AI transformation is all about people

MIT says 95% of enterprise AI pilots fail. The why is not complicated. "AI pilots fail because they're pilots,"

Nate B. Jones argued this week: label something a pilot and it gets fewer resources, de-risked goals, and no path to production. His estimate is that enterprise AI is "about 20% of technology, probably, and 80% of people problem," and his read on the lab programs is blunt: "you can't just stick a raw LLM into an enterprise and expect magic to result. You actually have to put engineers on the ground."

Nate is exactly right. Any successful AI transformation starts with people. You need to ensure your people are skilled, motivated, and empowered. It’s not so different from any other type of organizational transformation.

The one caveat I would add to what Nate said is in the engineers’ line. With AI, you can take great SMEs and get engineering-oriented results with the right selection, training, tools, and technical support. Up-skilling your team is often the strongest play.

Sources: Metrics that Measure Up, "Forward-Deployed Engineers (FDEs) - AI's New ROI Battleground," Aug 4, 2026; Nate B. Jones, CXOTalk, "Why Your Enterprise AI Pilot Won't Scale," Aug 6, 2026