Upgrades in the Age of AI

Table of Contents   

1. Introduction
2. Three Types of People
3. Blockbuster vs. Netflix
4. AI Readiness Assessment 
5. Leaders’ Role and ROI
6. Seven Elements of AI-Empowered Organizations
7. Proximity Bias Game
8. The Five E’s Framework
9. AI Play Along and Personas
10. Personalization Example
    
11. Prioritization on Purpose 

Transcript

Introduction

Welcome everybody that has joined this fantastic uh welcome to ERP sweet week and excited to have this event excited. So um no excited to have everyone here. Thanks for joining today's uh in this week's AI week. Um, we have a packed agenda with a variety of different tracks, different different keynotes and we have a special guest Julie Holmes who is a we are co-workers way back in the day in JD where we worked here in Denver and since then Julie has you know broadened horizons and expanded and grown so much. She is a leader in the innovation and AI space around the world talking with customers about AI and technology driving business engaged in multiple ventures companies that she has formed. She has a wonderful background and we are so happy to have you here Julie to kick off our AI week. And with that, I'd like to hand it over to you.

Thank you so much, Manuel. It's a delight to be here and I'm so excited. Um, as Manuel said, uh, JD Edwards is my background, right? So, 20 almost 20 years I spent working in the JD Edwards space doing everything from from training to uh to product management. I was the product manager for E1 Financials for years and as well as working as a partner in analytics and you know one thing was consistently true. I loved our JD Edwards customers and I'm just thrilled that there are so many of you on here today. Um and I'm delighted to see all the different places where we're coming from. Argentina, Ecuador, Carolina, Panama. Um I'm going to give a special shout out of course to Nebraska because that's where I'm from and I was just in Nebraska on Sunday. So, um I think we need to talk about the weather that we had over the weekend, which was terrible and cold. But other than that, of course, Omaha, my old stomping ground.

So, I thought what I would do today is kind of put together something a little special for you all. Um as Manuel said, I do get to travel all over the world and it's and I'm really lucky, I think, to be able to do the work that I do. Um I, you know, started my own company, um you know, probably 10 years ago now. And um and it's been a really great adventure to be able to kind of help people embrace technology particularly AI as I think for many people it can feel a little bit overwhelming.

Three Types of People

As I travel around the world and I've spoken on three continents this year alone and as I travel around the world and I speak about AI I will tell you that I have found that there are really three types of people um when it comes to AI. The first group of people are those that are are super excited about AI. They are like all in. They can't wait. They're naming their robot butler. They are absolutely thrilled and delighted about the prospect and everything that AI brings to the party. And they are our AI enthusiasts.

And there's another group of people. And that other group of people, they are the ones who feel a little overwhelmed, a little uncomfortable. They're not sure how AI fits into the world. And so they are what we call our AI reluctants.

And then there's a third group of people. And that third group of people um I think are best represented by my next door neighbor, Ruby. Now Ruby is amazing. She is the most delightful person you'd ever meet. She's the kind of person who brings you chicken soup when you're sick. She knows you're sick before you know you're sick. And I think um I think the best way, you know, maybe the best way to describe Ruby is she's one of those people that says, "Oh, bless your heart." And she really means it. So like she's that person, which is great.

Now, I was chatting with her not too long ago and I was she was said, "Oh, what have you been up to?" And I was saying, "Oh, you know what? I've been traveling around. I've been talking about AI. I meet with leaders and and find out how they're using AI. I, you know, do research and I investigate and we do surveys and analysis about how people are leveraging the techn, you know, leveraging AI."

And I went on and on and on and Ruby put her hand on my arm after a few minutes and said, "Oh my gosh, Julie, that's a that's just amazing. I just had no idea that you were so involved in artificial insemination."

And I thought, "Oh, I I didn't know that either, Ruby, but uh but thanks. I appreciate that." And still to this day, the cul-de-sac thinks that I'm involved in veterinary sciences.

