Unlocking True Value with a Solution-First Mindset

Today, there is enormous anticipation around AI and what it can deliver. We all sense that profound change is underway. Business leaders need to stay competitive - and therefore at the cutting edge - but blindly chasing the newest shiny tool can do more harm than good to an organisation. Focus on the technology, rather than the real business problems that need solving, and you could find yourself in a mess. MIT’s NANDA initiative report suggests that up to 95% of AI projects are failing not because the technology is flawed, but because organisations are approaching them from the wrong starting point.

The shift is simple, organisations need to adopt a problem-first mindset. Begin by identifying a real pain point, inefficiency or opportunity, and only then determine if - and how - AI can meaningfully move the needle. Through targeted implementation, organisations can unlock real, sustainable impact.

What can AI really do?

AI and automation can do more than just save time, or cut down on unnecessary tasks. When combined intelligently, AI and automation can deliver improved agility in a changing market, enabling businesses to adapt quickly to dynamic environments.

This is a sharp contrast to the depressing pattern behind the MIT data - which is all too common. Excited by AI hype, teams take the “solution in search of a problem” approach, trying to find ways to shoehorn AI into their practice. Fall into this trap, and rather than being an accelerator, AI adoption can be an anchor, a bottleneck and a drain on resources.

Making the most of AI

So how can businesses truly take advantage of AI and automation and avoid the pitfalls of the AI hype? The first step is to take a look at your organisation’s problems and see how AI and automation can help overcome them. Let’s look at a real world example, a leading UK-based auto services company that had a familiar problem: employees in dealerships faced an overwhelming number of calls from clients asking about repair status, which left them struggling to support customers. As delays crept in and frustration grew, it was clear change was needed.

A clear problem was identified: the need to manage customer communications in a smarter way, and a solution was born. Employees created an automated two-way conversation tool that uses AI to make decisions about how to handle messages. By incorporating sentiment analysis, it understands the tone and intent behind every message.

Over 12 months, it automatically analysed 47,000 messages and closed 18,000 of them as “no action required.” When the AI model determined a human response was needed, the software alerts the right teams instantly. This is not AI for the sake of it. This is AI solving real problems. Dealership workers saved the equivalent of five working days that would have been spent manually reviewing messages. That time was redirected towards helping customers and improving service quality, boosting the all-important Net Promoter Score (NPS) in the process.

The most amazing part? This transformation wasn’t led by software engineers. It was driven by everyday team members who used accessible AI and automation tools to solve real business problems. That’s the power of using the right technology: with the rise of no-code technology, even employees without the traditional coding background can create incredibly impactful solutions. The right way forward

That last point is crucial: to deliver impact at scale, businesses need to get that technology into the hands of the right people - those who want to really change things. That means it’s not simply about ‘buying in’ some AI capability, but about ensuring that the technology is clear, engaging, and comprehensible to people across your organisation..

Of course, AI technology can introduce new complexity, so as well as ensuring tooling is accessible to individual employees, leaders should also think carefully about how they manage their overall landscape. As adoption of AI tools grows across an organisation, being able to see all the ways in which it’s being used becomes more important - to ensure governance, identify issues, and of course see the impact of what’s being built. . Clarity around how AI is being used in workflows enables leaders to orchestrate thoughtfully and identify opportunities quickly, driving real results.

From hype to impact

In today’s AI landscape, success occurs when AI is used to solve real business challenges and improve everyday operations. For this to happen, a mindshift change is needed. Business leaders should avoid being tempted by overhyped promises and instead focus on business value, and how technology can solve real business challenges.

When adoption is guided by clear purpose and aligned with tangible outcomes, employees are empowered to use AI in meaningful ways. Thoughtful design, actionable insights, and process-focused implementation become the tools for driving measurable change and lasting impact.

This is the pathway from hype to real AI-driven results.