Cover of AI Essentials for Managers 

Broomfield, Colorado, June 17, 2026  - Vibrant Publishers announces the release of AI Essentials for Managers by Michael Kientz, a leadership development specialist with more than 30 years of experience helping individuals and organizations improve performance, lead change, and develop effective leaders. The book is now available on Amazon and at vibrantpublishers.com.

As artificial intelligence continues to transform the workplace, managers are increasingly expected to understand how AI can improve productivity, support decision-making, and drive organizational success. Yet many leaders remain uncertain about where to begin. AI Essentials for Managers provides a practical roadmap for navigating this new reality. 

The book is designed specifically for non-technical professionals who want to understand and apply AI without getting lost in technical jargon. Rather than focusing on algorithms, coding, or complex technical theory, it shows readers how AI can help streamline routine tasks, improve communication, strengthen collaboration, and enhance overall team performance.

Drawing on decades of leadership experience across corporate, nonprofit, government, education, and international sectors, Kientz brings a practical perspective to one of today's most important workplace topics. His experience includes leadership roles at Citigroup and Compassion International, as well as facilitating leadership development programs and workshops in more than 24 countries. This unique perspective enables him to bridge the gap between AI's potential and the realities managers face every day.

The book explores a wide range of workplace applications, helping readers identify where AI can create meaningful value while maintaining the human judgment, creativity, and relationship-building skills that remain essential to effective leadership.

Key features of the book include:

• Practical AI applications for productivity, communication, planning, and decision-making
• Strategies for introducing AI responsibly within teams and organizations
• Guidance on ethics, privacy, security, bias, and trust
• A Manager Prompt Library with ready-to-use prompts for common workplace tasks
• An AI Tools Cheat Sheet and AI Task Suitability Checklist
• Downloadable templates, communication resources, and implementation frameworks
• A step-by-step 30-Day AI Action Plan for immediate application

Reflecting on the challenges managers face today, Kientz says, "Most managers don't need to become AI experts—they need to understand how to use AI effectively in their work. This book focuses on practical applications that help managers save time, make better decisions, and support their teams in a rapidly changing workplace." 

To help readers move from understanding to implementation, the book includes hands-on exercises, "Try This Week" activities, and a collection of downloadable online resources. These tools are designed to help managers experiment with AI in low-risk ways, build confidence, and develop sustainable approaches to adoption within their organizations.

Ideal for managers, supervisors, project leaders, HR professionals, department heads, nonprofit executives, and business leaders, AI Essentials for Managers provides a practical roadmap for navigating one of the most significant workplace shifts of our time. 

Part of Vibrant Publishers' Self-Learning Management Series, AI Essentials for Managers equips readers with actionable strategies, implementation tools, and real-world insights for applying AI with confidence.

About the Author
Michael Kientz is a leadership development specialist, consultant, and author with more than 30 years of experience helping leaders navigate change and improve performance. He has worked with organizations including Citi, Compassion International, and Crossroads Kids Club, and has trained leaders across five continents. A dedicated practitioner of AI, Michael uses it extensively in leadership, consulting, and writing, and is passionate about helping managers harness its potential.

About the Self-Learning Management Series
The Self-Learning Management Series is designed to address every aspect of business and help new managers, career switchers, and entrepreneurs learn essential management lessons. Each book contains fundamentals, important concepts, and standard and well-known principles, as well as practical ways of application of the subject matter, in a compact format that is very easy to interpret.

About Vibrant Publishers
Vibrant Publishers is a Colorado-based book publishing house founded in 2001 that focuses on publishing high-quality books for entrepreneurs, IT professionals, management professionals, and graduate students. Vibrant Publishers has redefined the way in which rich content can be made available to today's fast-paced generation. This new generation's need-to-know-now attitude and a highly competitive business environment have triggered this series of books with ‘just the essential information’. Vibrant Publishers is committed to publishing books that are content-rich, concise, and approachable, enabling more people to read and benefit from them.

Title: AI Essentials for Managers
Publisher: Vibrant Publishers
ISBN: Paperback - 9781636517476
E-Book - 9781636517469 
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