In 2024, It’s Not Only about AI, It’s about Leadership

Well done! You’ve made it through the past year and AI hasn’t taken over the human race - yet.

2023 will forever remain the year when generative AI became a fundamental catalyst. A potential disruption of many aspects of our future work and daily life, and a major distraction surfing on the wave of Silicon Valley’s hype and ridicule.

Nevertheless, we’re still dealing with legacy problems that didn’t magically disappear because of AI: Technology investment decisions are still complex. Companies are still siloed. Innovation is still MIA, and transformation programs are, well, let’s be honest, hard to deliver.

The good news is that there are things you can do to get unstuck and accelerate your company’s transformation. Among all the techniques we employ to reinvent businesses and customer experiences, we have selected three strategies that will put you on the path to successfully evolve, innovate and transform your business in 2024.

Strategy one: Don’t try to solve all AI at once. Instead, break down your AI roadmap into manageable, valuable use cases.

The problem: Many (non-digitally native) organisations remain hesitant in how they build their AI strategy. Investments in AI can be substantial, training LLMs on data and content can be a lengthy process, and aligning all leaders within an organisation on AI priorities can be challenging.

But those are surface signals.

What is missing is a clear breakdown of use cases that will ultimately constitute the company’s AI roadmap. Companies can’t seem to figure out the 'why' underneath the 'what' and stall on their AI strategy.

What to do about it: In Q1, work with customer research, brand and product strategy, design teams and business leads to identify the most impactful use cases for customers and the core business. Create a proof of concept for each one, prove its viability with a strong business case and align your executive leadership with it. Assess the feasibility for each one and identify shared business needs and technical capabilities across the most valuable use cases.

Strategy two: Don’t rely on traditional assessment methods to create confidence. Instead, build a strong brand narrative to generate alignment and trust in strategy.

The problem? Barring a few exceptions (e.g., Nike or Airbnb), most companies don’t master internal brand narrative and storytelling. They rely on traditional top-down communication streams to align teams - like the note from the CEO or the 'strategic pillars' that no one knows how to act on. When aligning teams on projects and operational priorities, companies employ traditional methods like prioritisation matrix or revenue impact projection.

But those approaches fail to deliver on one important aspect of the decision-making process: A strong internal reason to believe that can generate the trust and confidence to move forward. Without it, teams hesitate and try to build consensus on approximate strategies and numbers.

What to do about it: In Q1 and Q2, embrace the power of creativity by engaging with a hybrid group of creatives and strategic thinkers to build a brand narrative that excites your peers and executives, clearly delineates the long-term horizons and provides tangible reasons to believe. Roll out your internal brand narrative in a roadshow and collaborative sessions for a few weeks. Witness how creative strategy aligns teams and leaders and generates trust in a shared vision.

Strategy three: Stop thinking there’s the work vs. everything else. Instead, factor in the humanity around the work.

The problem? Projects and transformation programs are almost always defined by deliverables: a new product, a new service, an important change in an offering, the integration of new technical capabilities, a new workflow, etc. Those tangible deliverables are easy to measure, and in a sense, easier to deliver. Complexity and hardship in transformation come from what’s around those deliverables: the soft factors, the human-to-human interactions, the company culture, the dynamic (or lack of) across departments, the old ways of working, etc. Those are unavoidable, despite the fact we do everything we can to … avoid them.

What you can do about it: From Q1 through Q3, update the definition of your program to make the soft factors an intrinsic part of the transformation. Bake the human-to-human interactions into the project plan. Create safe spaces along the way for creative and strategic alignment between teams and executives. Create cross-discipline teams that can see the broader picture. Integrate moments to pause and reassess progress in the project plans, so you can pivot if necessary. Factor in the humanity around the work.

This will be the year to adopt a bold decision-making mindset - the year to get unstuck in your transformation program. To ascend to the next level, push hard in Q1 to set up the year on a strong foundation and figure out your AI roadmap. In Q2, build momentum with business leads and executives by creating an exciting brand narrative. Bring everything together in Q3 by enrolling teams and building up confidence. Finally, in Q4, collect data on progress and insights on sentiment, reflect, reassess, and course correct in preparation for 2025.

Matthieu Mingasson is the head of design transformation at Code and Theory. He’s spent nearly a decade shaping the agency through leadership across product design, research and strategy. Previously, Mingasson led UX at Digitas UK and Ogilvy. He has over 30 years of experience working with brands across all industries.