I’ve seen this movie before. The polished slide decks, the boardroom buzzwords, the middle managers sighing into their coffee. Like clockwork, every few years, a new ‘transformation’ comes knocking: ERP, then Lean, then digital. Now it’s AI. Same actors, different costumes.
## The Cycle of Corporate Makeovers
Here’s the script. Executives read a flashy article about AI’s potential. Consultants swoop in with case studies and marginally customized PowerPoints. Frontline teams brace for disruption while eyeing the initiative with ‘Oh God, not another one’ fatigue. The tools are sharper this time—AI really *can* cut weeks from workflows—but no algorithm fixes a company stuck in its own red tape.
## AI Is Different (But Maybe Not in the Way You Think)
Unlike ERP or Lean, AI has teeth. It’s not just moving boxes on an org chart; it’s rewriting how work gets done. Imagine automating data cleaning that took months, or generating client reports in seconds. But here’s the kicker: That power withers if your org still treats change like a checkbox exercise. Cool tech won’t matter if middle management sees it as noise, or if leaders forget to ask, ‘What problems are we solving?’
## The Real Problem: Broken Systems, Not Buzzwords
Companies love tech as a quick fix but despise the hard work of adapting. That resistance isn’t new—it’s *inherited*. A team I worked with once wasted a month arguing over who ‘owned’ the AI project. Turns out, their last digital transformation had the same fight. The tool wasn’t the issue. The system was.
## So… How Do We Break the Cycle?
Ask these questions:
– Who’s actually using the tech day-to-day? Are they involved in decisions?
– Are leaders rewarding curiosity, or just compliance?
– Do middle managers feel supported to test, fail, and refine?
– Is the goal efficiency, or solving a human problem (like free time for creativity)?
## Final thought: AI Is Just a Mirror
It reflects what’s already there. If your company culture values theater over truth, AI becomes another prop. But if you tackle the real work—communication, trust, incremental wins—it could accelerate actual change. Has anyone ever seen it work? I’d love to hear your stories. Because ‘Another corporate costume party’ gets old *fast*.