We all know the New Year's resolutions drill: get fit, set family goals, and, just maybe, cut back on those late-night emails. But with only 1% of executives saying AI isn't a priority in a recent Bain survey, this year, it's time to swap kale smoothies for AI fuel. As the technology reshapes business, here are five resolutions for executives that won't fall by the wayside by February 1st.
We all know someone who resolves to "get fit" every January -- buying the yoga mat, signing up for classes, and then ... well, Netflix happens. Sound familiar? In the AI world, data is your fitness program. And like the person who keeps rejoining the gym, companies must continuously recommit to data health. When recently asked what is preventing their company from moving faster with AI, 32% of executives said their data isn't ready, up from 19% in October 2023.
"Dry January"? Make it "Data January." Use the new year to cleanse bad habits and audit your end-to-end data governance approach. Fix those messy duplicates, prune the unused fields, and resolve to keep your data fit for purpose. The more disciplined you are, the better your AI/ML models will perform. Don't be the organization eating donuts while hoping for abs.
Imagine there's buried treasure under your office floor, but you never dig because it's "too much effort." That's your unstructured data. While structured data -- your neat and tidy spreadsheets -- is useful, it's only a sliver of what's out there. The rest? A wild sea of emails, images, PDFs, and text notes you've been ignoring for years.
But generative AI is like a high-tech treasure map, making unstructured data easier to access and far more valuable. For instance, maintenance notes jotted in a text file could provide insight that makes your SAP dashboards sing.
Ask yourself: What gaps in your structured data could be filled with the right unstructured information? Once you find the gold, you'll wonder why you didn't dig sooner.
"AI agents" may sound like futuristic beings from a superhero movie. But agentic workflows are here, automating tasks and processes to deliver seamless results.
If you understand it, you won't be afraid of it. Think of it like learning to drive a semi-autonomous car -- you're still in control, but the system does more of the work.
Leading executives will familiarize themselves with how these workflows are built to scale and govern them responsibly. Ignorance isn't bliss -- it's a bottleneck. Be curious. Exploring agentic systems is the difference between watching the AI revolution unfold and leading it.
Your "2025 Strategic Offsite Agenda" probably includes terms like "growth," "efficiency," and "customer experience." IT might have its token slot at the end of Day 2. But here's the reality: None of the ambitions set at the offsite will succeed unless you create a strong blend of the right technology, process, and people.
AI can't magically fix a broken process or outdated offering. But it can reimagine them -- if your business and technology leaders work as one. That means your P&L leaders and your CTOs, CIOs, and digital teams need to sit at the same table, not operate in silos.
Integration leads to innovation. The future belongs to companies that seamlessly unite strategy and tech. Make 2025 the year your leadership team works cross-functionally to build something transformative.
AI pilots are the corporate equivalent of trying new hobbies: They're fun, easy to start, and quickly abandoned when things get too hard. And scaling is hard.
Avoid the pilot graveyard by investing in scalable AI architecture, now. The unsung hero of AI development -- machine learning operations (MLOps) -- will be essential. MLOps streamline the deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of models so things don't devolve into unmanageable chaos.
Think of AI architecture as the plumbing of your company. Once it's in place, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Finally, this year, be the CEO who sticks to resolutions. They are easy to make and hard to keep -- but that's not news. Every executive knows that sustained progress requires discipline, vision, and maybe a touch of humor when things get tough.
AI isn't a passing trend; it's the new treadmill. Whether you're walking, running, or sprinting, now's the time to get on and stay on. Your future self -- and your shareholders -- will thank you.