The 5 Reasons why your AI Project Isn’t Moving Forward (and what to do about it).

Having led big data, and AI, companies for 15+ years I can tell you, technologists as a group suck at storytelling and business. These are my hard won reasons people say 'no' to trying new technologies and the strategies to get them to say 'yes.'

All learned through building 3 AI and big data companies and 1400+ consulting engagements with pre-revenue startups to banks before that.?

1. You’ve picked something that isn’t a real priority to the business

Technologists get caught up in using something cool. They forget the application of the multi modal LLM for customer service isn’t important to the business, so:

• Review your company’s strategic plan. Go for a walk and ask yourself, “What is the straight line between ‘this’ AI project and our number one priority?”?
• Book a meeting with someone in the C Suite. Even if that’s several levels above you. Ask ‘I know our Strategic Plan says ‘these’ are the priorities. But what is the most important one?” Have them ‘fat finger’ the priority if that’s a delicate topic.?
• Change what you have to about scope, application or results to conform to that priority.?

Senior Leaders are usually very open to trying something that will make publicly stated goals easier to achieve. However, they don’t want to expend lots of time, money and reputation to do it. In things technical you have to draw a straight line from your project to the most important priority. So do that and it’ll get you the ‘yes.’

2. You're talking in specifications, not stories

C Suiters usually got there because they have a wide view. They hire subject matter experts, like you, to help them make great decisions. You lose them if you drown them in detail. Ensure you’ve created an easy-to-understand narrative for your project.???

• Structure the AI project presentations you’re giving with: a hook (google “Summary of the Ultimate Sales Letter” if you want to improve), the block (what is happening that the AI can solve), the dream state (where solving the block with AI gets the people you’re talking to), and the absolute next step forward on the journey.?
• Have each slide convey one idea only. Nothing smaller than 25 point font. Keep it moving, keep it breezy, keep it easy.
• Checkout The Pyramid Principle by Barabara Minto if you really want to get good at this.

People want to know how your project will help them get what they want. The best way to do that is to tell them a simple story a 12 year old could understand. They’ll ask questions when curious.

3. You’re asking the company to drastically change the way it markets, transacts or delivers its product or service.?

Companies are just collections of processes repeated that provide a product, service or experience to a customer. People attach a lot of psychological weight to those processes. That’s what they’re ‘in charge’ of. Sure AI may be able to make marketing a product 98% more efficient and shoot revenue up 489% by your calculations. It also makes the VP, Marketing look horrible at their job. So who do you think is going to resist trying out AI agents that help setup UTM parameters and create copy for ads??

Enter the ‘90 Day AI Wins.’?

• Small, tangible, undeniable uses of AI that take only 90 days to install, train and see a result with.?
• Look for bottlenecks in processes - usually what is ‘boring and tedious’ for frontline employees and middle managers - that widen with AI use.?
• Once going, gather quotes from employees using the new application about what positive impacts it’s having. People having fun at work, seeing their kids more. Shout these successes from the rooftops in company-wide emails and meetings with the C Suite.?

Shed the mis-appropriate belief that ‘the work will speak for itself.’ For progress to happen you have to share the tangible success continuously, no matter how small. This gives you permission to do the bigger, bolder things later.?

4. You have agreement, not alignment?

• People nod to what they agree with, they act on what they’re aligned on.?
• I learned this from leadership expert Bix Bickson, who aided the turnaround of Starbucks in the mid-00’s by getting the C Suite to actually align with each other.??
• You get alignment by getting everyone involved in a decision in a room. Then say “There’s background conversations and foreground conversations. The foreground is me coming in here and talking about all this cool AI stuff and you guys nodding your heads. The background conversation is all the fears, the worries, questions you think about, or talk about, when I leave. We’re only talking ‘background conversation’ today, so you all have the floor.”?

Out will pour everything stopping you from moving forward. People now feel seen and heard. Now you have awareness of what to change, or position differently, in your scope and plan so people are aligned. Then you get a 'yes' and can take action together.???

5. Understand People Ultimately Fear Two Things: Failure and Death. And those feel the same.

In February 2024 I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. I went from training for a marathon to being told to “prepare to not see the end of the month.”?

I let go, accepted my fate and miracles happened.?

The experience taught me that most very ‘successful’ people can live entire lives just trying not to look bad (aka fearing failure) and fearing death. The ego tricks us leaders into associating titles, salary, controlling pieces of an organization with being safe.?

So asking a ‘successful’ business leader to try something new that may mess up hard won pieces of their identity literally feels like death. They will do everything possible to avoid the change. Usually, finding something minor? - “I don’t want to expend the political capital right now” or “This part specification doesn’t work for me” - so they can say ‘no.’ They might not even be aware that their subconscious fear of death is controlling them, but that is the root of it.?

How’s the AI technologist combat this??

• Take Decision Makers out for coffee or lunch. Ask about goals, dreams and incentives the company has given them to improve ‘x’ in their purview.?
• Make things an easy ‘yes.’ Back to 90 Day AI Wins. Make things small, non-threatening and low risk for them to try out. Even if that means breaking up your dream project into small pieces.
• Draw a clear line from a ‘yes’ to the first project to it being more likely the leader will receive their bonus, their promotion, their goal.??

You’re positioning the AI project as getting that Decision Maker closer to those goals, dreams and bonuses without much risk. That’s what gets the go-ahead.

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