Post by Peter Sencar

Last week, I had the opportunity to give a guest talk at the Product Management Strategy Day in Zurich organized by CINTONA. More than 100 product leaders shared their experiences. Among all the topics discussed, one clearly dominated the conversation: Artificial Intelligence. One question kept coming up again and again: 🔎 Where should AI adoption actually start — in the Business or in IT? After many discussions with practitioners across industries, a clear consensus emerged: 👉 AI initiatives should be led by the Business — not by IT. Technology is the engine, but the Business must drive the car. AI is ultimately about identifying real-world use cases, creating value for customers, increasing productivity and improving products. IT plays a crucial role as an enabler, but the strategic direction needs to come from the business side. 👉 Another key takeaway: don’t wait for the perfect AI strategy. Start early. Many SME organizations are currently gaining momentum with a simple approach: 1️⃣ Demystify the technology Explain AI in plain language and define clear guardrails for data and cybersecurity. 2️⃣ Manage expectations AI is powerful, but it is not a magic wand. 3️⃣ Upskill the team Equip people with basic AI knowledge and practical skills such as prompt engineering. 4️⃣ Create a sandbox. Start small. But start. Encourage safe experimentation and hands-on learning with simple routine tasks such as note-taking, summarizing documents, or research. Once people understand the technology, something interesting happens: they start identifying relevant use cases themselves. And once the first small successes appear, momentum builds quickly. 💡 Curious to hear your perspective: Who is leading the AI initiatives in your organization today? Any recommendations for getting started successfully? Share your experience in the comments below! 👇 Thanks to all the other speakers for sharing their valuable insights. 🙏 Prof. Dr. Rainer Fuchs, Dr.-Ing. Silvia Rummel, Thilo Camargo von Wissell, Martin Pattera, Esther Seidl-Nussbaumer, Sandro-Diego Wölfle, Cristiano Bellucci, Domonkos Gaspar, Sawsan Studer, Sascha Kropf, and many more. #AI #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #ProductManagement #ArtificialIntelligence