Company executives who plunged into the “AI Race” are encountering some serious speed bumps, prompting them to rethink and reset strategy.
Despite hurtling headlong into AI implementation, and a potential multi-trillion-dollar economic windfall, 92% of CEOs don’t see immediate tangible results from C-suite plans, compared to 59% achieving measurable success, according to a study by The Futurum Group and Kearney Management Consulting. 213 CEOs in companies with annual revenue of at least $1 billion were polled, and twenty CEOs were interviewed extensively.
The study’s findings are sometimes stark. “Our analysis reveals a striking disconnect: The most successful companies are those where top leadership deliberately steps back from hands-on AI strategy.” What is more, “CEOs are overconfident and mask organizational under-confidence.”
Participating companies point to building cross-functional alignment (62%) and adjusting workflows and processes (63%) as significant hurdles in folding AI into daily corporate operations, the study found. Practical challenges like integrating with existing tech stacks (32%) or navigating IP and licensing complexities (24%) often delay or derail promising initiatives.
Indeed, while 62% of CEOs view AI as “a powerful shift that will change business”, only 38% view it as “still holding some degree of hype” and 9% view it with a substantial degree of uncertainty. For many, it is a financial marathon – not a sprint. Most CEOs place positive outcomes within three years, and almost 8% place value creation at more than three years.
“My time spent speaking with CEOs during the in-depth interviews as well as year-round, indicates the gravity in which the AI junction is dealt with,” Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group, said in releasing the report Tuesday. “Today’s AI journey decisions make or break a CEO’s legacy in ways that don’t fall short of major leadership management decisions of growth, culture, operations, market impact, product development and ultimately, revenue.”
A key point of delineation is between digital native companies and more established enterprises. Digital native company CEOs describe a fast-follower mindset in which they run lightweight pilots to validate AI solutions while investing heavily in analytics-savvy hires. Conversely, established companies at least 10 years old often stress “sustained viability” (45% vs. 27% for digital native firms) and stronger internal alignment (38% vs. 25%), reflecting a longer-term lens that includes TCO (total cost of ownership) considerations and historical data migrations.
After culling the views of CEOs, Futurum and Kearney stitched together a CEO playbook with five keys to AI success: Instead of treating AI as a standalone technology, CEOs need to link it directly to both near-term gains and long-term breakthroughs; have a robust data readiness to any AI initiative; blend external recruitment, consulting partnerships, and targeted internal training to fill a talent shortage; put in place effective AI governance; and for leaders to invest in change-management framework.
Nearly three-fourths (73%) of established firms engage AI-focused consultancies to modernize entrenched technology stacks and unite siloed data before scaling any disruptive AI initiatives, the study found.
“This research from Kearney and Futurum gives CEOs a compass to chart the opportunities with AI,” ServiceNow Inc. CEO, Bill McDermott, one of the CEOs interviewed, said in the report. “It also looks at the cultural and environmental impacts that will be among the biggest measures of our success.”
The stakes are staggering: AI will have a nearly $20 trillion global impact by 2030. What is more, every dollar spent on AI solutions and services will generate nearly $5 in value to the worldwide economy.
