In early 2023,
a couple of months after ChatGPT launched and became the
fastest-growing consumer application in history, I remember feeling both
excited but also a bit overwhelmed by the rapid pace of AI. The barrage of news, product launches, and innovative use cases was relentless.

We held an executive meeting at that time and decided to immediately
reassign additional teams from other long-planned initiatives to double
down on AI. We saw an opportunity to deliver even more value to our
customers.

My experience is not unique. Across the board, leaders have been aggressively implementing AI to improve productivity,
lower costs, and improve communication—but the results have been
disappointing to date for many organizations. Only 34% of organizations
say their AI projects have returned a positive ROI for most or all
initiatives, according to Lucid’s AI readiness survey.

Unlocking the tremendous value AI offers isn’t a technology problem.
It’s an operational one. Leaders need to be more intentional about their
workflows and practices to realize AI’s vast potential.

OPERATIONS ARE DRAGGING AI INITIATIVES DOWN 

In the race to keep pace with AI, businesses are moving quickly. But
their emphasis on speed comes at a cost. About 61% of knowledge workers
said in the survey that their firm’s AI strategy is only somewhat to not
at all well aligned with operational capabilities. Most are glossing
over foundational steps today that jeopardize their chances for success
tomorrow.

One notable example is documenting company processes and knowledge, a
critical input for AI initiatives. The survey found that most
organizations lack process documentation for their AI initiatives. Only
16% of survey respondents replied that their workflows are extremely
well documented. The top obstacle to documenting knowledge at scale is a
lack of time, according to 41% of respondents. Before implementing AI,
leaders should ensure their teams understand the importance of
documenting processes so that they always make time for it. Teams can’t
harness AI to its fullest without well-documented, clearly structured
processes. If an organization is already well into its implementation
but didn’t prioritize this upfront, it’s never too late to
course-correct. It’s actually critical to do so.

The next top barrier to knowledge documentation is the lack of tools
(30%). Recently, I met with a Fortune 500 executive whose company is
mandating AI to drive significant efficiency and productivity gains, yet
relying on a legacy tool to collaborate that was never built for teams
and centered on the individual user.

If companies want AI to be adopted across the enterprise, they need a
common space for brainstorming, decision making, planning, and
collaborative documentation. Even with all of AI’s transformative
capabilities, the fundamentals of successfully integrating technology
into a workplace still apply. Companies need the right tools that enable
better collaboration and help them document current processes and best
practices easily.

FRICTION AROUND COLLABORATION LIMITS AI’S IMPACT

A while back, our executive team tackled a strategic challenge
together. A product leader used AI to generate an impressive preparatory
memo in a short timeframe, summarizing the challenge, benchmarking
solutions, and offering recommendations.

But the AI-generated memo was the starting point, not the end. We
still needed to debate nuances specific to Lucid’s context, prioritize
actions and assign ownership, and document takeaways and define next
steps.

Even with the amount of work that can be accelerated and automated
with AI, collaboration is still critical. The survey found 23% of
respondents say collaboration is often or always the bottleneck in
complex work. Implementing AI is a major undertaking. Only by
consistently engaging key stakeholders for in-depth discussions,
clarifying decisions, and ensuring shared understanding can these bold
initiatives succeed.

THE NEW COMPETITIVE EDGE IN AI

The success of a company’s AI strategy is only as strong as its
execution, and a large perception gap proves this. The survey found that
61% of C-suite executives feel their AI approach is well considered,
but a much smaller percentage of managers (49%) and entry-level
employees (36%) agree.

Closing this gap requires more than just a good plan; it requires
operational readiness. Organizations must build stronger processes,
improve documentation, and foster better collaboration to successfully
implement AI. Harnessing the power of this revolutionary technology
requires a level of rigor most organizations have yet to demonstrate.
The new competitive advantage for AI adoption lies in the operational
systems behind it.

Dave Grow is CEO of Lucid Software.