So regardless of where you are on your journey with AI, whether you are all-in and you're an enthusiast and can't wait, whether you are reluctant and feeling overwhelmed, or whether you're just like, “AI, I'm pretty sure I can spell that,” I've tried to kind of put some content together today that I think will be helpful and hopefully get you inspired and thinking in the right way about how this technology can help.

Blockbuster vs. Netflix 

So, um, I'm going to share some slides here. We're just going to share them all through the screen so that you can see everything pretty straightforward. So, hopefully Manuel, can I get a thumbs up that you're seeing my slides with me? Awesome. That's fantastic. In fact, let me push myself over to the other side like that. There we go.

So, when it comes to technology, a lot of people are sensing this level of angst about AI and about all the change and all the transformation, but I think it's a really good first thing to recognize that this isn't our first time at the rodeo. Like we have absolutely been down this path with technology before.

And in fact, if I think back to, you know, maybe when I was first dating my husband — and my husband and I have been married for just over 25 years now — I can remember early in the days of dating, and we got on famously, and we still do get along quite famously. However, there was one area that was always cause for a bit of a debate or a little bit of a disagreement.

And that was every Friday night. We would come home from work — these were in the early days — and the first thing we would do is change our clothes and then hop straight in the car and go to the store. Now, we had to go to the store and we had to get there by a certain time in order to get just the right entertainment for our Friday evening.

Now, you would think that this would be pretty straightforward. You know, we were obviously very similar people. We were married, you know, so you'd think we'd have a lot in common, but I promise that wasn't the case when it came to the store. We would get to the store and we would immediately have a disagreement about what direction we were going to go and what we were going to focus on. I would want to go left because I felt like we needed something creative and romantic and fun and lighthearted. He wanted to go right and head straight to the back wall so that he could get to something that blows up.

Now, for those of you, let me give you a little bit of a hint what this looked like. On one particular Friday evening, my immediate thought was like, "Oh my gosh, what we need to do more than anything, what my very British husband needed to see was he really needed to see this movie on the left." Now, for those of you who are looking at that thinking, "Well, that guy looks really familiar," you're right. Anybody want to put into chat, who's the guy on the left? See if you can get it. Who's the guy on the left?

I will tell you that this was a moment where I thought I was going to give my British husband some real cultural education about the Midwest where I am from. Shout out to Nebraska. And of course, this person on the left was starring in Oklahoma, which is this amazing musical rendition of settling the Great Plains of America — you know, and down in Oklahoma where we would have cows and calico print and singing and dancing and romance and love and horses and sometimes all at the same time. I mean, just an amazing adventure.

And of course, what did we see as the star of this wonderful show? Hugh Jackman. And I promise I wasn't after this for Hugh Jackman.

Now, if you're looking at the picture on the other side and you don't recognize that this was where my husband went and this was the cause of the argument because when we look at this particular photo you might not recognize it, but let me zoom out and see if it makes a little more sense. So, I don't know. Does that look familiar to anybody? That's right. You guessed it. Blockbuster — the new release wall at the very back of Blockbuster.

Now, for those of you that are sitting at home playing along, let me ask you this: when or where is Blockbuster today? And if you're thinking, well, it's still open — it is still open. There is still one Blockbuster remaining. That Blockbuster is located in Bend, Oregon. And so in Bend, Oregon, there's one Blockbuster remaining, but it's basically like a museum piece. You might go there and you might as well see new release DVDs as well as seeing dinosaur fossils. That's how old it is.

And for those of you who are too young to recognize this back wall, the things on this wall are called DVDs. We used to have to go out to get a DVD to bring it home to watch a movie. Now, I want you to imagine for a second that you're walking into a Blockbuster to the new release section and what you're desperately wanting is to see the latest Men in Black because this was the time that this was the latest, greatest Men in Black movie, but instead you got there and you couldn't watch it because everybody from ERP Suites was already watching that film because they have impeccable taste.

However, wouldn't you be frustrated today if that was the case? And the interesting thing about the whole Blockbuster scenario isn't Blockbuster in and of itself. It's that they had a chance to purchase 49% of Netflix and didn't pursue it. They declined to purchase 49% of Netflix because they couldn't imagine a world where that kind of digital streaming would take precedence and would actually last and actually kind of take over the world of movies.

