Getting AI to Scale: A Practical Approach for Business Transformation

Getting AI to Scale: A Strategic Approach to Business Transformation

Most organizations struggle to harness the full transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A common pitfall is implementing AI in isolated, discrete uses, which fails to yield significant, consequential change. Conversely, attempting a complete organizational overhaul with AI all at once is often too complex and impractical.

The Solution: End-to-End Process Reimagination

The recommended strategy is to focus on reimagining one entire core business process, journey, or function from end to end. This focused approach allows each AI initiative to build upon the previous one, enabling benefits such as data reuse and enhanced capabilities for a common set of stakeholders. For instance, an airline might concentrate on its cargo function, or a telecom provider on its customer value management process.

Four Steps to Scaling AI Successfully

To effectively scale AI, the article outlines a four-step process:

1. Identify an Area for Impact: Select a domain where AI can deliver substantial and relatively quick results. Crucially, this area should involve multiple interconnected activities that allow for technology and capability sharing.
2. Assemble the Right Team and Remove Obstacles: Staff the AI initiative with skilled individuals who possess the necessary expertise. Proactively identify and remove any barriers that could hinder their progress and success.
3. Reimagine Business as Usual: Begin by defining a key business goal. Then, work backward to meticulously detail how AI can be leveraged to achieve this goal, fundamentally rethinking and redesigning existing workflows and processes.
4. Support with Organizational Changes: Ensure the successful adoption of new AI-based processes by implementing complementary organizational changes. This includes fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting agile mindsets, and adapting structures to support AI integration.

Key Takeaways

• Avoid Isolated AI Implementations: Discrete AI uses are insufficient for true business transformation.
• Focus on Core Processes: Reimagining an entire business process end-to-end is a practical and effective scaling strategy.
• Iterative Growth: Build AI capabilities incrementally, leveraging previous efforts for efficiency and synergy.
• Strategic Team Building: Assemble a skilled team and remove impediments to their success.
• Process Reimagination: Redesign processes with AI at the core, starting from desired outcomes.
• Organizational Alignment: Support AI initiatives with cultural and structural changes, such as cross-functional collaboration and agile methodologies.

By adopting this strategic, process-centric approach, businesses can move beyond fragmented AI applications to achieve meaningful, scalable transformation and unlock the true potential of artificial intelligence.