From AI Theater to AI Value: Breaking Free from the Implementation Trap

AI Strategy Leadership Digital Transformation

Here’s an uncomfortable truth for CEOs: While 78% of companies are using AI, most are seeing limited tangible value from their investments. You’re likely in one of two camps—either you’re part of that frustrated majority wondering where the ROI went, or you’re nervously watching competitors announce AI initiatives while your own pilots languish in pilot purgatory.

The problem isn’t your technology. It’s that you’re performing AI theater instead of creating AI value.

The Seductive Trap of “Agentic AI”

The latest buzz is about “agentic AI”—autonomous systems that can operate with minimal human oversight. These digital agents promise to revolutionize business by making decisions and executing complex tasks independently.

It’s a compelling vision, but it can become a distraction if we focus solely on the technology.

Here’s the key insight: Success in AI doesn’t come from technology alone. It requires equal attention to three critical elements: People, Process, and Technology. While autonomous agents represent exciting technological advances, the real opportunity lies in using AI to amplify human talent and reimagine how work gets done. Organizations that balance all three elements—not just chase the latest technology—are the ones capturing real value from AI.

Why Most Companies Are Failing: Three Predictable Reasons

Talking with companies, the pattern is clear:

1. They’re Automating Bad Processes Installing AI on top of broken workflows is like putting a Ferrari engine in a horse-drawn carriage. You’ll go faster in the wrong direction. The successful companies don’t automate existing processes—they reimagine them entirely.

2. They’re Ignoring the 10-20-70 Rule Most companies spend 90% of their AI budget on technology and algorithms. The winners flip this: 10% on algorithms, 20% on technology and data, and 70% on people, processes, and cultural transformation. Yes, you read that correctly—70% on the “soft stuff.”

3. They’re Building Monoliths, Not Components Every failed AI pilot I’ve seen was designed as a one-off solution. Every successful implementation creates reusable components that multiply value across the organization. If your AI initiative doesn’t produce at least three reusable building blocks, you’re doing it wrong.

The SCALE Framework: Your Escape Route from AI Theater

Here’s how successful companies break free from the trap:

S - Scope Problems Clearly Stop starting with “What can AI do?” Start with “If we can X, then Y will create Z value.” No fuzzy objectives. No technology-first thinking. Clear, measurable business outcomes.

C - Create Reusable Components Every AI initiative should build components others can leverage. A customer service chatbot should create language models your sales team can use. A financial forecasting tool should produce data pipelines your operations team can tap.

A - Activate Dual-Direction Innovation Top-down strategy provides infrastructure and governance. Bottom-up experimentation provides energy and ideas. You need both, operating in concert. Kill either direction and you’ll struggle to create value.

L - Learn Through Rapid Experimentation Test with $100 before building $100K infrastructure. Run weekly iteration cycles. Fail fast, learn faster. Struggling companies plan for months and build for years. Successful ones experiment in days and scale in weeks.

E - Evolve with Continuous Feedback Your first implementation will be wrong. Your second will be better. By the tenth iteration, you’ll have something transformative. Struggling companies launch and leave. Successful ones launch and learn.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Let me paint you two pictures:

Company A (The Struggling Approach): Spends $2M on an “agentic AI platform” to automate customer service. Six months later, they have an expensive chatbot that frustrates customers and demoralizes agents who now handle only the angriest escalations. Value created: Negative.

Company B (The Successful Approach): Spends $200K building AI components that help agents resolve issues faster. Agents handle complex problems while AI handles routine queries. Customer satisfaction rises. Agent job satisfaction improves. The AI tools for email and CRM get repurposed for sales enablement. The data pipelines feed into product development. Value created: 10x investment within 12 months.

The difference? Company B focused on augmenting humans and creating reusable value. Company A focused on replacing humans with autonomous systems.

Three Actions for Tomorrow Morning

  1. Audit Your AI Theater List every AI initiative in your company. For each, answer: “What reusable components has this created?” and “How has this transformed (not automated) the underlying process?” If you can’t answer both, you’ve found your problem.

  2. Flip Your Investment Ratio Take your current AI budget. Calculate what percentage goes to technology versus organizational change. If it’s not at least 50/50, preferably 30/70, redirect immediately. Yes, this means spending more on change management than on licenses.

  3. Start One SCALE Experiment Pick your highest-friction business process—something that frustrates employees and customers alike. Spend $1,000 and one week testing how AI could reimagine (not automate) it. Build three reusable components. Learn five lessons. Then decide whether to scale.

The Real Competition Isn’t Who Has the Best AI

While your competitors chase “agentic AI” and autonomous systems, you can build something more powerful: an organization where AI amplifies human creativity, where every experiment creates reusable value, and where transformation happens through evolution, not revolution.

Many companies struggle because they focus too heavily on technology alone—and exciting new tools are only one-third of the equation. Successful companies understand a fundamental truth: AI’s value comes from scaling your people, transforming your processes, and using technology to enable both. It’s not about replacing humans—it’s about freeing humans to do what only humans can do.

The question isn’t whether you’ll use AI. It’s whether you’ll use it to perform theater or create value.

Which will you choose?

Ready to break free from the AI theater trap? Start with the SCALE framework and remember: Your AI transformation is 70% about people, not platforms. The technology is the easy part.