AI won’t fix your company

When a global financial services firm sought Sam’s guidance, the problem seemed familiar. The firm had deployed AI tools across its business. Adoption was uneven, and the gap between teams was growing. In some corners of the organization, people were already using AI to draft client materials, summarize research, and speed up analysis. In others, they avoided it entirely: unsure what was permitted, worried about quality, or skeptical that leadership really meant it. Managers were fielding questions they weren’t equipped to answer. If my team uses AI, what changes in our standards? What happens to accountability? The leadership team quickly realized the problem wasn’t the technology. It was the people around it. The evidence is clear. BCG’s 2024 research finds top AI-performing companies invest 70% of their transformation resources in people and processes, not technology. Mercer’s Global Talent Trends 2026 finds that employee concern about AI-driven job loss has surged from 28% to 40% i