The Human Shift

Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report found only 25% of organisations have moved 40% or more of their AI pilots into production. 

The pilots work so the technology isn't the problem.  So what is?

I have long advocated that AI isn’t a technology issue, it's a people issue. The tool got deployed but the people didn't.  This is a solvable problem.  The organisations that make it to business as usual do the human work first.  They engage with their staff, they redesign roles and workflows, they build capability and equip middle managers to be change leaders.

This is the gap we built the SHIFT framework to close.

S. Scan. Before anything gets deployed, map what's changing; roles, tasks, sentiment. Understand what your people are feeling, not just what the roadmap says.

H. Humanise. Redesign roles so people work alongside AI with clarity and confidence. Build the governance and ethics foundations. Reset the psychological contract before anxiety turns into resistance.

I. Implement. Build real capability.  Don’t just provide training, deliver cohort-based reskilling, peer support, ongoing coaching to enhance confidence.

F. Frame. Establish change leadership.  Equip your leaders to deliver the narrative. The message from the top and the conversation in every team meeting need to match. Middle managers are the key to AI surviving or stagnating in the business.

T. Transform. Make it business as usual. Quarterly review cadence. Updated performance frameworks. An internal AI community that keeps adapting as the tools evolve.

If your AI pilot is sitting in limbo, or if you're about to launch one, I'd love to talk about what a people-first approach looks like for your organisation.