The “AI in Business” class (photo courtesy of Randal Kenworthy)
What is it actually like to study AI as an MBA student? At the Carroll School of Management, the focus is on business realities: how AI fundamentally reshapes business leadership, organizational culture, and long-term strategy.
This past semester, Randal Kenworthy ’91, leader of West Monroe's Consumer and Industrial Products practice, taught a new MBA course, “AI in Business: A Strategic Perspective.” Below is an excerpt from his recent LinkedIn post, sharing how BC MBA students are tackling real-world AI applications, along with his parting advice to the class.
To the 34 students who showed up every week ready to wrestle with something genuinely hard: thank you. You made this course worth teaching.
Four things I hope you carry with you:
1. “Gradually, then suddenly.” Hemingway wrote it about bankruptcy. It applies equally to every major technology shift—including this one. We are at the inflection point. The “gradually” phase is behind us. Act accordingly.
2. You don’t have an AI problem. You have a people problem. Every organization struggling with AI adoption is struggling with culture, change management, and leadership—not the technology. The tools are ready. The question is whether your organization is.
3. First principles over analogical reasoning. “We tried something like this before” is not an argument. Ask instead: “What would have to be true for this to work?” That question will serve you for the rest of your career.
4. Be a creator, not a consumer. The students who thrive in the AI era will not be those who simply consume AI tools—they will be those who build with them, shape them, and create value through them. Every one of you has the skills to be a creator. The question is whether you choose to be.
In class 3, we talked about the announcement of OpenClaw—a new platform for building personal AI agents. A glimpse of where things were heading.
By class 13—the last session— Homer, my AI teaching assistant, sent the class a voice message to close out the semester.
Ten weeks. From announcement to a named agent with a personality, a memory, and a voice saying goodbye to 34 Boston College MBA students. That’s not a case study. That’s the course becoming the proof point.
Congratulations, Class of Spring 2026. Go build something.