In 2002, Louis V Gerstner published a memoir of his time as the CEO of IBM. Between 1993 and 2002, he led a turnaround in the fortunes of IBM – “Big Blue” as it was called “You never get fired for buying IBM” was almost a law in the industry.

In 1990, IBM was the second largest company in the S&P 500; today it ranks 35th, with “new” tech companies occupying the top five positions. When Gerstner took over, IBM had made significant losses with its long-term future far from certain.

The AI revolution means you must “teach elephant’s to dance”

IBM at the time were a victim of their own success; too many businesses have fallen the same way (for example Kodak), they did not react to the changing market – IBM did adapt and is still a sizable force in the industry.

One thing is very apparent – individuals are adopting AI in their personal lives, however, many businesses are resistant, some banning outright the use of AI in the workplace.

Adapt now!

Adapting your business in response to AI is not an option, you must have a strategy in place and communicate this to your people. If you don’t, at worst, they may start themselves, which can be a dangerous approach. Now is the time to define your adoption policy and strategy – to write your guidelines and red lines.