AI isn’t the problem. Organisational readiness is.

AI isn’t the problem. Organisational readiness is.

by Wim Van der Meersch, Managing Partner Select Advisory

A recent article in Harvard Business Review highlights what many leaders are starting to realise: most AI initiatives don’t fail because of the technology. They fail because the organisation isn’t ready to support them. The core issue is a misalignment between ambition and operational reality. Leadership teams often pursue bold AI goals without the systems, processes or people in place to make them stick.

Talking about processes and systems, one of the most powerful insights from the article is the concept of value-chain control. Rather than a binary “have or have not”, it refers to the degree of influence an organisation has over how ideas move from concept to execution. The more clarity and ownership there is across the end-to-end journey, from design and data to decision-making and delivery, the easier it becomes to embed and scale AI. When this ownership is fragmented across teams, tools or external partners, scaling AI quickly becomes more complex.

From our experience with customers, we also know that data maturity is a critical enabling factor. Clean and reliable data, easy access to it, well-connected systems and people who understand the business context are essential to make AI work for the organisation instead of the other way around. That said, data maturity alone is rarely sufficient if it is not actively used in decision-making.

And finally, two other factors often determine success or failure: leadership and organisational maturity. By leadership, we don’t mean inspiration or vision alone. We mean leaders who take ownership of decisions, dare to prioritise, push decisions through the organisation and follow up on execution, using data explicitly to support and challenge choices. Organisational maturity refers to the clarity and consistency of decision structures, roles and responsibilities: are they well defined, understood, and actually used across the organisation?

At Select Advisory, we work with executive teams to translate ambition into action. That starts by assessing not only technical and data readiness, but also business processes, decision-making practices and the strategic, structural and cultural readiness required to lead in an AI-enabled world. To support this, we use a quick scan as a conversation and alignment instrument. It provides a strong directional view on where an organisation stands and where the main leverage points lie. The real value, however, comes from the discussions it triggers with leadership teams and the choices that follow.

At Select Advisory, we help organisations to:

• Better understand their position in the value chain and where meaningful leverage exists,

• Clarify which AI use cases truly fit their business model,

• Strengthen leadership alignment, decision ownership and cross-functional collaboration,

• Ensure data is accessible and usable for reporting and decision-making,

• Design an operating model that supports AI adoption beyond experimentation.

AI success is not just about choosing the right tools. It’s about leading the organisation through change with focus, realism and confidence. If your business is investing in AI but not seeing results, it may be time to ask a different set of questions. 

If you want to understand how ready your organisation is for the (AI) future, our quick scan can help create that insight and start the right conversation. Contact us now!