Decisions keep waiting
Several people are involved, but it is unclear who can decide.
An executive briefing by Erlend Hollebosch
AI amplifies the system it enters. Make it coherent first.
AI can improve tasks. To turn those improvements into enterprise value, examine how decisions, processes and information connect.
Start with one important workflow. Develop coherence and AI adoption together.
01GenAIAssists a person with a task
02CopilotEmbedded in everyday tools
03AI AgentActs toward a goal
04Agentic WorkflowCoordinates steps and systems
05Reinvented ProcessRedesigned around humans and agents
06Business ValueMeasured in outcomes, not usage
Executive summary
Six ideas to take away
01
AI amplifies the system it enters.
88% of organizations use AI, yet only about 6% attribute 5% or more of their EBIT to it. More tools will not close that gap.
Read the chapter 02Build coherence into the workflow.
For the workflow you want to improve, connect goals, processes, decision rights and data as you develop the AI application.
Read the chapter 03Value sits in processes, not in tools.
Copilots spread small gains across everyone. Value concentrates where AI is built into one end-to-end process.
Read the chapter 04Redesign the process. Don't automate the old one.
Parallel work, fewer handoffs and less waiting create the step change.
Read the chapter 05Clear decision rights make autonomy safe.
Every agent needs an identity, boundaries and a person accountable for it. Match autonomy to risk.
Read the chapter 06Start with one coherent lighthouse.
Pick one process, align it end-to-end, measure outcomes, then scale what you built.
Read the chapter
01. The GenAI paradox
AI Everywhere. Transformation Almost Nowhere.
Organizations have rapidly deployed GenAI, mostly as horizontal tools such as copilots and chatbots. These tools help with:
Writing
Summarization
Information retrieval
Meeting preparation
Content generation
Individual productivity
Task gets fasterProcess stays the same
The gains are real, but spread thinly across thousands of employees and individual tasks. The business process underneath stays largely the same.
Use AI regularly in at least one business function88%
Are scaling AI agents in at least one function23%
Attribute 5% or more of EBIT to AI≈ 6%
The value gap. Adoption runs roughly fifteen times ahead of meaningful earnings impact. Only about 6% of organizations attribute 5% or more of their EBIT to AI.
Exhibit 1 · High adoption, limited measurable impactReport finding · McKinsey, The state of AI in 2025
Deploying AI broadly is not the same as transforming the business.
02. The coherence lens
Why AI Stalls in Fragmented Organizations
AI outcomes depend on both the technology and the organization around it. Waiting decisions, repeated handoffs and unclear responsibilities can limit the value of an otherwise useful application.
Fragmented enterpriseCoherent enterprise
DecisionsWait for approval across committeesOne owner decides at the right level
HandoffsMany, with no owner for the transitionFew, designed end-to-end
GovernanceA new layer after every incidentProportional to risk
ChangeInitiatives stacked in parallelSequenced to what teams can absorb
What agents amplifyFrictionValue
Measure how the enterprise moves, not only what it produces
- Decision latency
- Time from question to decision.
- Handoffs per case
- How often work changes hands before it is done.
- Waiting share
- Part of the cycle time in which nothing happens.
- Rework
- Work done twice because it was unclear or incomplete.
Reduce friction before you accelerate. Otherwise agents make the old problems faster.
Coherence decides what agents amplifyFramework · The Coherent Enterprise
The AI Advantage Will Not Come From Having More AI.
It Will Come From Redesigning How Work Gets Done.
The organizations that create disproportionate value from AI will not simply deploy more copilots or build more agents. They will identify the processes that matter, redesign them around human and machine capabilities, govern agent autonomy, and connect AI investment directly to measurable business outcomes.
Five principles for coherent transformation
The Coherent Transformation Playbook · The Coherent Enterprise- Protect absorption capacityChange only as fast as people and teams can absorb it.
- Reduce fragmentationFewer, connected initiatives instead of many parallel ones.
- Simplify governanceProportional controls, fewer layers, faster decisions.
- Protect operational continuityTransform without breaking what works today.
- Reduce friction before accelerationRemove waiting and handoffs before adding agents.