And instead they decided to double down on the systems, the processes, and the practices that they already had in place. Now, somebody is feeling a lot of regret about that decision and has certainly felt a lot of regret about that decision over the years.

So, the question for you as you step into AI week here is whether or not you're eager to stay in the Blockbuster world or whether you want to go play in the Netflix space.

AI Readiness Assessment

So, what does your future hold? Are you embracing technology or are you kind of pushing it aside in hopes that maybe this will all just blow over and pass you by?

As we think about all of that, I think it's not about necessarily identifying every possible way that AI can transform your business or how you can get the most results and the best outcomes from AI — that also comes over time — but instead to start off by just recognizing that AI is the very first step in transforming your business if you're not already there. And there's a lot of different forms that that AI transformation can take.

So, I thought I'd start by sharing a little bit of the research that we've done. We do what's called an AI readiness assessment with organizations. And this is more just a survey that we put out when we speak to groups around the world, and it helps us to kind of get a feel for where people are in the world when it comes to AI.

Now, one of the first questions we like to ask is: where are we with artificial intelligence? So, let's just try this out. I'd love to see everybody participating in chat because there's a lot of interactivity in this particular session. So, let's all dive in.

In your chat just quickly, let's answer this question: do you think that AI will have a significant impact on your industry? Yes or no? So, just quickly put into the chat yes or no. Do you think AI will have a significant impact on your industry? And let's see where we get responses from. So, go ahead and type that into chat.

And I'm watching the chat on my other screen so I can make sure that I can answer any questions that come up as well. Perfect. So, we're starting to see Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. There's obviously a little bit of a lag. It already has. That's very true. I agree with that.

All right. It's clear everybody's kind of on board with this. Here's what I'll tell you — you are in very good company because we find in our AI readiness assessment that 98% of leaders indicate that AI will have a significant impact on their industry. One of my favorite questions I get from groups, particularly CEOs, is, "Well, who's the other 2%?" And I would agree with that — it's hard to imagine a world where AI isn't having an impact.

Now, there's another question, especially for those of you that are leaders: do you think that you're in control of AI? Of course, there are different levels of AI and different ways that AI is implemented in organizations. I spend a lot of time talking about generative AI technologies and that type of thing. But of course there's also systematic AI or embedded AI technology platforms, which I know is going to be a big focus this week.

And just to kind of give everybody perspective, one of the most interesting results I think that we get out of this AI readiness assessment is that four out of five leaders tell us that they either know or suspect that people are using unknown or unapproved AI tools for work.

So let that just sink in. If you are an organization who is issuing what we call panic policies — meaning that "oh my gosh, AI is overwhelming, we don't know what to do with it, so our policy is going to be: don't do anything, don't touch it, don't use it" — if that's the policy you've got, I can tell you right now that that is not working for you. Because four out of five leaders know or suspect that people are using AI tools that they don't know anything about.

Now, that doesn't mean that AI is out of control. It means that there's an opportunity from a leadership perspective to help people be very discerning users of AI. We can't rely on policies to control what people are going to do with AI. So instead, we have to inform and educate and honestly inspire people when it comes to AI so that we're guiding them in the right direction as leaders.

And it's worth it. I promise it's worth it. In fact, a 2025 study came out and shows that for every dollar that organizations are investing in AI, they're seeing about $143 in increased revenue and cost savings. So, the ROI is there — it's just a matter of making sure that we are embracing it.

Leaders’ Role and ROI

Now, one of the things that I do on a day-to-day basis, as Manuel mentioned, is working with AI. But I do that by interviewing leaders and working with teams and understanding, in part, what it is that differentiates an organization that is really doing well with AI and those who are laggards or who might be struggling when it comes to AI.

What's really interesting to me is that our research shows that the organizations who are most successful when it comes to leveraging AI as a technology aren't always the biggest. They also aren't always the ones with the biggest budgets. They aren't always the ones who have historically been the most tech advanced.

So, when we started to kind of group together those responses and look at who was most successful and what those successful projects and initiatives looked like, it turned out that there were actually seven things — or seven elements — that these AI-empowered organizations do that make them more successful.

