How to Win with AI

I assume we've all seen multiple posts now about companies treating AI as a direct replacement for headcount.

According to McKinsey:

🚀 78% of organisations reported using AI for at least one business function

🚀Adoption of gen AI alone, skyrocketed from 33% to over 70% in a single year

𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞

Reality, unfortunately, does bite. 

👉 Only 26% of companies have the capabilities needed to move beyond proofs of concept and generate tangible value (BCG)

👉 74% of organisations are still struggling to achieve and scale tangible value from their AI initiatives (BCG)

Many AI projects never progress past a pilot or proof of concept. The supposed cost savings or productivity leaps just don't materialise.

👉 Estimates for AI project failure rates are consistently high, ranged from 70% to 85% (Rheodata)

👉 Gartner reported in late 2024 that only about 30% of AI projects move past the pilot stage into full automation 

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

At least not yet! For now, AI amplifies human capability. Companies investing in human-AI collaboration, better prompting, and team education are the ones reaping the rewards.

👉 PWC report that industries exposed to AI saw 3x higher growth in revenue per employee (27%) compared to those least exposed (9%).

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈

Replacing humans isn't the answer. Making people more capable, creative and productive with the use of AI is.

💡 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 - AI projects aren't going to work without first understanding your data and infrastructure capabilities, and limitations

💡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 - AI projects don't just 'go live', they need ongoing monitoring, fine tuning and updates

💡 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - Wins come from targeted use, not sweeping automation

💡 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 - People need to understand how to use AI, prompt engineering and team up-skilling is critical to success

💡 𝐀𝐢𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - Think of AI not as a substitute for teams, but a multiplier, helping people do more, faster

💡 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 - The biggest gains come incrementally, not overnight. Make sure you learn from every AI pilot or project and apply those learnings to the next one.