Acting Intelligence™
The Human Advantage in an AI World
As Artificial Intelligence accelerates organisational capability, Leadership Performance becomes the true differentiator.
Acting Intelligence helps CEOs & Senior Teams align behaviour, strengthen presence, and turn strategic decisions into decisive action.
"Leaders set the emotional weather of the room. Controlled presence determines what happens next."
Trusted by Leaders from organisations including:
JP Morgan • Barclays • PwC • HSBC • Equinix
Constructive Challenge Matters
High-performing Teams do not eliminate tension.
They surface it.
Acting Intelligence helps Leaders create the conditions where:
- challenge is welcomed
- dissent is expressed constructively
- ideas are tested rigorously
- alignment emerges through clarity rather than hierarchy
The goal is not harmony.
The goal is better decisions.
The Current Reality Inside Many Leadership Teams
Everyone is talking about Artifical Intelligence - no meeting feels complete without someone bringing it up!
The strategy isn't clear.
Even though the people around the table are capable.
The Organisation is investing heavily in Technology and Artificial Intelligence, but are you making the right choices?
The challenge is keeping it human and keeping it connected.
You may recognise the symptoms:
• Meetings generate discussion but not decisive movement
• Expectations are repeated because alignment is assumed
• Political undercurrents influence decisions but remain unspoken
• Leadership Teams operate below their real potential
• Strategic clarity does not always translate into aligned action
• And execution still slows...
This is rarely a strategy problem.
It is a Leadership Performance problem.
Team Work to make the Dream Work:
Chris Grimes working with 130 Business Leaders in San Francisco
Artificial Intelligence vs Acting Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence processes information.
AI helps organisations analyse faster, automate more and operate efficiently.
But it cannot:
• Read silent resistance in a Boardroom
• Set the emotional tone of a strategic discussion
• Create psychological safety and permission to challenge
• Align behaviour across Senior Teams
• Ensure decisive execution
As AI accelerates operational intelligence…
Acting Intelligence aligns human performance.
The competitive advantage becomes how Leadership Teams perform together.
Acting Intelligence enables constructive challenge and alignment without groupthink.
That is Acting Intelligence. The Human Advantage in an AI World.
Artificial Intelligence
- Optimises systems
- Scales efficiency
- Predicts outcomes
Acting Intelligence
Optimises behaviour
Scales performance
Secures decisive action
Chris Grimes: I Am Spartacus! Human, warm & connecting. No AI used in the production of this event or image :-)
The Method
Using the transferrable skills of Performance and Stagecraft and applying them to Leadership and Boardroom Presence. Helping Business Leaders 'Read the room and Lead the room'.
6 Performance Disciplines, each actionable and outcome-focused:
1. The Entrance
Leaders set the emotional weather of the room. Controlled presence determines what happens next.
2. The Read
Understand what is said, unsaid, and politically significant.
3. The Objective
Clarify the outcome of every strategic interaction.
4. The Delivery Arc
Structure communication for clarity and momentum.
5. The Ensemble
Build a Team culture of challenge, alignment and accountability.
6. The Pivot
How to respond quickly and perform under pressure.
The Transformation
Clear, measurable shifts in behaviour and velocity.
How to convert latent capability into reliable performance.
How to 'make the boat go faster'.
"Why I work with Chris is that he transforms people. He turns people who can't communicate into people that can."
Tamar Hughes, Head of Learning & Development, Phoenix Group
Before
- Smart but misaligned
- Strategic but slow
- Operating at 70%
- Decisions left unexecuted
After
Aligned
Cohesive
Decisive
Operating at performance level
Why Chris Grimes
Performance Engineering.
Chris Grimes is not a traditional Leadership Consultant.
He is a professional Actor, Broadcaster & Comedy Improvisation Performer by training and background: mastering performance under scrutiny.
As a Facilitator and Executive Coach he has 30+ years of multi-organisational experience, helping Senior Leaders and their Teams in some of the world's largest organisations to enhance communication skills.
Actors are trained to:
• Read a room instantly
• Hold audience attention under pressure
• Communicate with authority
• Adjust and adapt behaviour in real time
• Work collaboratively utilising the power of ensemble
Chris translates these same disciplines into the Boardroom, specialising in Personal Impact and Presence, through the power of Storytelling.
Because Leadership, in many ways, is Performance.
Not Theatre.
But performance that shapes outcomes.
Professional Actor: presence, timing, truthful performance
Broadcaster: clarity under pressure and audience control
Facilitator: structured group calibration
Executive Coach: measurable behavioural change
Who This Is For / Not For
This work is selective and for organisations that will commit to behavioural standards.
For:
CEOs and committed SLTs
Organisations investing in Leadership Development
Teams prepared to accept behavioural standards
Leaders who need reliable, repeatable performance
Not for:
Casual interest without follow-through
Small Teams not seeking systemic change
Motivational sessions without measurable calibration
"Wow! Chris was, hands down, the most energetic, effective, and inspiring Speaker that we have ever hired. In our post event survey, he scored a perfect 10 out of 10. Every single Presenter who went on stage after him until the end of the event on Friday afternoon referenced Chris and/or one of his lessons. I really can't say enough wonderful things about our experience with Chris. He was definitely the highlight of the entire event!"
Charles Reinhardt McGarvey, Equinix
'Presence is more than just being there.'
How It Works
How Engagement Typically Works:
Executive Conversation
A confidential discussion to understand your context and current Leadership challenges.Leadership Calibration Session
An interactive Workshop or Keynote introducing Acting Intelligence.Senior Team Alignment
Focused work with your Leadership Team to strengthen cohesion and behavioural clarity.Sustained Performance Development
Optional follow-on 1:1 Coaching or Leadership Development programmes.
Delivery Formats
Tailored formats for different organisational needs and stages of alignment.
Executive intensives — concentrated, measurable recalibration - 1:1 Coaching or Workshop groups (up to 12) - Leadership Retreats
SLT alignment Workshops — shared standards and rehearsal - typically cohorts of 6-12
Communication calibration — language, cadence, and framing - larger group seminar or interactive talks
Ongoing Executive Coaching — embed and sustain behavioural change - with the option of Coaching 'Paths' for specific individuals
Raise the Bar on Leadership Performance
If your organisation is investing heavily in strategy, technology and AI…
it makes sense to invest equally in how Leaders perform together.
Acting Intelligence helps Senior Teams:
• align faster
• decide more clearly
• execute with confidence