Let me share those with you now.

The first is that the leadership and the strategic teams are spending time understanding the potential of AI. They're actually looking at it and making sure that they can see all of the possible use cases for AI so that they can then go on to step two, which is they prioritize. They are ruthless in their prioritization, making sure that they evaluate opportunities and pick just the right ones for their organizations — not the ones that necessarily get the most hype, but the ones that have the most opportunity for them specifically.

Then they do something that I think is really special: they have an AI-first mentality. That means that instead of looking at their existing processes and trying to just plug AI into a piece or part of that process, what they're actually doing is re-evaluating their processes to determine what it would look like if they had an AI-first approach to it. So instead of saying, “Let's just plug AI in,” they say, “Well, what if we just revamped this whole process, leveraging AI as a foundational element to it?” That can often transform the way they use this technology.

They also reinforce AI-related skills. At this point, particularly when it comes to things like generative AI, we haven't even talked about the tools yet. But what these organizations who are truly AI-empowered are doing is they're recognizing that to truly and effectively use AI within their organization, there's a whole set of soft skills that are really vital to taking advantage of it. This includes things like critical thinking, decision-making, communication, grit and determination — being able to keep working through a problem because there's not a right or wrong answer anymore, there are just flavors.

And so, the more they invest in their people to reinforce those AI-related skills, the more success they have when they actually do go on to the next step, which is to accelerate with tech and tools. By the time they're implementing technology and tool sets, they're sure that their people are ready, willing, and able to take full advantage of that technology stack.

Then, of course, they're realistic and they deploy in stages. And that deploying in stages — for those of you that have ever done a big software implementation — will be familiar as one of the hallmarks of a truly successful initiative: the idea of being able to bite off exactly what you can chew and make sure that you are leveraging that technology effectively before you move on to trying to bring in anything else.

And last — and probably the thing that I think is most critical when it comes to leadership and strategy especially — is that they evolve continuously. New technology platforms are coming out all the time. This is a moving target. And while this is an incredible opportunity, it can also get to be a little overwhelming. So, one of the key things they're doing is carving out a set amount of time every week to just stay at the forefront of this technology and make sure that they're able and open to embracing anything new that comes along.

We call this the Upgrade Framework, and these are the kinds of things that AI-empowered organizations are doing. They have a very holistic approach to AI. And I thought what I would do for you today is to just call out a couple of these that I thought would be of most value as you lead into this week.

Seven Elements of AI-Empowered Organizations

The first of these that I want to highlight is Understand. But before we do that, if you're up for it, I thought we might play a little game. Now, I've never played this online before, so we're going to have to give this a shot and hope for the best. But this is what I call the numbers game.

In the numbers game, if you are willing and open and desire to have a bit of fun with me right now, grab a piece of paper or a pen, or you can use your notepad on your phone, but you're going to need to write things down. And the way that the numbers game works is that if you write down the numbers as fast as I say them, I'm going to give you a list of numbers. You're going to write them down — I'm going to go really quick, so you've got to write them down in order.

And there will be some prizes perhaps at the end, so keep that in mind if you're wondering whether you should participate. And at some point during this exercise, I'm going to ask you to do something else. So I might say, for example, “Write down a piece of fruit,” and you would write down “apple” or “banana.” So that's kind of the gist of it. It's a very quick game, but it is a lot of fun and it has a very interesting twist at the end.

So, are you ready? On your marks, get set:

17, 21, 34, 75, 90, 8, 4, 11. Write down a piece of furniture. I'll give you a second for that one.

29, 14, 3, 2, 1. Perfect. Now, jump into the chat and write down what piece of furniture you wrote down. So, go ahead and go straight to the chat and just type in whatever piece of furniture you wrote down.

Okay, we've got a sofa. Perfect. Couch. Good. All right. Now, as you're all typing that in, we're going to do just a little kind of self-truth here. Most people will land into two different options — and of course, you're all working at home, so I see a lot of… there we go, there's all the answers I was expecting.

