85% of enterprise AI initiatives fail—not from technology, but from the execution gap.
Organizations automate decisions without clear ownership. They treat governance as compliance theater. They run human-speed processes against machine-speed systems.
Gartner forecasts $2.52 trillion in AI spending through 2025. Yet most organizations aren't ready to execute at the scale their ambitions demand.
The problem isn't your AI. It's whether your leadership is ready for it.
AI Works Not Because It Was Built—But Because Leadership Was Ready
The Execution Gap: AI Meets Reality, Organizations Break
Decision Ownership Fractures
Who's accountable when AI denies a loan, flags a transaction, or recommends a hire? When the algorithm acts, who owns the outcome?
Most organizations automate decisions without answering this question. Then face the consequences when things go wrong.
Governance Becomes Theater
Principles without policy. Risk committees without decision rights. Ethics frameworks that sound impressive but don't translate to operational guardrails.
When AI moves at machine speed, human-speed governance doesn't just slow things down—it breaks.
Process Discipline Collapses
Your data isn't ready. Your workflows can't support AI at scale. The cultural shift from human-led to AI-enabled work creates friction you didn't anticipate.
Implementation reveals what leadership assessment should have caught.
EMPOWERING AI works with boards, CEOs, and senior leaders to ensure organizations are ready to execute AI before time, money, and credibility are at risk.
We operate upstream of implementation, focusing on leadership alignment, governance that enables execution, and operational readiness.
We do not sell software. We do not build systems. We remain independent of delivery partners to provide unbiased, strategic truth.
Our engagements focus on high-stakes decisions, not pilot theater.
High-Stakes Leadership + Execution Rigor
David M. Barnes, PhD (Brigadier General, US Army, Ret.)
Author of Boots on the Ground AI (forthcoming), the definitive guide to leading AI execution at scale—positioned as "Good to Great for the AI era."
Dave served as Chief AI Ethics Officer for the U.S. Army AI Integration Center, where he led the development of operational frameworks for deploying AI in high-stakes environments. He now advises boards and senior leaders on organizational readiness for AI transformation.
Credentials:
Forbes "Top 15 AI Ethics Leaders"
Visiting Professor, Technical University Munich
Fellow, Oxford University Institute for Ethics in AI
Decades leading large organizations through technology-driven change
"AI implementation failures stem from organizational readiness gaps, not technology limitations. Leadership execution is the bottleneck."
Boots on the Ground AI
The leadership playbook for organizations deploying AI at scale
When Jim Collins wrote Good to Great, he identified the leadership practices that separated exceptional companies from merely good ones. Boots on the Ground AI does the same for the AI era—providing proven frameworks for the execution challenges that cause 85% of enterprise AI initiatives to fail.
This isn't a book about building models. It's a book about building organizations that can execute AI successfully.
What you'll learn:
The three decision frameworks that prevent accountability fractures
How to build governance that enables execution, not just compliance
Operational discipline practices that ensure AI ROI
How to lead the cultural shift from human-speed to machine-speed operations
The book is currently in conversations with publishers. Get early access to frameworks, case studies, and implementation guides.
Before Your Next AI Initiative Launches
Answer three questions:
Who owns the outcome when your AI makes a decision?
Can your governance keep pace with machine-speed execution?
Is your organization ready for what breaks when AI meets your workflows?