Dr. Lisa Palmer on "Resistance-to-ROI": Why business metrics break through organizational fear

Dr. Lisa Palmer brings a rare "jungle gym" career perspective to enterprise AI, having worked as a CIO, negotiated from inside Microsoft and Teradata, led Gartner's executive programs, and completed her doctorate in applied AI just six months after ChatGPT hit the market. In this conversation, she challenges the assumption that heavily resourced enterprises are best positioned for AI success and reveals why the MIT study showing 95% of AI projects fail to impact P&L, and what successful organizations do differently. Key Topics Discussed: Why Heavily Resourced Organizations Are Actually Disadvantaged in AI Large enterprises lack nimbleness; power companies now partner with 12+ startups. Two $500M-$1B companies are removing major SaaS providers using AI replacements. The "Show AI Don't Tell It" Framework for Overcoming Resistance Built interactive LLM-powered hologram for stadium executives instead of presentations. Addresses seven resistance layers from board skepticism to frontline job fears. Got immediate funding. Breaking "Pilot Purgatory" Through Organizational Redesign Pilots create "false reality" with cross-functional collaboration absent in siloed organizations. Solution: replicate pilot's collaborative structure organizationally, not just deploy technology. The Four Stage AI Performance Flywheel Foundation (data readiness, break silos), Execution (visual dartboarding for co-ownership), Scale (redesign processes), Innovation (AI surfaces new use cases). Why You Need a Business Strategy Fueled by AI, Not an AI Strategy MIT shows 95% failure from lacking business focus. Start with metrics (competitive advantage, cost reduction) not technology. Stakeholders confuse AI types. The Coming Shift: Agentic Layers Replacing SaaS GUIs Organizations building agent layers above SaaS platforms. Vendors opening APIs survive; those protecting walled gardens lose decades-old accounts. Building Courageous Leadership for AI Transformation "Bold AI Leadership" framework: complete work redesign requiring personal career risk. Launching certifications. Insurance company reduced complaints 26% through human-AI process rebuild.