How Do We Win in an AI World? (Part 2)

 

Imagine we’re a large multinational, customer-facing company under intense competitive pressure. We’ve invested heavily in AI & there’s pressure to demonstrate a rapid ROI. Our team members, though loyal & capable, are hesitant to apply AI tools that might eliminate their jobs. What to do?

What’s In It for Them?

Job One is to answer the question: ‘What’s in it for them?’ Please refer to my earlier articles for my thoughts.

Some AI basics

1) AI can be a fine servant but is a dreadful master, 2) AI’s challenge is not unprecedented and mirrors the challenges posed by breakthrough technologies since the Industrial Revolution. In fact, the challenge is not so dissimilar to that posed by Robotic Process Automation (RPA) a decade or so ago in industries like Financial Services.  3) RPA is deterministic AI (If X, then Y) and excels at automating data entry, invoice processing, or high-volume, routine tasks. 4) Agentic AI is non-deterministic (If X, then Y or Z or maybe W) and excels at complex, cognitive tasks like customer support, strategic planning, or managing end-to-end IT operations. Agentic AI learns, which is disturbing to many.

So, let’s imagine we’re the company described above, and our goal is to improve both Customer & Employee Experience (CX & EX) in a critical customer-facing process, while reducing Lead Time & Cost. How do we proceed?

Overall Approach

1)    Begin every AI use case by clearly defining the problem. This is harder than it sounds. Too often, I hear problem statements like: “We need everybody to use AI this year so we can show the Board we’re getting a good ROI.”  Good luck with that.

2)    Lay a solid foundation by taking waste & variation out of the process. I remember our RPA partner telling me, “If you bring us garbage processes, you’ll spend a fortune & create garbage at the speed of light.” This also means levelling up your data. Is it high quality, complete & end-to-end? If not, fix it (with APIs, RPA & advanced analytics)

3)    Look for both analogue & Digital remedies for Value Stream & Customer Journey hot spots. Early on, analogue remedies will be most effective. Let’s say your goal is to reduce cycle time. Start with OpEx/Lean fundamentals like wringing out waste, addressing bottlenecks, level-loading, and creating extra capacity by cross-training.

4)    Agentic AI remedies come into their own after we fix our process & data gaps.

Key Enabler – Ambidexterity

Your Centre of Excellence (innovation support team) must become ambidextrous – in other words, adept at both OpEx/Lean & Digital remedies. In the age of AI, the ambidextrous win.

More to come.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org