The tree stretched out its magnificent branches, ready to soak up the rays of the morning sun. As it did so, it caught a peek of the stats I’d highlighted in the article I was reading while sitting in its shade.
What?! It thought to itself. How can any organization justify this? These humans must be daft!
I heard its thoughts and couldn’t help but agree.
I read the stats again, aghast at the underlying implications. I scratched my head, wondering: How can any C-suite executive or board member sit by and condone this? Or has the fever turned the boardroom into a lunatic asylum?
This is the kind of lunacy one sees when a company is either on track to lose its way or has already lost it.
Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if that were indeed the case. People do go mad in a gold rush, as history teaches us. And the current mass scramble sweeping the world is as frenetic as the madness chronicled in the California Gold Rush.
Back then, some prospectors found their gold. But for many, it was just a bubble of hype.
“The lunacy of a gold rush can hide a bubble of hype”
In almost the same way, we saw history repeat itself in another bubble: the dot-com boom.
At the time, I worked for a company that cast its lot with the dot-com frenzy. But it learned that prospecting in a frenzy can be like travelling the road to El Dorado.
The gold never materialized. And the company, once a bellwether of the FTSE 100, found itself floundering like a lost traveller in the wilderness.
It isn’t just the lure of gold and other shiny things that brings out the lunacy in organizations. But the buzz that accompanies such potential bonanzas certainly helps.
These days, the world is abuzz with talk of artificial intelligence (AI). Even cats and dogs are aware of the latest tech in town and are caught up in the excitement too.
The cats are raving about learning to use AI to catch mice better.
And the dogs, … well, they haven’t quite worked out how the technology will benefit them.
Perhaps they’ll use it to chase the cats faster, or to fetch balls and frisbees with more flair. For now, though, just partaking in the thrill will do. After all, everyone else is excited about the technology.
“Even cats and dogs are aware of the latest tech in town”
So the dogs are now acting like AI enthusiasts, evangelists and experts, lest they be viewed by others as ignorant laggards.
Their participation in the AI scramble may end up yielding outcomes like the stats in the Reuters article that the tree had seen.
According to the article, billions of dollars continue to be ploughed into AI investments. Yet “doubt appears to be creeping in about when and by how much—or even, if—AI projects will begin to pay off.”
Is the wave of AI projects a fad, a trend, a shift, or a ballooning bubble?
Time will tell, I guess.
But memories of the dot-com fiasco probably play a part in the emergent scepticism about the technology, possibly aided by the stark realities of the AI fever.
For example, the article highlights a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) revealing that:
- 95% of companies are getting zero return on the billions of dollars they’ve put into AI investments
- Over 80% of companies have explored or started using AI tools, but the tools only uplift individual productivity not the companies’ bottom line.
Hmm …
Unless you’re in a capital industry (e.g., construction, automobile and train manufacturing, ship building, oil and gas), where the full gross margin picture takes time to filter through, business improvements like technology adoption, Six Sigma, Lean, etc., should be hitting your costs immediately with visible impacts on your profit and loss account.
So if your AI tools are boosting individual employees’ productivity but not your company’s bottom line, then there’s a serious flaw in your organizational effectiveness. AI is helping your people be more productive at doing the wrong work: work that adds no value to your company.
You should fix that before worrying about the returns on your AI investment.
“Business improvements like AI adoption should hit your costs immediately with visible impacts on your P&L account”
Remember, AI is simply an enabler.
It may be a game changer. And it’s certainly a powerful tool, one that can deliver huge gains if used wisely (as we’re already seeing in areas like healthcare, financial services, supply chain management, and capital equipment asset management). But on its own, it’s still just an enabler.
It can’t and won’t supplant a sound strategy, effective leadership, engaged and aligned organizational talent, a strong positive culture, or any of the other elements of organizational effectiveness.
AI is not the elixir of corporate life.
It’s easy to get caught up in the buzz of AI or any newfangled tech or business idea—especially when it’s being touted as a silver bullet by countless “experts”, “evangelists” and “enthusiasts”.
Organizations should be wary of jumping on the bandwagon simply out of FOMO.
A solid business case must always underpin such endeavours, along with sensible planning and implementation, to avoid squandering organizational energy and capital.
He’s right, the tree thought, as it listened to my reflections. I wonder if the others will grasp the wisdom of his words. Anyway, no point squandering my thoughts on these daft humans. Let me return to the rays of the sun, the source of my elixir.
