Hidden Roadblock to AI Success

No doubt, every single company is jumping into the AI wagon and starting to implement it in various business disciplines; however, little do they know that AI might not be the best solution for them at this point, although AI carries enormous benefits for every business should it be applied ?correctly. I have correctly in BOLD because this is the key to benefiting from the considerable potential an AI solution will give any business, whether small or a Fortune 500 company.

Implementing those multi-million dollar solutions will require significant resources, workforce, infrastructure, and energy; it's the same as building a large tower. You can have a state-of-the-art design, style, entrances, and exits, but if your foundation is not correct, you end up with two options: either the tower will not last for long, or the building will collapse, and you will need to start again from the rubble. This is where you will stand and scratch your head, thinking, what went wrong?

??AI is undoubtedly bringing tremendous value to companies, transforming how they function and even opening new doors that we didn't think were possible.

According to PWC, back in 2023, 54% of companies have implemented some generative AI solutions in some functions of the businesses. However, the same report found that 84% of executives said achieving a measurable outcome and value from all this newly implemented technology was challenging. Why? , because they realized they had to spend a lot of resources and time correcting processes and policies, which were only revealed when the new technology was added as a top layer on ongoing processes for decades. Applying an AI layer over something outdated didn't make their life easier. It added complexities and roadblocks that made doing business harder.

When it comes to applying new technology in all disciplines of businesses, be it marketing, management, HR, manufacturing, and the list goes on. Until companies start by reviewing the processes that resulted from decades of small increments of improvements and reverse engineering all those processes to take full potential of the new systems and technology, AI will do nothing except make the day-to-day work harder and more complex.

??Managing marketing campaigns, reporting, and measuring ROIs: Although all efforts were intended before to consistently generate the most accurate reports to address the business core function needs, looking beneath those reports reveals a huge web of process complexities. Without addressing those complexities, AI can't come and be applied like a life potion, and suddenly, your life will be a breeze.

That's why there are key steps before implementing all those amazing solutions we have now with generative AI that will draw the line between a nice breeze and a storm that the most significant ship will struggle to pass through.

-Map your workflow

Identify and classify your department or company workflow based on the value given per flow, and assess whether we still need this flow to achieve a specific outcome. Is it delivering the value we want, or should we get rid of the whole thing altogether? You will be amazed at how many steps might need to be completely dropped simply because they are either repetitive of similar steps in different forms or redundant.

-Identify your best talents and resources to execute the perfect process

Look at your workforce and reevaluate who is best at driving each process and whether you benefit from their talent in the right place.

-Create your Digital Factory

I quote this from HBR: at this age, each company has an imaginary digital factory that runs all processes underneath all those offices. Create your digital factory and reimagine all your workflows wearing digital glasses, seeing how it should be done to benefit the most from what technology has to offer. Then, once you have your digital factory, stitch it with what you have in reality and identify the gaps.

-Equip your employees with the skills and knowledge

We always run and install the latest updates on all our smart devices. Why? We want to ensure that we have all the patch files and the latest operating system to keep our phones functioning. The same applies to your workforce. You need to ensure that they are updated with the newest skill set to drive the great force of AI, which requires an investment of resources, time, and energy.

-Create a clear road map that involves implementation and learning to drive change

Implementing a system will take significant effort, and teaching this system to your workforce will be even more significant. Without a perfectly synced implementation and application plan, the AI transformation journey will be a rough ride. You should manage this transformation closely to ensure the whole organization moves steadily in the right direction, like a big machine. If you push too fast, things will start breaking, and if you push too slowly, you will fall behind.

There is no magic recipe for the AI wave adaptation, but with proper planning before you jump into this system or that, you will save yourself hundreds of hours and hundreds of millions of dollars. Fixing a broken car and knowing which part is the root cause of the problem is much harder than building a perfectly functioning car in the first place.

Until next time!

#AI #generativeAI #digital #digitaltransformation #marketing #tech

Omar Kuwatly