🤖 What Made This AI Strategy Succeed (When Others Don’t)

I’ve just wrapped up a 9-month advisory role supporting a major AI-driven sustainability initiative inside a leading asset management program, what we named the Future Advantage ESG Initiative.

At first glance, everything looked promising.

The organization knew it had to act. AI was part of the strategy. A top-tier consultancy was already engaged.

But something didn’t sit right with the CEO.

And the Board was clear: no room for overrun, no tolerance for missed value.

That’s where I came in.

As a strategic advisor to the CEO and executive leadership, I was brought in not to run the tech, but to ensure that the promise of AI translated into measurable business advantage.

Because here’s what happens too often:

• AI is treated as a tech implementation not a business and behavior shift
• Strategy and delivery speak in different dialects
• Internal teams are capable but spread thin, stuck in performance cycles and political tightropes
• Consultancies bring frameworks, but lack contextual grounding inside the real flow of work

The team knew this. They had the talent.

But they wanted confidence.

Confidence that this AI investment wouldn’t become just another digital transformation that drains resources and invites scrutiny.

Together, we:

• Aligned cross-functional priorities across ESG, data, product, and operations
• Built a translation framework to connect AI capabilities to strategic outcomes, not theoretical benefits
• Co-designed use cases with business unit heads based on real, high-leverage workflows
• Identified capability gaps and repositioned uplift as a core ROI factor, not a cost center
• Advised the executive team on decision governance and how to communicate trade-offs with strategic clarity
• Safeguarded the human layer, ensuring behavioral readiness, ownership, and internal trust remained intact

And here's the technology layer that made it work:

🔸 We deployed agentic AI systems: autonomous, goal-oriented agents that could execute full workflows with minimal human intervention.

🔸 These were not standalone bots. They were connected AI agents, each trained to specialize (e.g., ESG compliance review, investment portfolio intelligence, cross-team task orchestration) and designed to interact horizontally across the organization.

🔸 We didn’t replace core systems. We built an AI overlay, integrated into the organization's data environment allowing for 24/7 operations, context-aware decision-making, and zero duplication.

🔸 This wasn’t generic AI. These were bespoke AI agents aligned to business goals, governance rules, and human collaboration needs.

And yes, we avoided a lot of drama.

✅ No public walk-backs

✅ No inflated promises

✅ No boardroom firefighting

Instead, we:

• Rolled back hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary spend
• Boosted staff experience by 15%, driven by clearer workflows and reduced cognitive load
• Delivered a 22.5% productivity gain in two of the highest-priority ESG-linked investment streams

All without compromising stakeholder confidence, integrity, or long-term positioning.

This is what real AI leadership looks like.

Not more dashboards.

Not siloed tools.

But strategic orchestration, platform-level alignment, and behavioral fluency at the top table.

If AI is on your roadmap, or already underway, and you’re asking:

👉 Are we truly positioned to deliver on the promise?

Then this is exactly the kind of work I do.

📍Let’s be real; leading transformation today is noisy, intense, and isolating

You’re doing the real work, but finding depth, clarity, and people who get it? Rare.

You want to stay ahead and keep growing but without the fluff, overwhelm, or constant self-promotion.

That’s exactly why I created Change Makers Corner (CMC).

A focused, curated space where change and transformation leaders like you can:

🔹 Think out loud

🔹 Sharpen your edge

🔹 Reconnect to the why behind your work

🔹 And stay at the forefront—without having to explain your job (again)

Inside the Corner, you’ll find:

🎧 Private audio insights (from me to you)

🎓 Bite-sized, powerful mini-courses

📥 Tools you’ll actually use

🤝 A real community of people who get it

No filler. No performance. No egos.

Just high-quality insights and connection for those doing the work of change.

The cost? Your passion. Your curiosity. Your readiness to grow.

🟡 Doors open really soon.

It takes less than 60 seconds to join the waitlist.

Join Change Makers Corner → https://www.futurefitleader.com/cmc-waitlist

🎞️ Watch the video below

Till next week

Jess Tayel

Founder of the Transformation Leadership Institute and People of Transformation membership & community.

Enable Organizations to Become Future Fit Through their Transformations & Change efforts.

Elevate Change & Transformation high-performing leaders to soar above the sea of sameness and achieve new heights in mastery, influence, & impact without the drag of going solo or slow progression.