AI Strategy in Action: How Six Companies Are Redesigning Work

Why I changed my mind about AI, and what that means for the future of work.

You’ve heard it all before. AI is being compared to the invention of the internet. Some even say it’s as big as electricity.

For quite a while, I was in the camp of "let’s see." I used the tools and was impressed by the outputs, but I still saw AI as just another productivity booster, not a fundamental shift in business.

But that has changed. The more I pay attention, the more I believe it isn’t just another tech trend. It’s a profound disruption. The future of work, the shape of organizations, and even the structure of the economy are all being rewritten.

It is different from the evolution from riding a horse to driving a car. Because this time, the car is driving itself. The safe position of the human guiding the machine is no longer a given.

This technology doesn’t just follow instructions, it trains itself. It adapts to new use cases we hadn’t imagined. Soon, it will be like having a new colleague who takes on 80% of your tasks after just one day of observing you at work. It doesn’t sleep, it doesn’t burn out, and it scales without limits.

AI is the fastest-growing technology in human history. We have already seen the first companies with organizational charts of AI agents working together. The implications are real, and we’re just getting started.

Six AI strategies

Let’s take a closer look at how six companies are responding: three born-digital and three established enterprises. Each is facing the same shift but with very different strategies.

1. Shopify made AI use mandatory. It’s part of performance reviews, and non-use must be justified. Teams must prove they’ve used AI before asking for more headcount.

2. Standard Chartered flagged 45,000 of its 83,000 roles as changing due to AI — either "sunset" or "sunrise." This signals a proactive workforce redesign at scale.

3. Johnson & Johnson killed 85% of its AI use cases after learning that only 10–15% delivered most of the value. AI projects now go through strict governance and prioritization.

4. Duolingo is rethinking how work gets done. AI is now a factor in hiring, performance reviews, and headcount approval. Teams must show they’ve automated tasks before hiring. Most roles are being redefined with AI in mind.

5. Procter & Gamble ran a large-scale experiment involving 800 people. They used AI with full access to their documents, calendars, and workflows. Productivity increased, but for leaders, it raised questions around delegation and transparency.

6. Box pushes teams to automate aggressively and reinvest the saved time into strategic work. They’ve adopted shared AI platforms and embedded experimentation into team routines.

Pick your AI strategy

I bet that within a year or two, we will have fully AI-generated colleagues that interact in our meetings and do valuable work. So if you’re not yet thinking about how AI will impact the future of your organization, you’re already behind.

AI Strategy = Business Strategy. It’s not about tools — it’s about how you create value. Identify where AI can accelerate value, unlock efficiencies, or enable new business models. Map the risks. Spot the opportunities.

Consider how your teams make decisions, which roles may become obsolete, and what guardrails you need to adopt AI responsibly. Will AI use be mandatory or optional? Will your approach be centralized or distributed? Will you take a bold public stance or stay under the radar?

Unblock your organization

Real AI adoption isn’t just about plugging in new tools — it requires a fundamental rethink of how your organization operates. The companies in this article aren’t just adding AI. They’re redesigning how work gets done.

Because when things speed up, AI will amplify existing blockers: unclear strategy, slow decisions, siloed teams. To learn how to become adaptive and remove the systemic obstacles that hold people back, pick up a copy of the Unblock book.

If you take away only one thing, it is to run experiments. This technology can’t be adopted by following a step-by-step plan. Invite everyone in the organization — including leadership — to experiment with real use cases, and actively share what they’re learning. Test fast, learn fast, and make it safe to fail.

Because if your organization learns faster than others, you have a chance of surviving this inevitable wave.

Eating our own dogfood

Last month, we ran a 48 hour AI hackathon with our team at Unblock. We will also host a free leadership roundtable on AI strategy on Wednesday 21st, 16:00 CET — register here. Finally, if you need help with picking your AI strategy, we offer a workshop for leadership teams.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!