HBR in their July/2019 publication, had referred to one of their recent surveys where thousands of executives took part in sharing their thoughts of how their companies use and organize AI and advanced analytics, with the results being far from encouraging as 8% of surveyed firms engage AI in core practices that support widespread adoption. While the rest of them are only applying AI in just a single business process.

Why the slow prog­ress? At the highest level, it can be a reflection of a failure to rewire the organization, particularly that AI along with other promising digital transformation initiatives are facing formidable cultural and organizational barriers. Yet, if the business is blessed with a leader who at the outset take steps to break down those barriers, then they have a significant advantage of capturing the most of AI opportunities.