The World Has Changed
Picture your typical Monday morning meeting. Your team is discussing quarterly targets, customer feedback, and market challenges. But something has changed in the past year - your competitors are moving faster, responding to market changes quicker, and somehow doing more with fewer resources.
This isn't just your imagination. We're witnessing a fundamental shift in how business operates, similar to the internet revolution of the 1990s, but at a dramatically faster pace.
The Tale of Two Companies
Let me share a story of two regional insurance companies that McKinsey documented in their 2023 State of AI report.
Company A took a "wait and see" approach to AI. Their reasoning seemed sound: they wanted to see proven results, avoid risks, and learn from others' mistakes. They continued with their traditional processes, pride intact in their decades of experience.
Company B took a different approach. They started small but decisive - first using AI to help their customer service team handle routine inquiries. The results surprised even them: response times dropped from hours to minutes, and customer satisfaction scores jumped by 20%. Encouraged, they expanded AI use across departments.
One year later, the difference is stark. Company B has:
- Doubled their customer service capacity without adding headcount
- Reduced policy processing time by 70%
- Freed up their experienced staff to handle complex cases that truly need human expertise
Meanwhile, Company A is losing market share and struggling to match their competitor's service levels.
