So Alex Dixon, said what would Doug Shannon 🪢 Say About This Chart?

Well I’ll do one better… 😁

Looking at the top two figures here, Automation (58%) and Process Redesign (53%). These aren’t just hot trends, they’re signals.

Larger enterprises that already invested in automation are now being forced to double down. Why? Because they’ve already amortized those investments, the ROI is proven, the infrastructure exists. But now they’re reproducing processes and circling back to modernize, not just optimize.

So why bring in AI now?

Because AI isn’t the starting line, it’s the multiplier. But to get there, you need clean inputs. You need filtered data, grounded process clarity, and organizational alignment. You need to understand:

• Who’s doing what,
• Where your silos live,
• What categories your data touches.

Only then can AI generate real impact. And more importantly, only then can you empower your employees to use the data meaningfully. AI isn’t here to replace them, it’s here to amplify their insight.

Now let’s flip the coin.

The industries not yet jumping into GenAI or agents? They’re still wrangling their data. They’re leaning into what I’d call classic AI, ML, NLP, foundational models, to bring scattered data into usable form. That’s not backward thinking, it’s foundational. They’re taking a “what do we know now” approach, building from certainty before leaping into unknowns.

But whether you’re already deep into automation or just getting your data house in order, the conclusion is the same, Automation is the first domino.

Because if you don’t know your data, and you don’t trust your processes, why pay the premium of prompt token costs on incomplete inputs?

Clean the data, restructure the process, then add intelligence.

That’s the path forward.

#humanfirst #mindsetchange #ai

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