Insight
Why Now
June 14, 2024
Steve Smith
At NextAccess, we have the privilege of working with clients across various industries. One thing that I've observed is the different ways that companies are experimenting with and starting to adopt AI. Some companies are letting experimentation happen organically, and various groups or departments are free to try different tools to see if they can find a meaningful use case. Other companies are taking a very directed top-down approach, identifying specific opportunities and charging full speed ahead with custom solutions. A third group of companies is taking a wait-and-see approach and asking, "Why now?"
The question, "Why now?" is a great question. Several executives I've spoken with recently feel that the technology is too cutting-edge and will change so much that starting to adopt it now means using technologies that are not only imperfect (e.g., inaccurate answers and hallucinations) but will also put them on a perpetual cycle of upgrades where they aren't sure that they can continually justify the value. While I understand that point of view, my advice to them is always the same: this is the most transformative technology we have seen in our lifetimes, and waiting could put your company and your employees at a significant competitive disadvantage.
McKinsey recently released its 2024 State of AI survey, which shows that 72% of the companies surveyed have adopted AI in at least one business function. Our focus here at NextAccess is helping companies transform their go-to-market (primarily sales and marketing) organizations by taking advantage of AI. McKinsey also found that the area with the highest level of AI adoption is sales and marketing—the exact focus area for our firm.
However, let's go back to the critical question: "Why now?" Why not wait until the models are even better, hallucinate less, and have more advanced analytic capabilities? There are three critical reasons to start experimenting with and adopting AI right now in every organization, and I'll go into each of these in detail.
WHY NOW #1: PRODUCTIVITY
The first reason is AI's impact on productivity. Nearly every part of your organization, from finance to product development to legal to customer success, can use AI to drive productivity gains. Let me give you three concrete examples we're helping clients with today:
Legal teams are leveraging the best GenAI tools to tighten, simplify, and clarify the language in their contract terms, instantly analyzing hundreds of financial documents from clients and creating simple yet powerful analogies of complex arguments easily understood by a jury.
Marketing organizations are creating instant high-quality drafts of blog posts, viral social media posts with hashtags and emojis directly from videos, and instant studio-quality product shoots while working with the sales team to develop highly customized customer-specific email campaigns.
Sales enablement teams are creating customized 1:1 training tailored to each account executive based on the latest corporate training materials, analyzed recordings of their most recent sales calls with customers, and feedback from sales leadership.
We're seeing dozens of other examples across organizations in finance, strategy, product development, human resources, customer success, etc. The second reason I tell executives to start adopting AI now is the importance of creating organizational learning and building comfort with these new technologies.
WHY NOW #2: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
Our view at NextAccess is that the best companies always prepare their employees for the future—and AI is front and center for every career going forward. Companies must proactively invest in employee training and development programs focusing on AI to remain competitive in this rapidly evolving landscape. By equipping their workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary to leverage AI effectively, organizations can bridge the AI skills gap and ensure they have the talent required to thrive in an AI-driven future.
Adopting AI technologies is not only about using new tools but it's also about fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability within the organization. By encouraging experimentation and learning through AI adoption, companies promote a mindset of continuous improvement. This empowers individuals to leverage AI for creative problem-solving, ultimately driving innovation and enhancing overall organizational performance.
One key challenge in AI adoption is overcoming employee concerns and misconceptions about the technology. To address this, companies must provide their employees with hands-on experience using AI tools and platforms. Organizations can build familiarity and trust in these systems by demonstrating the benefits of AI in real-world applications and emphasizing the collaborative nature of human-AI interaction. This not only facilitates a smoother transition to an AI-powered future but also enables employees to fully embrace and leverage the potential of AI in their daily work.
Investing in your employees is investing in your future. The third reason I recommend AI adoption now is the opportunity to build a competitive advantage with their business model.
WHY NOW #3: BUSINESS MODEL DISRUPTION
The magnitude of business model disruption we're about to experience from AI is going to come at a pace and scale that we have never seen before because everyone has access to these incredible technologies. Organizations that fail to recognize and act upon this shift risk falling behind their more proactive competitors, who are already leveraging AI to drive innovation and gain market share.
Another benefit of adopting AI is its ability to accelerate innovation within an organization. By leveraging AI to analyze vast amounts of customer and competitive data, companies identify new opportunities and market trends that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Additionally, AI streamlines research and development processes, enabling faster iteration and improvement of products and services. This data-driven approach to decision-making allows companies to stay agile and responsive to changing market dynamics, ultimately driving innovation and growth.
Companies embracing AI early have a significant opportunity to gain first-mover advantage in their respective industries. By establishing a strong AI foundation and infrastructure, these organizations can build the expertise and talent required to develop proprietary AI solutions tailored to their unique needs. This positions the company as an AI leader in its industry and creates a competitive moat that can be difficult for late adopters to overcome. Moreover, by being among the first to bring AI-powered products and services to market, these companies can capture market share and solidify their position as innovators.
CONCLUSION
There are compelling reasons to start now instead of asking "Why Now?" including productivity, organizational learning, and building a sustainable competitive advantage. Having spoken with hundreds of executives over the past year about AI, I think that when people ask, "Why now?" they really should be asking, "How do I get started?"
Whether you want to help your executive team understand how AI changes the art of the possible and create a disruptive vision for the future, turn around an underperforming sales team, get your GTM cost structure aligned with industry benchmarks, or create a new innovative product and services pipeline – we're here to help. Our team of senior operators has deep experience running top organizations and delivering results across sales, marketing, and other go-to-market functions. We understand your goals and pain points because we have lived them.