What we generally see here is that 97% of people, when asked this question and put on the spot, will either identify something that they sit on — we'll count sofa in that — or something that they sit at, like a desk or table. Now, if you wrote down anything that wasn't one of those two things, something that you sit at or something that you sit on, go ahead and drop that into the chat. If you got more creative than that…

We’ve got ottoman — I'll take ottoman as a coffee table. That's very good. Yep.

The really interesting element of this is that when you think about it, there are literally thousands of pieces of furniture. And yet, 98% of people come back with the same response: table or chair or something along those lines.

Why is that? There's actually a scientific reason for that, and the scientific reason for that is called proximity bias. Proximity bias says that under duress or under stress — and sometimes even without the stress — we default to the things that are most apparent to us, the things right in front of us.

And so for you sitting here on this AI Week webinar right now, that's probably a desk or a chair or a table that you're sitting at. And I love that we've got a TV, a bureau. I can't believe nobody has said “bed” yet — that's always one of my favorite ones to get in is somebody's like, “I need to be back in bed right now, I'm so tired.”

When we think about that, proximity bias is all well and good from a games perspective, but it's actually the same thing that happens every day in business as well. Now, as someone who used to work in Next Generation Products, I always thought it was really interesting how even when we would go into a meeting and we would say, “Quick, I need everybody to be creative. We need new ideas, fresh perspectives,” we would often recycle the same things that we'd always had in front of us. That's proximity bias at work.

Now, AI presents an incredible opportunity to break out of that proximity bias and to try and do something different and to think differently. And I wanted to start with Understand because we have a strategy that we use to help people break out of that box, and I think it might be beneficial for you as well.

Proximity Bias Game

First of all, when we think about all of that, the key to understanding is to know what's possible so that you know what to pursue. If you aren't aware of all of the potential that AI could bring to your organization, you're going to be hard-pressed to say, "Yep, that's the right initiative for us," or, "This is where we should invest our time."

So really keep your eyes, your ears, and your minds open to all of the different examples, illustrations, and use cases that are going to be talked about this week during ERP Suite AI Week.

Let’s start off with looking at what that means. We know what's possible so we know what to pursue, and we’re going to do that with The Five E’s. The Five E’s are one of the ways we challenge our thinking and try to find new ways to look at how AI can provide value and impact within an organization.

The first of these E’s is Explore. Explore is all about finding hidden opportunities. We do that through technology platforms — for example, computer vision. For those of you that are in manufacturing or distribution, or sometimes even if you're in a professional services space, if you're in restaurants or anything like that, that's another good option.

Computer vision allows us to take images and video and convert that video into actual data that we can consume and use. We can quantify it. For example, I worked with an AI startup that was focused solely on manufacturing and distribution for computer vision. One of the ways we did that was training a camera on a production line or a distribution line, and from there we’d be able to see:

• Does that box have a label?

• Does the label have all of the required elements on it?

• Are all of the items that we packed in the box actually in there?

• Is the packing correct?

• Have we missed any items?

• Can we count the items as they get packed?

Being able to use that kind of technology lets us see something that we couldn't have seen before.

It can also give us new data insights. Now, as JD Edwards customers, I know for a fact that you have an incredible treasure trove of data. I also know that some of it is messy — I get it. I feel you. I recognize that. That’s definitely a task that needs to be handled — getting that data under control. But think about all of the incredible insights you might be able to gain by letting AI look through that data (in a protected fashion), to help you identify patterns and opportunities.

It can also help you drive new ideation. Instead of just guessing at a piece of furniture, AI might suggest options you’ve never thought of before. That’s where this becomes powerful — it can help you break out of that proximity bias and see beyond what’s right in front of you.

The Five E’s Framework

So beyond just exploring new opportunities, we can also use AI to enable.

Enable can mean accessing specialist skills. For example, let's say you're in marketing and you really want to do more TikTok videos, but you don't actually know what makes a good TikTok video, or how to produce one. Without AI, you might push that initiative off. With AI, you can tap into those specialty skills without necessarily hiring a full-time expert.

