Work has always evolved. We’ve transitioned from farming to factories, hand tools to machines, and from typewriters to computers. However, the evolution of AI is different. This time, change isn’t confined to one industry at a time – it’s happening everywhere, simultaneously. It’s not just changing jobs; it’s altering how decisions are made, how value is created, and how work is performed. This isn’t just another wave of change – it’s a fundamental shift.
Some see this as an opportunity; others perceive it as a threat. This difference in mindset has always separated organisations that adapt from those that fall behind. As ‘The Artificial Death of a Career: A tale of professional obsolescence and how to avoid it*” argues, AI doesn’t punish people who lack technical skills. It punishes those who cling to routine and the status quo.
So how do you stay relevant amongst the maelstrom of change, even when AI is foreign or new to you and what are the golden rules to remember?
1. Successful AI & Automation strategies start with human intelligence defining the problems you’re trying to solve
The good news is that there are a few simple cornerstones at the heart of any successful AI and automation strategy, and none of them begin with technology. The starting point must always be the problem you’re trying to solve. AI is a tool to help you implement a solution – never the solution on its own.
Real progress comes from clearly understanding the challenge, questioning how work is currently done, and being willing to innovate continuously rather than treating AI as a one-off initiative.
2. You don’t always need new tech
Too many organisations start with the tool and then search for a use case. But those that succeed do the opposite: they focus on real problems, then work backwards to determine how technology (often technology they already have) can help solve those problems in better, faster, or more sustainable ways.
Often, the most significant gains don’t come from ripping everything out, but from rethinking how what’s already in place can work better together.
3. Adaptability matters more than certainty
In the age of AI, adaptability matters more than certainty. Road bumps are inevitable. Models won’t be perfect. Processes will evolve. Priorities will shift. The real question for leaders is this: Are you willing to disrupt how work gets done today and embrace change as an opportunity rather than a threat?
4. Strategy is easy. Execution is hard.
While a lot of organisations are talking about AI, only a few have a clear strategy. Even fewer have connected AI and automation to how their business actually runs day to day. The uncomfortable truth is this: even a great strategy means very little without organisation, planning, and execution behind it.
Everyone is talking about reinvention – new operating models, new roles, new ways of working. But businesses also love routine. Routine feels safe, predictable, and manageable.
The risk is that without planned, structured ways to implement your new strategy, and failsafe ways to engage your workforce in driving forward that implementation, routine can quietly take back over, and that can be ruinous. AI doesn’t wait for comfort. It reimagines how work is done and it does so quickly. Personally, and professionally, standing still has never been more dangerous.
5. You and your people are the experts in in your own business – harness that knowledge
To utilise the full power of AI, organisations need to listen better. The reality is simple: nobody understands your processes, bottlenecks, risks, and inefficiencies better than your own people. Yet most organisations don’t create the space or the structure for staff to share those insights meaningfully, let alone turn them into action.
What we see again and again is that people want to be part of the solution. They want clarity on why decisions are being made. They want honesty about how AI affects their roles. And they want to be trusted to contribute. Involving people in the roll out of AI helps them to see it as an opportunity for their career, rather than a threat to it.
6. AI Is a skills and mindset shift, not just a tech shift
It’s easy to focus on the threats of AI. It’s harder and far more useful to focus on the opportunities. AI will demand new skills, new behaviours, and new leadership styles. The leaders who stay relevant will be the ones who:
- Stay curious instead of defensive,
- Invest in people, not just platforms, and
- Create momentum rather than waiting for certainty
In periods of change, businesses need resilience and toughness, but they also need focus. Overthinking leads to paralysis and ignoring AI altogether is even worse. The most effective leaders balance thoughtful analysis with decisive action. They stay informed, make decisions, adjust when needed, and keep moving.
7. Strategy is a living thing
One of the most important questions leaders should be asking right now is: Am I following a trend or do I actually have a strategy? A real AI strategy isn’t a single pilot or a slide deck. It’s a living pipeline of ideas shaped by the people closest to the work, aligned to outcomes, and reviewed as the organisation learns.
The leaders who will stay relevant
The leaders who thrive in the age of AI won’t be the loudest or the most technical. They’ll be the ones who:
- Listen carefully,
- Stay alert to change,
- Create clarity in uncertainty, and
- Build confidence through action
AI isn’t a moment, it’s a movement. Staying relevant means choosing to see that movement not as a threat, but as an opportunity to build something better, together.
*Authors, Dr Helmut Schuster and Dr David Oxley
Written By
Mark O'Connor
Managing Director of the Data, AI & Automation Practice
