Distilled from MIT research, Award winners, and community deployments. Updated monthly as we learn what actually works.
"External partnerships see twice the success rate of internal builds."
Co-develop with execution-oriented vendors
Evaluate AI vendors like business partners—not software suppliers
Prioritize vendors who understand your operational and security intricacies
"Buyers who succeed evaluate tools based on business outcomes rather than software benchmarks."
Specify precise agency/BPO cost reductions upfront
Target back-office processes with measurable ROI
Ignore vague "productivity" claims—demand tangible P&L impact
"Top performers reported average timelines of 90 days from pilot to full implementation."
Enforce strict pilot-to-production timelines
Kill projects failing to deliver clear results in one quarter
Prove value first—platform consolidation comes later
"Minimal disruption to current tools. If it doesn't plug into Salesforce or our internal systems, no one's going to use it."
Require native integration with your stack
Reject "science projects" disrupting current workflows
Test rigorously with real-world data and operational flows
"The biggest thing holding back AI is model quality, legal, data, risk."
Mandate risk assessments and governance frameworks
Demand documented assurances—not vendor promises
Confirm compliance understanding upfront
"We've seen dozens of demos this year. Maybe one or two are genuinely useful. The rest are wrappers or science projects."
Insist on demonstrations using real data and real processes
Identify "brittle" solutions upfront
Walk away if vendors can't clearly articulate your operational nuances
Our 12-trait readiness checklist helps you evaluate your organization's preparedness for successful AI transformation.
Download 12-Trait Checklist(AVAILABLE JAN 2026)