Enabling can also mean leveraging 24×7 bots or automation agents for processes — ways to speed things up, reduce manual effort, and keep operations moving even outside of normal working hours.

Next, we have Elevate. Elevating is about tailoring your messaging and enhancing experiences. This is where personalization comes in. When you tailor content, whether it’s training programs, marketing materials, or user documentation, you’re aiming for messages that connect more deeply with the intended audience.

To illustrate this, I shared a fun example from my own life:
My oldest daughter came home from her first day of work, looking so sad and despondent. The people were nice, the job was okay — but, she asked, “Why are there so many emails?” And it wasn’t just the volume. The structure of the emails was overwhelming. They were long, filled with corporate terms like embark and assets and reiterating.

So I thought — wouldn’t it be great if we could take an email clearly written by a Gen Xer and translate it into Gen Z style? AI can do that instantly. Imagine a welcome email rewritten as:

"Hey Devon, stoked to have you in the squad. Your vibe and ideas — total fire. Quick chat time: let’s make some moves. Hitting up our peeps and building those connects is where it’s at…"

Of course, that’s a lighthearted example, but the principle is real — AI can help adapt communication for different audiences quickly and effectively.

The fourth E is Empower. AI can empower people through personalized training and interactive bot coaching. This creates on-demand learning experiences, supporting employee development and making people more effective. And when your organization is at the forefront of AI, you also become more attractive to top talent. Great people want to work for forward-thinking companies.

Finally, there’s Expand. Expanding is about automating and scaling — using AI agents to move things along faster, serve more customers, respond more quickly to partners, or handle higher volumes without sacrificing quality.

Together, these five E’s — Explore, Enable, Elevate, Empower, Expand — form a way to think systematically about how AI can bring value to your organization.

AI Play Along and Personas 

Once you start thinking in terms of the Five E’s, you can begin applying them to real scenarios. And I didn’t just want to talk about this — I wanted you to experience it. So, we’re going to do a quick AI Playalong.

Now, I’m going to use generative AI here to give you some examples. The goal isn’t for you to walk away thinking “ChatGPT is the only tool,” but to see how AI can break you out of your usual thinking patterns and help you approach things differently.

Here’s how it works: I’ll give you a QR code to scan so you can open a pre-written AI prompt on your phone. The prompt will have a few blanks for you to fill in so it becomes relevant to you personally. You paste it into ChatGPT (or any generative AI tool you like), fill in your details, and then hit submit.

This particular prompt will create personas to help you explore new opportunities. Now, you might think personas are only for marketing, but that’s not true. Whether you’re a leader hiring new candidates, in sales looking for prospects, managing a team and wanting to understand different working styles, or working with partners and vendors — personas help you think beyond the one person or scenario in front of you.

For example, maybe you’ve been going after the same customer type over and over. This prompt might surface several other segments you’ve overlooked. Or maybe you’ve been recruiting for a role but always pulling from the same talent pool — AI can suggest additional candidate archetypes you hadn’t considered.

When I ran this prompt for my fictional company Techflow Distribution, it produced multiple personas, each with:

• Background and experience

• Challenges they face

• Their primary goals

• What motivates them

• Potential objections they might have

Looking at these side by side opened up entirely new approaches for how that fictional company could market, sell, or serve different people.

The important point is that AI helps you see beyond your default view. This is how we escape proximity bias and discover paths we might never have considered.

Personalization Example

Beyond exploring new opportunities with personas, AI can also elevate how we communicate — making our messaging resonate with different audiences.

I mentioned earlier the story about my oldest daughter starting her first job. She came home after day one looking completely worn out, and when I asked why, she said:

“The people are nice, the job’s fine… but why are there so many emails?”

And it wasn’t just the sheer number of them. The style was overwhelming — long, corporate-sounding, and full of formal words like embark, assets, and reiterating. To her, it was “blah blah blah” on repeat.

So, I thought — what if we could use AI to translate something clearly written by a Gen Xer into the tone and style of Gen Z? Here’s the transformation:

Original tone:

“Welcome to the team. We’re excited to have you onboard. We look forward to collaborating on upcoming projects, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.”

