Earlier this year, I was asked to deliver the opening keynote at Avasant’s Empowering Beyond Summit. The event was attended by some of the most influential leaders in business and technology. I learned from each of them their challenges and opportunities with AI and wanted to share my takeaways here. Also, the team uploaded the presentation to Youtube and I’ve included it below!
When people talk about AI, they often default to automation. It’s the low-hanging fruit…faster execution, lower costs, streamlined operations. But automation is only one side of the AI coin. The other side, the more powerful, game-changing side, is augmentation. But for some reason, we don’t really want to talk about it. Why? Maybe because at its core, we’re really talking about innovation and transformation. And even though it’s reimagination, change is hard…and expensive. But ignoring it doesn’t in any way ensure survival. So, we ignore it at our own peril.
Start with a mindshift.
At Avasant’s Empowering Beyond Summit in Huntington Beach, I spoke to a room of global technology and business leaders about what AI really represents. Spoiler: it’s not digital transformation. That era, defined largely by digitizing legacy processes, is over. This is business transformation. And AI is not just the next tool in the box. It’s the beginning of a new box entirely.
We’re Not Thinking Big Enough
Let’s be honest. The appetite for transformation isn’t widespread. Most executives don’t want to invent the future, they just want to improve yesterday for tomorrow while taking out costs and driving efficiency. The problem? That’s not transformation. That’s iteration. And iteration eventually loses its capacity to defend against digital Darwinism.
If we keep using AI to do the same things slightly better, faster, or cheaper, we’ll get efficiency. But we won’t get reinvention. The real value of AI doesn’t lie in what it can do for our current operations. It lies in what it enables us to do that we never could before.
Leaders are already promising the street that AI will deliver performance gains. Yet behind closed doors, many admit they’re ambivalent or dissatisfied with the ROI. Why? Because we’re still coloring inside the lines of the old business model. AI deserves…and demands…an entirely new canvas.
The Iteration-Innovation Gap
Most companies today are investing in what I call optimized AI, deploying tools to supercharge legacy workflows. And that’s fine. But it’s not a revolution. Innovative AI, on the other hand, explores use cases that never existed, redesigns workflows for exponential outcomes, and asks questions like “What would AI do?” instead of “How can AI help me do what I’ve always done?”
Too many executives are still playing it safe, waiting for use cases to become obvious. But transformation doesn’t come with a prewritten playbook. If you wait until there’s a roadmap, you’re already behind.
The Risk Isn’t AI. The Risk Is Inaction.
Venture capitalists understand this intuitively. When they back a startup, they’re not looking for a 10x return. They’re looking for 1000x…moonshot ideas that redefine industries. Founders don’t show up with risk-averse ideas or fully validated business models. They lead with vision.
Why should enterprise leaders be any different?
We need to borrow that VC mindset and apply it to how we invest in AI. That means creating space for innovation, rewarding calculated risk, and enabling teams to operate outside the boundaries of business as usual. It also means acknowledging that the biggest barrier to scale isn’t talent. It’s us…the leaders, decision-makers, shareholders and stakeholders, and boards.
Automation vs. Augmentation: The IKEA Lesson
One of my favorite recent examples of augmentation comes from IKEA. They deployed an AI chatbot, “Billy,” which handled 57% of customer service inquiries. But instead of laying off staff, IKEA reimagined the remaining 43% of calls, many of which were about interior design, and reskilled those employees as design consultants. The result? A brand-new service and €1 billion in new revenue in one year.
That’s what augmentation looks like: not just doing the same work with fewer people, but using AI to create entirely new value. That’s the kind of thinking every leader needs to adopt.
Mind the (Leadership) Gap
Recent studies show that executives overwhelmingly believe their companies are ahead in AI adoption. Their employees, however, aren’t on the same page. Whether it’s AI strategy, literacy, or execution, the perception gap is real, and dangerous.
You can’t lead people into the future if they don’t understand the mission. AI transformation requires culture change, new mental models, and above all, psychological safety. Google’s own research shows that high-performing teams are not the ones with the best credentials. The HiPo teams feel safe to experiment, challenge conventions, and ask bold questions.
It’s Time to Rewrite the Org Chart
Yes, AI will be on your org chart. But the more important question is: where? And how will it collaborate with your people? Augmented intelligence isn’t about replacing humans; it’s about unlocking capacity, creativity, and entirely new performance metrics.
We need to redesign job descriptions so they reflect AI-human collaboration. We need to reward people not just for doing their jobs more efficiently, but for doing things AI enables them to do that were previously impossible.
This is how we move from automation to transformation. This is how we build infinitely scalable organizations.
The Road Ahead: Business Acceleration Over Digital Transformation
Forget digital transformation. It’s time for business acceleration. For platform thinking. For bold investments in innovative AI alongside the iterative.
The question is more than “How can we use AI to automate and save costs?” It’s:
What new capabilities can we unlock?
What new business models can we design?
In which ways can AI help us create new value?
What would our company look like if we started today with AI at the core?
You are the Leader Behind the Leader
Let’s face it: most boards and C-suites still don’t know what they don’t know. That’s where you come in.
You are the visionary who helps them see what’s possible. You are the catalyst who shifts the conversation from “What can we automate?” to “What can we create?” You are the leader behind the leader.
In the end, a great leader doesn’t just adapt to the future. They invent it. And if we do this right, AI is both a tool to survive. And it’s a partner we collaborate with to innovate and thrive!
Are you ready for a Mindshift?
Book Brian to speak at your event!
The post To Win in the AI Economy, You Need More Than a Strategy, You Need a Mindshift appeared first on Brian Solis.
