Is this how your employees are FEELING your AI strategy? 

It was for my son. One day, he got a directive from his manager. 

“Congrats! All employees now have a Co-Pilot account. Meet your new “co-bot” co-worker. Everyone needs to discover how to incorporate AI into their workflows, show time saved or new improvements to your work and report back to you manager on your progress. Remember to document your work!” 

And they called it “The Bottom Up AI strategy.” If my very talented 27 year old is deciding your AI strategy, we’re all in trouble. 

I’m hearing about this happening all over the world. And we wonder why 47% of implemented and funded “AI strategies” have failed. 

Because when the strategy at the top lacks clarity, the confusion doesn’t stay in the boardroom. It cascades all the way down the org chart. And when it comes to AI—arguably the most consequential shift many companies will face today—that lack of clarity becomes a storytelling problem. 

Leaders know they need an AI strategy. What many don’t yet have is a clear story about it. 

So, the message employees hear isn’t a narrative. It’s a mandate. 

“Use AI.” 

“Move faster.” 

“Do more with less.” 

When people don’t understand the why, the where we’re going, or how they fit, they fill in the blanks themselves. When Block, Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey’s company, announces massive layoffs—40% of the company—and the market rewards them with a 20% stock bump, the signal to other executives is loud and clear: cutting without consequence is good business. 

Critics call this AI washing—using the promise of AI as justification for cuts rather than as part of a coherent transformation. 

But the real cost shows up inside organizations. 

Researchers from Harvard Business Review have been documenting a phenomenon they call “workslop.” As companies tighten budgets and consolidate roles, employees are already stretched thin. Add vague mandates to “use AI” without training, time to experiment, or cultural permission to fail—and something predictable happens. 

People start using AI performatively. 

That’s what happens when strategy travels through an organization as an order instead of a story. 

Until leaders can clearly explain where AI is taking the organization, why it matters, and what role people play in that future, urgency will keep spreading faster than understanding. I’m helping so many leaders right now to get their AI story straight. 

Let me know if you need a head and a hand with yours. Getting this story to stick may be the most important one of your career.