The leadership gap holding back enterprise AI

Episode notes

Your competitors aren't just experimenting with AI anymore. They're using it to make faster strategic decisions, enter markets first, and reshape how they compete. So why are most enterprises still stuck chasing efficiency gains? In this episode of In Other Words, host Jason Hemingway talks to Raf Postepski, Senior Director at Alvarez & Marsal, about a leadership gap that's widening fast. Most C-suite teams have declared an AI ambition. Few have translated it into something their organization can actually execute. Raf shares what happens when he walks into workshops and mid-level leaders say, "We know the CEO has a vision. We just have no idea what it means for us." From there, the conversation moves to where the real value sits. Raf argues the AI model itself is rapidly commoditizing and introduces his "Build for Advantage, Buy for Parity" principle, drawing on a pharmaceutical case study where AI-driven decision intelligence created a first-mover advantage measured in billions. Jason and Raf also tackle the question that should be on every Board agenda. If AI turns your core business systems into interchangeable infrastructure, what's actually left to compete on?