Executive mandates are racing ahead of reality. Boards and CEOs often expect payback in 6–12 months, but disconnected strategies, messy data, and immature governance stall progress. While two-thirds of AI decision-makers say their organization uses genAI in production, only 15% report a positive impact on earnings, and just a third can link AI spend to profit and loss. Confidence in ROI is dropping, as well: In late 2024, 81% of firms reported 5% or greater ROI; by mid-2025, that fell to 62%! Without clear metrics, enterprises default to easy productivity wins that are hard to quantify — a fragile foundation for long-term value for executives who expect to see bottom- (and top-) line impacts quickly.
Looks like full on management-by-magazine phase in effect. Executives read about one cool trick ti increase EV, and pass it down to staff who are bemused and baffled. Better to try things out first, little projects here and there that are business facing, and then roll stuff out.
Also, survey shows employees fear for their job. What’s unstated is:
- therefore employees will likely sabotage AI rollouts, and rationally should if it means they lose pricing power (lower to no wages).
- employees should rationally use shadow AI to make themselves more productive, getting the benefits themselves.
Of course, wouldn’t it be cool if management and workers just worked together? Dreams!