Let’s talk AI.
Most projects fail not because the tech is bad but because teams start with the tech.
I recently watched leaders sprint toward demos like it is a buffet. It ends the same every time: shiny tool nobody uses, huge bill, confused team.
Let’s get into it.
The Drop
The "Drunk on Hype" Trap
You cannot start with the technology. You have to start with the problem.
The companies that actually crush it? They track the work that wastes time, measure the drag, and model the impact of cutting errors or fixing the process. Then they talk about tools.
If you start with tech: You measure feel-good metrics. Adoption rates. Interface usage. Pilot activity. Absolute nonsense.
If you start with the problem: You measure outcomes. Cash flow. Margin. Win rates. Throughput. Real numbers.
Most leaders know this, they just get drunk on AI hype and skip the hard part.
If you’re evaluating AI and you can’t tell me what the workflow costs today or what fixing it is worth, you’re not ready. You’re just shopping for toys.
I stole a business case template from a Fortune 500 and I make every client fill it out before we start. It forces you to define the problem and put real numbers behind the workflow before you touch a single tool.
I just published a deep dive on how this framework works, including:
The 4-step "Problem-First" framework.
Hard vs. Soft savings: How to find the ROI that actually shows up on a P&L.
Real-world examples: See the exact ROI breakdown for an AI SDR and an AI Customer Service Agent.
Stop guessing at AI value. Start quantifying it.
Read the full breakdown here.
That’s it for today. Connect with me on Linkedin if you actually want to understand what an Autonomous Organization looks like in the real world.
