Launch · July 31, 2026

AI is only half the equation

On May 11, SAP took the Sapphire stage and announced the Autonomous Enterprise.

Two months later the numbers are on the table, and they all tell the same story: It looks like a technology problem. It almost never is.

I've put together what I mean — in ten frames. Swipe through. 👉

MIT, Deloitte, McKinsey, BCG, PwC, Harvard: independent sources, one pattern. Technology is one half. The human half decides the outcome.

From Tuesday this becomes a series: 12 weeks, 4 dimensions — Intent, Leadership, Trust, Alliance. 🧵 One thesis a week. One question for you each week.

To open, the most important one: 💬 Where have you turned the affected into the involved?

I read every comment.

MAY 11, 2026 · SAPPHIRE ORLANDO JULY 21, 2026 · TWO MONTHS LATER AI is only half the equation. Technology is the easy half. The half that matters is human. → SWIPE themissinghalfof

WHAT THE STAGE PROMISED "We are entering the era of the autonomous enterprise." — SAPPHIRE 2026 KEYNOTE THE STAGE WAS CROWDED: SAP · Anthropic · NVIDIA · Palantir

TWO MONTHS LATER — THE NUMBERS 95 % of enterprise GenAI pilots, no P L impact MIT NANDA 2025 84 % haven't redesigned work around AI DELOITTE 2026 21 % have redesigned workflows McK

LET'S PAUSE FOR A MOMENT. It looks like a technology problem. It almost never is. 600 million people work with enterprise platforms every day, worldwide. Each has a face. A name.

TWO INDEPENDENT HOUSES · SAME FINDING BCG 10 % algorithm. 20 % data tech. 70 % people process. PwC 20 % comes from technology. 80 % comes from the work.

THE HARDEST EVIDENCE Not a survey. A controlled experiment. +40 % quality WITHIN the capability frontier −19 pp more often wrong OUTSIDE the frontier 758 BCG consultants. Same tech

HARVARD · KARIM LAKHANI "AI won't replace humans — but humans with AI will replace humans without AI ." HBR · AUG 2023

AFTER 30 YEARS OF GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS 5 of them in People Advisory at EY, I know: The question is never whether the tech works. THE QUESTION IS: How do we turn the affected into

FOUR DIMENSIONS, ONE CORE V alue · the core I ntent · why, before the tool T rust · the real adoption curve A lliance · one team, not two halves L eadership · what the machine can'

STARTING NEXT WEEK 12 weeks. 4 dimensions. One series. One hypothesis a week. One question for you each week. TO OPEN: Where have you turned the affected into the involved? FOLLOW

10 frames · scroll sideways · Download as PDF

#TheMissingHalf #HumansAtCenter #AutonomousEnterprise #Leadership #FutureOfWork

The numbers in this piece

Every figure named above, with its source. Links go to the primary study.

95%

95 percent of enterprise GenAI pilots show no measurable P&L impact

MIT (NANDA / Project NANDA), 2025

10-20-70

10 percent algorithm, 20 percent data and technology, 70 percent people, process and culture

BCG, 2025

80/20

80 percent of the value of an AI initiative comes from redesigning the work, 20 percent from the technology

PwC (2026 AI Business Predictions), 2026

+40% / -19pp

Within the capability frontier: +25% speed, +12% completion, +40% quality. Outside it: 19 points more often wrong.

Dell'Acqua, Mollick, Lakhani et al. (Harvard/BCG RCT), 758 Consultants, 2023