Boards must start thinking more “big picture” if their businesses are to take full advantage of the AI revolution.
Enterprises have big AI ambitions, with 98% of organisations looking to expand AI and data investments in 2025. Now, business leaders are looking to demonstrate the value of their investments and not just in terms of efficiency gains.
Interviewed as part of Salesforce’ Agents of Change Series, Ashley Braganza, Professor of Organisational Transformation at Brunel University of London, puts things in perspective: “The real value of AI is in driving innovation that truly differentiates. That’s where the pressure now lies.”
To achieve this goal, business leaders should look beyond making incremental changes and consider how AI agents can drive wholesale transformation.
“The big question is whether boards are ready for this level of change,” says Professor Braganza. “Agentic AI gives organisations the chance to reimagine their businesses. For those willing to embrace it, that’s where the real opportunities for revenue growth lie.”
To succeed, leadership needs to change its approach to business strategy. The focus should no longer be on optimising for the present; boards and executives should instead focus on imagining a new future.
Professor Braganza adds, “Boards should stop basing strategy on past performance or current operations and start asking, ‘what could we deliver in the future that our competitors can’t?’”
This shift requires exploring a range of future scenarios and rethinking strategy for a world where AI agents are on the front line, learning and optimising in real time. It also requires consideration of how this is aligning, or not, to boardroom strategy and how the two come together.
Agentic AI is going to have a major impact on leadership and leaders. Tune into Professor Brazanga’s must-watch interview to learn more.
