Don’t get stuck with surface-level tasks

I spent most of last year fully immersed in artificial intelligence for business transformation. I'm bullish on AI. It's more than just the automation of simple tasks or summarizing of meeting notes; it's about unlocking and augmenting entirely new ways of thinking and working.

And while some teams are already pushing generative AI into complex, high-impact areas, many are still stuck using it for surface-level tasks, missing out on the deeper, transformative potential. If you give AI an easy task, gains are limited. If you give it a difficult task, gains can be revolutionary.

I won’t discount that incremental gains are valuable. The snowball effect from smaller successes tends to generate the infrastructure, technical capability, and cultural readiness needed for enterprise transformation. But they’re only the starting point. The real shift happens when we move from simple efficiencies to transformative outcomes.

So, when the time comes, how do we change our thinking? Here's a quick tip. Instead of asking, "What's the easiest thing we can give AI," ask "What's the thing we avoid because it feels impossible?" And start there.

Here’s HOW to do this, today.

1. Choose a common task you perform regularly. (i.e., draft emails)

2. Don't give too much attention to the application. Focus instead on the underlying process; the fundamental, step-by-step sequence of actions and decisions that achieve a specific outcome, regardless of the tools or specific technologies currently being used.

EXAMPLE
- Focusing on existing application: "How can I use AI to help me draft an email?" (This is a specific task AI is applied to).

- Focusing on underlying process: "How does communication flow from idea to recipient, and what information is needed at each stage?" (This is the broader, more fundamental workflow).

By focusing on "the underlying process" and creating a brand new, AI-driven design, you unlock opportunities for truly transformative efficiency, automation, and intelligence, rather than just making minor improvements to existing workflows.