Reciprocal Pilot Circles

Purpose Double your pilot wins by pairing two managers to copy-coach each other’s AI tasks.
Intervention type Behaviour-led peer mentoring & rapid experimentation
Audience Leaders and managers setting AI strategy, running roll-outs, and owning adoption KPIs
Time 90-min kick-off · 2 × 30-min check-ins · 60-min retro ≈ 4 h spread across 7 days

Expected outcomes

• Users: Complete the pilot task on their own.

• Teams: Two ready-to-use prompts, clear guardrails, and a shared KPI everyone can explain.

• Business: Pilot runs twice as fast, with time, cost, or quality gains measured in 7 days.

• Organisation: Two “Buddy Brief” slides shared with execs, showing internal proof, not vendor hype.

Run this when…

• At least one team already has a small AI win (time saved, errors cut, etc.).

• Two managers are willing to swap ideas and block 4 hours over a week.

• You want low-cost, peer-based learning without extra consultants.

What to bring to the session

• Buddy Brief Slide (one-page report template).

• Prompt Mirror Sheet (below)

• KPI Picker Sheet (below)

Steps

1 | Pair & Prep  (organiser, 30 min)

Step 1: Pair the teams
Pick two managers with:

• Similar metric (e.g. response time)

• Different context (e.g. Sales vs Support)

Send calendar holds for Kick-off (Day 1) · Pulse (Day 4) · Retro (Day 7).

2 | Kick-off  (Day 1, 90 min)

Step 2: Swap Briefs (20 min)
Each manager shares: task, baseline metric, prompt or settings, guard-rails.
Capture both in the Buddy Brief draft.

Step 3: Prompt Mirror (30 min)
Managers trade prompts and rewrite them using the Prompt Mirror Sheet (below).
Review cues:

1. Too long / multi-purpose?

2. Missing context or examples?

3. Would a new joiner understand it?
   
   

Step 4: Pick a shared KPI (10 min)
Use the KPI Picker Sheet. Log the metric in the shared tracker.

Step 5: Plan pilot window (10 min)
Block a 15-min daily slot (same time) for the task run. Add tracker links.

Checkpoint 1. Both prompts cleaned + KPI logged before leaving kick-off.

3 | Run & Support  (Days 2-3)

Step 6: Daily Pilot & Log (15 min per day)
Each team: run the task once, log results in a tracker.

Step 7: Buddy Hot-line
When stuck, DM your buddy first. Time-box help requests to 10 min.

4 | Mid-Point Pulse  (Day 4, 30 min)

Step 8: Share quick numbers

• Time saved so far

• Quality or error count

• Planned tweak
  

Update shared KPI tracker.

Checkpoint 2. Each team shows ≥5 % improvement or has a clear tweak.

5 | Run v2 & Capture  (Days 5-6)

Step 9: Apply tweak, log again
Repeat daily run with improvements. Aim for green numbers in tracker.

6 | Joint Retro & Broadcast  (Day 7, 60 min)

Step 10: Compare final metrics (15 min)
Plot baseline vs AI in the tracker. Mark green / amber / red.

Step 11: Capture wins (15 min)
“What change made the biggest jump?”
“Which guard-rail mattered most?”
Add to Buddy Brief.

Step 12: Decide next step (10 min)
Scale · Iterate · Park. Note decision on slide.

Step 13: Publish Buddy Briefs (5 min)
Post slides in exec Slack with subject “Peer Pilot Wins, Week X”. Tag sponsor.

Checkpoint 3. Sponsor reacts + or asks a follow-up giving proof it landed.

Other tips

• No baseline? Run the task once without AI on Day 1.

• Metric fog? Pick time to complete, everyone can measure a stopwatch.

• Feedback feels awkward? Use the card: “I’d keep … / I’d shorten … / I’d test …”.

• Momentum sagging? Post a screenshot of the green cells in the tracker; public visibility nudges action.

Resources

Buddy Brief Template

Prompt Mirror Sheet

Example KPIs

Other methods within the enable block