Gen Z translation via AI:

“Hey Devon, stoked to have you in the squad. Your vibe and ideas — total fire. Quick chat time: let’s make some moves. Hitting up our peeps and building those connects is where it’s at. And hey, always be curious. Dive into our learn zone and ask all the things. Keep the deets of your game in our system so we all stay in sync. Super pumped for the epic stuff we’re gonna pull off together.”

Now, this is obviously lighthearted, but the concept is serious: AI can instantly adapt communication styles to match your audience — whether that’s for generational differences, cultural context, or industry norms.

This has value far beyond email. You could apply it to:

• Training materials

• Marketing campaigns

• Customer service scripts

• Internal documentation

The ability to elevate by tailoring your message ensures that what you say actually lands with the people you’re trying to reach.

Prioritization on Purpose

Personalization is powerful, but if you try to apply AI everywhere at once, you’ll spread yourself too thin. That’s why prioritization matters so much.

Back when I was selling enterprise software, I learned this the hard way. Like any good salesperson, I had two kinds of prospects:

1. The big whales — the ones who could change my entire year.

2. The “Tommy Tightwads” — people who wanted everything free, including software, training, service, upgrades… probably even a company car.

Tommy was noisy. He’d negotiate endlessly. And because he was making so much noise, I spent my time chasing him — only to have him ghost me in the end. Meanwhile, the big whale I had in the pipeline went with a competitor because I’d neglected them.

That’s when I learned: you will always miss the right opportunity if you’re distracted by the wrong one.

To help organizations avoid this trap, we developed the AI Focus Filter — a simple framework for evaluating and prioritizing AI initiatives. Think of it like a sieve: you put every potential AI project through it, and only the ones with real value make it through.

Here are the five criteria:

1. Alignment – Does the initiative align with our agreed organizational priorities? You can’t measure alignment if you don’t have clear priorities to begin with.

2. Move the Needle – Will it create measurable impact? You must define how you’ll measure success before starting.

3. Fit – Is AI the right tool for the job? Just because you can use AI doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes traditional methods are better.

4. Feasibility – Can we actually execute this successfully? Consider infrastructure, budget, skills, and available partners or vendors.

5. Differentiation – Will this give us a genuine commercial or operational advantage over competitors?

In the bonus content I’m sharing, there’s even a scorecard spreadsheet you can use. It calculates a prioritization score so you can rank your AI initiatives objectively.

The point is: don’t just chase shiny objects. Pick the AI projects that truly matter, and focus your resources there first.

Closing Remarks 

When you apply the Focus Filter, you end up with AI projects that actually deliver results — and that’s how you avoid becoming the next Blockbuster.

Because here’s the truth: AI leadership starts at the top. When you champion change, your team will follow you. The goal isn’t just to use AI — it’s to become an AI leader in your industry. That’s how you become the “Netflix” of your space, setting the pace for everyone else.

I’ve put a QR code up here that will take you to the bonus content — free prompts, guides, tools, and all the slides from today’s session. You can put in as much or as little information as you like, and you’ll get instant access.

Before we wrap, I want to address a common question I hear from leaders: “How do we handle reluctance toward AI?”

It’s natural to have people in your organization who are hesitant — worried about what AI means for their jobs, their roles, or their processes. Some may feel overwhelmed by the pace of change.

My advice: educate and demystify. The more familiar people become with AI, the less threatening it feels. Encourage them to try it in low-risk, everyday scenarios. For example, I’ve used ChatGPT to:

• Invent a cocktail based on the ingredients in my pantry

• Translate slides in real time while attending an event in Norway

• Help brainstorm ideas for presentations and workshops

Small, personal experiments help build comfort and confidence. That familiarity is what opens the door to bigger, bolder uses in the workplace.

So as you leave this session and dive into AI Week, remember:

• Stay curious.

• Focus on what matters most.

• Lead with purpose.

And above all — don’t be a Blockbuster.

Thank you so much for having me. Manuel, Scott, everyone in the JDE world — it’s been wonderful to be here. I’m wishing you all the best as you explore what AI can do for you.