We call it transformation because we bought new tools.
We call it innovation because we signed another enterprise license.
But most companies are still doing the same work — just with shinier buttons.
A bank adds an AI assistant to handle customer calls — but keeps the same broken process underneath.
A manufacturer installs predictive maintenance — and still waits for approval from three committees to act.
A retailer plugs in a chatbot — and never fixes the policy that made customers leave in the first place.
Real progress isn’t about swapping the hammer. It’s about questioning why you’re still building the same house.
The danger of AI isn’t that it replaces you.
It’s that it amplifies whatever you already are.
If you’re inefficient, it’ll make you faster at wasting time.
If you’re afraid to rethink, it’ll make you more confident in your old ways.
The illusion of progress feels good because dashboards move and charts go up.
But the truth is, the companies that win aren’t the ones who use AI —
they’re the ones who let it change what they believe work should look like.