You’re using AI wrong.
I am not totally against AI, I’m not completely sold on it to do everything either. All I am saying is that humans are still required to make the most out of AI. It is not a data analyst, it’s not a strategic thinker. It is an efficiency tool, it is a ground breaker when it comes to quickly building parts of tools. It can save time on the administrative tasks, it can allow the critical thinking skills to shine because now there is more time for them.
However, if I have to hear one more ground breaking AI feature in the next three weeks I might truly flip this table, there hasn’t been a need to flip a table since we played Risk at my Grandma Ruth’s in 2004. I am sure it will feel less bombarding soon, and maybe it will just start to feel like a different kind of norm. Like when we were first opposed to cell phones, and voice activated home devices, now look at us.
At this point, it’s every day we’re hearing something new about AI and the solutions that vendors can transform your business overnight. Choose us, they say, and watch the magic happen. It can feel pretty overwhelming and tiring. Organizations are rushing to adopt AI and new technologies from the fear of falling behind or because their board and executives are pressuring them to innovate. The focus has shifted to almost entirely what the technology can do, and not who will use it, how it fits into your workflow, and whether it actually solves the right problems.
Technology, even the most advanced AI, is not going to be worth much without thoughtful strategy, intentional planning, and genuine human insight. Without this foundation, even the best tools become expensive distractions. I’ve been helping clients implement new analytics platforms, cloud technology, data infrastructures, and professional services teams for over 15 years and there’s consistently organizations that want to jump to the next thing without the proper assessment, planning, and change management to ensure their investment will be worth it.
This article will walk through some considerations to include in your process if you are pivoting towards using AI or determining whether to work with a new vendor or deciding to adopt new technology. The world is evolving and there are advancements occurring, but not all solutions and products fit your needs. It’s about making sure the right ones become visible to you and are implemented with intention.
Technology-First Trap (see what I did there?)
Organizations and teams rush into technology because of competitive pressure, fear of being left behind, pressure from executives or stakeholders, vendor marketing that makes adoption look simple, or because there is a genuine belief that technology alone solves the problem. If that last bit were true, I wouldn’t have spent the last 15 years in digital strategy consulting services for analytics, cloud and martech solutions to ensure implementations ran smoothly and were adopted into the teams properly.
There are some solutions that are simple to implement, there are some solutions that should be adopted, and there are some solutions that will make your lives easier and more profitable. However, when you or your leaders are only looking at that next solution with technology-first approaches here is what will likely happen in my experience and relates to a helpful article by Prosci about Digital Transformation Challenges:
Slow Adoption
Ask me how I know. I’ve been there. I knew a product didn’t make sense, but my efforts to convince my executive team were not as powerful as their wants to stay relevant. I’ve learned a lot from that time 10 years ago, and understand people need to feel this is truly solving a problem for them. They need to witness the solution from their managers using it day-to-day in order to see the power it truly has. They need people they trust that swear by it, and that adoption happens with intention and demos, and real people actually using the solution.
Misaligned Solutions
So many times I would work with the clients that wanted a Ferrari data solution, but their team was barely understanding how to create a basic dashboard or didn’t even have a strong basic foundational data set to glean informative actions from. This is an example of misalignment with wants and reality. There is always an option to get to that pie in the sky solution, I’ve helped get clients there and the reality is it often will take other steps before you can get there. Success means taking the intentional steps to get to your end goal in a way that will ensure a proper foundation for growth and scale to come. Don’t solve the wrong problem, make sure you are chatting with someone that is providing a solution for you, not just a product.
Team Burnout and Resistance
By now, beside the term AI, another top word of 2025 is likely burnout. More on that in another future article. There is a lot of fatigue around the next big thing. We don’t want to know about the next big thing unless it’s in alignment with a challenge we’re facing and it’s a proven solution. Teams don’t have enough time to adopt the last thing before there’s already some other evolution. When teams are having to constantly pivot and learn something new it will not only get exhausting, but it also starts to erode the trust of leadership.
I am not saying that change shouldn’t happen just because it’s hard to adopt and can cause fatigue. Change is necessary, and a part of successful growing companies. The difference in successful vs unsuccessful change is in the planning process of assessing why, how, and when this change should occur. That plan needs to include an onboarding process that helps with adoption.
Teams need to understand why the change is occurring, and how it benefits them. It can’t just be a disingenuous reason, people see through that and if you want people to champion behind you to increase your business they have to feel invested and believe in the change.
Wasted Investment Dollars
When the technology is only thought of, an organization is now faced with wasted time and money on licenses, implementation and training because there was no adoption, and the solutions weren’t assessed enough. Understanding if a technology solution is the right approach for you doesn’t need to be a laborious process, but it does need to take the above consequences as a way to avoid wasted time and money.
If you’re curious about questions to ask yourself and your organization before you implement a new technology, stay tuned to the next article.
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