The Great AI Pivot: How 2025 Defined the Next Chapter of Strategy, Execution, and Accountability
2025 was the year AI stopped being a side project and became the strategy conversation in every serious boardroom. Leaders who had dismissed it as hype or a "someday" thing finally started asking their teams about real AI readiness: data quality, feasibility, actual ROI—not just flashy demos.
Most earlier AI initiatives were doomed by underinvesting beyond data scientists, pushing everyone toward disciplined spending that actually delivers. That urgency got personal too: stories of missing the internet boom reminded us ignoring AI repeats those painful mistakes.
I set out to create practical frameworks, showing leaders how to assess data assets and prioritize high-ROI processes before jumping in onto the AI bandwagon. Eventually, the actionable insights were distilled into Raise Your AIQ, a newsletter for ongoing, no-fluff AI leadership guidance.
This roundup pulls together the key insights from my year's writings on that pivot. Coming up: product innovation breakthroughs, real ROI wins, people-first adoption strategies, and the AI cleanup wave setting up 2026.