CBT, WBT, Cloud-based learning, and the COVID-induced virtual learning phenomena. As before, organizations are adopting AI in pockets. Content generation in one area, a chatbot in another, a dashboard somewhere else. Each initiative shows value on its own, but together they rarely add up to a cohesive whole. The result is more output and faster production, but not necessarily better decision-making or stronger performance.

This is where it becomes important to distinguish between efficiency and productivity.

Smarweys, one of the fictional companies Advantexe uses in our simulation-based learning experiences, reported adjusted EBITDA of $28.8 million in Q4 2025 (12.9% margin) and full-year adjusted EBITDA of $145.7 million with a margin of 16.1%.

On the surface, that reads like a standard earnings update. But we use examples like this intentionally in our “walk a mile in your customer’s shoes” business acumen sales training for a reason.

Do your sales teams actually understand what that means?

Because if they don’t, they are missing how their customers really think about decisions.

What EBITDA Actually Tells You

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) is a measure of operating performance. It reflects how efficiently a company converts revenue operations. What’s even better is that it is a controllable metric and one that leaders can be held accountable for.

Why business professionals who thrive with AI will be the ones who accelerate the value they bring to the business.

Over the past year, nearly every conversation about artificial intelligence has focused on increasing efficiency. Companies are using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini to write emails, summarize documents, analyze data, generate ideas, create reports, develop PowerPoints, and automate tasks that once took hours. And the results are impressive. But efficiency is not the real story of AI. Value is. AI can make people faster. But speed is not the real story. The real story is value creation.

Efficiency vs. Productivity

During a recent discussion I had with a group of learning leaders, the conversation quickly shifted to anxiety about job security. “Is AI going to replace us?” My response was simple. AI will help you do more. But doing more efficiently and creating more value are not the same thing.

Efficiency means completing the same work in less time.

Productivity means creating more meaningful, high-quality breakthrough outcomes with the time you have.

AI is extraordinary at improving efficiency:

• Drafting first versions of documents
• Summarizing research
• Creating outlines
• Generating ideas
• Automating repetitive tasks

But productivity still requires judgment, experience, and expertise. And that’s where your value comes in.

Five Business Acumen Tips That Separate Order-Takers from Trusted Advisors

Senior executives do not need another product pitch. And quite frankly, they don’t care about your product pitch. They need clear business solutions. When you’re sitting across the table from a CEO, CFO, BU President, or Chief Commercial Officer, the evaluation criteria shifts toward real business solutions that have measurable short-term and long-term impacts.
They are not asking:

• “Does this have good features?”
• “Is the team responsive?”
• “Can you send a proposal?”

They are asking:

• “How does this drive sustainable revenue?”
• “Does this improve margin or manage costs through efficiency and productivity?”
• “Does this reduce enterprise risk?”
• “Does this align with our strategy and capital priorities?”

If you want to impress a senior-level buyer, business acumen is not optional. It is the price of entry to the opportunity. Business acumen in sales is what separates order-takers from trusted advisors when selling to senior executives. 

Based on our research and years of experience designing, developing, and delivering award-winning business acumen skill-building solutions, we are pleased to share five specific ways to demonstrate it with examples.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina are experiencing a massive viewership rebound, with NBC reporting a 93% increase in U.S. audience over 2022, averaging 26.5 million viewers in the first five days. Driven by favorable time zones and heavy streaming on Peacock, it is the most-watched Winter Games in decades.

Most of the coverage focuses on the medal rounds and who ends up on the podium. That’s the part we tend to see, the medals… gold, silver, bronze.

What we don’t see nearly as much of is the effort and investment that gets them there.

Every so often, the broadcast steps back to share an athlete’s backstory, including years of training, coaching, and behind-the-scenes practice. One story that stood out was about ski jumpers. To train safely, they repeatedly jump into a pool of water, working on form, timing, and control. It’s not glamorous. It’s hard and repetitive work, and it’s not something most people ever notice, but it’s a critical part of how they improve.

That’s what training really looks like.