AI is growing fast. A recent McKinsey Study shows that adoption spiked in 2024 with a 50% increase in businesses using AI in at least one function. And adoption is accelerating:
- 98% currently use AI-enabled tools in some capacity.
- 40% specifically use generative AI applications like chatbots and image creation tools—double the number from the previous year.
- 79% regularly use or experiment with AI.
- 83% that have implemented AI report tangible benefits, such as improved efficiency and operational effectiveness.
Yet, most businesses are not fully taking full advantage of the possible benefits. According to Chris Tamm, a recent Vistage speaker on AI for our mountain group and CEO at Cast Services, AI can provide 2x to 100x efficiency in specific tasks and can position you for accelerated differentiation from competitors. Now is the time to take bold action.
AI success, like much business success, starts by fostering a culture of continuous learning and experimentation. Get key players involved and knowledgeable about AI. Make it business-driven. Start by acknowledging, “AI is not an IT project… It’s a business project.”
Here’s a list of actions to start today to drive AI adoption:
- Invest 15 minutes/week actively working with a new AI tool: Gain hands-on experience with AI to understand its capabilities and limitations. Allow yourself and your team to stay updated and involved with AI. Some places to start include:
Try ChatGPT to plan a trip (bonus: use the Expedia plug-in)
Upload a resume or Excel sheet to Gemini and ask questions
Try Gamma.app to create a PowerPoint presentation
- Teach team members the basics of AI: Training is crucial for ensuring safe, responsible, and effective AI use. Training programs should cover technical skills, privacy and legal compliance, ethical considerations, and best practices with case studies.
- Review the AI Policy Primer document with leadership: This helps inform all about AI’s implications to guide conversations around policy. It offers an overview and deeper dive into the nuances of AI and automation.
- Update company policies: Revise customer and vendor agreements and employee policies to address AI-related issues such as: what public AI tools can be used and how, ethical considerations, data privacy compliance and protection protocols, AI literacy and training, transparency and accountability mechanisms, intellectual property management, security protocols for AI systems, cyber-insurance, and continuous policy review and adaptation.
- Create a ‘passphrase’: In an age where AI can generate convincing fake content, it’s important to establish a security protocol within your family and business to verify the authenticity of communications or content that can be used for nefarious purposes. Consider something like, “Does this impact ‘global expansion?'” with a response that must mention a specific non-obvious country like ‘Naru’.
- Discuss initial project selection with your organization: Involve cross-functional stakeholders to identify suitable AI automation projects that align with organizational goals.
- Pick 1-3 small projects to scope and move forward: Starting with small, manageable projects allows teams to understand new applications of AI tools and frees them up to do more critical work.
For the last two bullets, Chris Tamm offers a non-traditional assessment approach. He suggests businesses start by exploring the hopes and fears that stakeholders have around AI automation. Are they excited about not having to do menial tasks? Do they worry they will lose people? What are concerns about the impact on customers? Discuss mitigation methods like:
Human-in-the-Middle (HIM) indicates a system where human oversight and control are present in an AI-driven process, especially in critical decision-making steps.
Human-Enhanced-Response (HER) refers to AI improving or augmenting the human response with suggestions or alternatives.
With these as guidelines for moving forward, ideate about where AI could fulfill the hopes and deliver value. For each function, analyze current processes to find areas for AI and automation. Focus on identifying specific use cases that can provide tangible benefits.
Tamm says, “Most great use cases are not packaged solutions.” Think beyond the capabilities of tools to understand how AI can improve your specific business practices. Encourage operational employees to think creatively about the “WHAT” (strategic goals) without worrying initially about the “HOW” (technical implementation.) Examples include:
- Document review, summarization, and data extraction
- Support chatbots
- Sales call grading and data extraction
- Automating integration between systems
- Research and long-form content writing
- Email handling and follow-up
For each idea, discuss openly the associated business and people risks. Prioritize those that are most promising. Then scope the top 1-3 projects. Get appropriate technical help to estimate feasibility, cost, and return.
Then, get started. Early adopters gain a significant edge in efficiency, innovation, and market responsiveness.
Benefits Include:
Increased Efficiency: Automate repetitive tasks to free up people for more strategic activities. Time not spent on administrative tasks can allow focus on more value-added activities like connecting with customers.
Cost Savings: Reduce operational costs through streamlined processes and optimized resource allocation. One real estate team saved $8k/month versus a $1.5k/month cost.
Improved Accuracy: AI can reduce errors and improve the quality of output. Radiologists using AI correctly diagnosed 92% of the time, compared to 77.5% by physicians alone.
Better Decision-Making: AI enhances decision-making through data-driven insights and predictive analytics.
Enhanced Scalability: AI facilitates scalable solutions, allowing your business to grow without being limited by human resource constraints.
Competitive Edge: Leverage AI for innovation and improved customer experiences to stay ahead of your competition.
By taking initial steps now, you can responsibly integrate AI automation into your business, driving growth, efficiency, and a more innovative future. How will you begin to capture the benefits of AI automation?
Jon Strickler, Vistage Chair & Executive Team Coach
Adventure humbly. Live boldly.
Find me at: 720 323 0793, jon.strickler@VistageChair.com, Twitter: @HorizonLineGp, LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jonst, Website: HorizonLineGroup.com
Horizon Line Group 