Let’s talk about the AI gold rush happening right now. Everyone’s rushing to automate everything with a pulse (and plenty of things without one).

  • “We need AI for our sales process!”
  • “Let’s automate our lead gen!”
  • “Can ChatGPT write all our emails?”

Hold up. Let me ask you something…

If your current process is broken, exactly what do you think you’re scaling?

I’ve spent years consulting with companies on transformation and tech changes. Check the latest research data on AI implementation. You know what the stats show? Most POCs fail. Operational success is FAR from guaranteed.

And from what I’ve observed in the trenches, the problem isn’t technology.

It’s dysfunction.

The Scaling Fallacy

Here’s a fun math lesson: 0² = 0

If you generate no leads manually, automating your lead gen won’t suddenly make you a demand gen powerhouse. You’ll just create a more efficient system for producing nothing.

True story: I worked with a SaaS company that wanted to “AI-enable” their outbound. When I asked to see their current messaging, I got six different answers from four people.

Me: “So which messaging approach works best?”
Them: “We’re not sure, that’s why we want AI to test them all!”
Me: “But you haven’t tested ANY of them yourself?”
Them: “We don’t have time for that!”

You can’t automate your way out of not knowing what works.

The Dysfunction Checklist

Before you drop six figures on that shiny new AI setup, answer these questions:

  1. Does your current process work when humans do it?
  2. Can you clearly articulate the steps in your process?
  3. If I asked three different team members how something works, would I get the same answer?
  4. Have you documented what “good” looks like?

If you answered “no” to any of these, congratulations! You’ve identified dysfunction.

And automating dysfunction just gives you faster, more expensive dysfunction.

Fix the Foundation First

Your sales team has no clear idea how to craft a message? Then what exactly are you training your AI on?

Your lead scoring model doesn’t accurately predict conversions? Automating it just means being wrong at scale.

Your data is scattered across seventeen systems? AI won’t magically fix your data governance issues.

The Interim Solution

With all the AI hype, companies are overlooking the obvious: Before you automate, you need to optimize.

That’s why I think fractional/interim change managers are about to have their moment. You don’t need more technology right now. You need someone who can:

  1. Identify the dysfunction
  2. Fix the broken processes
  3. Document what works
  4. THEN help you scale with automation

Accelerate what’s already working

AI is a multiplier, not a miracle. It amplifies what you already have.

If what you already have is a mess… well, you do the math.

Don’t scale dysfunction. Fix the foundation first. Then let AI do what it does best: Accelerate what’s already working.

Your future self (and your CFO) will thank you.