I was in a meeting last week with a CEO who told me his company had spent $2.3 million on AI tools in the past year. Then he paused and said, “Julie, I’m not sure we’re any more productive than we were before.”
I’ve heard this story so many times now that I could probably recite it in my sleep.
Sound familiar?
Here’s what’s happening: McKinsey research shows AI could drive $4.4 trillion in global productivity annually. Meanwhile, 74% of companies struggle to achieve and scale value from their AI investments.
It’s like buying a kitchen full of high-end appliances and still ordering takeout every night because nobody knows how to cook.
After working with hundreds of organizations across five continents, I’ve discovered something crucial: the difference between AI success and failure isn’t what you buy – it’s how you build.
And the leaders who approach AI with positivity and strategy are the ones who win.
What I'm Actually Seeing Out There
Let me tell you what’s really happening in boardrooms right now.
78% of organizations are using AI in at least one business function, but here’s the kicker: only 26% of companies have developed the necessary capabilities to move beyond proofs of concept and actually generate value.
What I keep seeing is companies buying AI like they’re shopping for software, when they should be building it like they’re developing capability.
It’s like hiring a brilliant intern and then never training them – you wonder why they’re not contributing much.
AI doesn't fail because of bad technology. It fails because of bad strategy.
My UPGRADE Framework Changes Everything
Last year, I was working with a manufacturing company that had tried to implement AI three different times. Each attempt had failed spectacularly. When I walked into their conference room, the CTO looked exhausted and said, “Julie, we’re starting to think AI just isn’t for us.”
That’s when I knew I needed to stop talking about individual tools and start talking about systems.
After analyzing patterns across successful AI implementations, I identified seven fundamental practices that separate the AI winners from the companies that spend millions and wonder where it all went. This became the UPGRADE framework.
- U – UNDERSTAND the Potential
- P – PRIORITIZE the Opportunity
- G – GO AI First
- R – REINFORCE AI-Related Skills
- A -Accelerate with Tech + Tools
- D – DEPLOY in Stages
- E – EVOLVE Continuously
And get this – it actually works.
I’ve seen companies like Booking.com transform travel planning, Vital revolutionize healthcare communication, and Upstart completely reinvent lending using these exact principles.
U - Understand the Potential
Know what’s actually possible so you pursue the right opportunities
I was in a workshop last month where a team spent 45 minutes discussing how to automate their existing invoicing process. When I asked, “What if AI could help you predict which customers are likely to pay late?” the room went quiet.
They’d been thinking about making their current process faster, not making it smarter.
Most teams do this – they default to automating what they’re already doing instead of exploring what they could be doing. JP Morgan’s COIN tool didn’t just speed up contract analysis – it completely reimagined how legal document review could work. Vital did the same thing in healthcare – instead of just digitizing medical forms, they used AI to translate complex medical jargon into language patients actually understand. (If you need inspiration, check out these 450+ AI use cases to spark your thinking.)
P - Prioritize the Opportunity
Focus on high-impact, AI-suitable tasks first
Here’s what I’ve learned from watching companies succeed and fail with AI: the successful ones don’t try to do everything at once. AI leaders pursue only about half as many opportunities as their less advanced peers but expect more than twice the ROI.
They don’t try to boil the ocean – they pick three things that matter most to their business and do those really well. Upstart focused specifically on lending decisions instead of trying to revolutionize all of finance at once.
G - Go AI First
Make AI consideration part of your strategic planning process
Amazon’s recommendation engine contributes to 35% of the company’s revenue because they didn’t treat AI as a nice-to-have add-on. They built it into their core business model from day one.
It’s the same approach that helped Booking.com transform travel planning from endless browser tabs into natural conversations. AI-first doesn’t mean AI-only – it means asking “How could AI make this better?” during planning meetings, not just IT meetings.
R - Reinforce AI-Related Skills
Build team capability to use AI effectively, not just access to AI tools
I had a client who bought ChatGPT licenses for their entire sales team. Three months later, half the team was still asking it to “write a good email” and getting frustrated with generic responses. The other half had learned to give AI context, examples, and specific instructions – and their email response rates had doubled.
The difference wasn’t the tool. It was the skill.
A - Accelerate with Tech + Tools
Choose tools strategically based on workflow integration, not features
Last month, I met with a startup founder who proudly showed me their “AI stack” – seventeen different tools they’d signed up for after various demos. When I asked which ones they actually used regularly, he got quiet. “Maybe three,” he admitted.
Here’s what I’ve learned: collecting AI tools doesn’t make you more productive. Using the right ones does.
Eneco’s AI agent handles 24,000 chats per month because they chose tools that fit their support process and focused on building meaningful AI-powered customer relationships rather than just collecting features.
D - Deploy in Stages
Build AI capability systematically, proving value at each level
Remember that manufacturing company I mentioned? Here’s what we did differently on their fourth attempt: instead of trying to implement AI across their entire operation, we picked one production line. We got that working perfectly, measured the results, then expanded to the next line.
You don’t scale speed – you scale structure. Build your AI foundation properly and the rest follows. (I’ve seen this firsthand – here’s how AI helped me scale impact without scaling my team.)
E - Evolve Continuously
Regular assessment and optimization of AI systems and strategy
AI isn’t “set it and forget it.” It’s “set it, measure it, improve it, repeat.”
I tell my clients to schedule monthly AI reviews with three simple questions: What’s working? What isn’t? What needs to change? You’d be amazed how many companies skip this step and then wonder why their AI initiatives plateau.
Here's What I Want You to Remember
The question isn’t whether AI will transform your industry – it’s whether you’ll lead that transformation or watch it happen from the sidelines.
That CEO I mentioned at the beginning? Three months after implementing UPGRADE, he called me. “Julie,” he said, “I finally feel like we’re getting somewhere with this AI thing.”
That’s exactly what I want for you.
With UPGRADE, you’re not just using AI. You’re building capability. You’re creating advantage. You’re leading with intention instead of just throwing money at the latest shiny tool.
And honestly? In a world moving this fast, that’s not just nice to have – it’s essential.
Your Homework
Pick one area of your business where you're doing something repetitive and important. Ask yourself, "Could AI help me do this smarter, not just faster?" Then test one small change this week.
Want to dive deeper into strategic AI implementation? Let’s talk about how UPGRADE can transform your specific business challenges.
