The AI Paradox: Your Foundation Determines Your Future

Are we actually ready to leverage AI? 

2024 was a year of AI exploration at Denamico. 

We were inspired by leaders on our RevOps Champions podcast, experienced HubSpot’s AI focus at INBOUND and integrated AI into our own processes — we were learning in real time with you.

The more we use AI, the more we see the promise and the challenges it brings. 

• AI can effectively segment email lists, but not without profile data in the CRM.
• AI can write social posts, but they sound generic without a style guide.
• AI can qualify new leads, but not without clear criteria to evaluate. 

This paradox is emerging: To move faster with AI, we need to slow down and establish the right foundation first. 

The Foundation Paradox

Businesses that will thrive in 2025 aren't necessarily those with the most advanced AI capabilities, but those who build their AI strategy on a solid foundation. 

• Team alignment
• Business intelligence
• Data quality
• Clear processes

When we discuss Revenue Operations - people, process, data and technology - we always put technology last. 

Marc Hans, Senior Professor at HubSpot Academy, echoes this sentiment, "If you don't prep well and you don't think well, it doesn't matter what software you use. It's just going to be more of an impediment than it is an accelerator."

In this AI race, the winners won't be determined by who adopts AI first, but by who builds the right foundation to leverage it effectively.

Now is the time to examine and repair any cracks in our foundations. 

Building Your Foundation: A Practical Approach

It’s no surprise that AI is a recurring theme on our RevOps Champions podcast. Leaders from all industries and fields acknowledge the excitement and trepidation around AI, sharing how they’re helping businesses prepare for this new reality. 

AI is moving quickly, so you may need to run foundation repair in parallel with AI pilots. Here’s a place to start. 

1. Access your current state

Take a step back and see where you sit in these four areas.

Team Alignment

Barb Stinnett, Founder and CEO of Timmaron Group, advocates for complete transparency in assessing your organization's AI readiness, "You have to go down to the very front line, understand what is AI and what is our score as a management team or as a company. Are we 50% on board with it? Are we 2%? You need to start there.”

Business Intelligence

Your competitive advantage in the AI era will stem from your unique market position and domain expertise – not from AI itself. 

This requires:

• Clear articulation of your market position
• Deep understanding of ideal client profiles
• Documented domain expertise that can inform AI implementations
• Strategic alignment between AI capabilities and business objectives

Clear Processes

Success with AI requires granular understanding of your current processes to ensure it serves your business goals rather than becoming another technological burden. 

This includes:

• Documenting current workflows and processes
• Identifying high-impact areas for AI enhancement
• Creating clear metrics for success
• Establishing feedback loops for continuous improvement

Data Quality

Emily Grotkin, VP of Client & Partner Success at Denamico, shares, "Having governance standard processes in place to help keep your data clean is absolutely critical to any tool."

Key focus areas for data readiness:

• Standardized data collection processes
• Clear data governance frameworks
• Regular data quality audits
• Documented data hierarchies and relationships

Hans reinforces this stance when speaking about AI adoption in HubSpot, "I think when we think about easy, fast and unified … maybe it's easy, fast, unified and helpful if you [have] your data tight.”

2. Build Team Readiness

Every leader we’ve spoken to acknowledges the uncertainty AI is causing. However, they unanimously agreed that while uncertainty is acceptable, inaction is detrimental. 

Paul Roetzer, Founder and CEO of Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX, encourages leaders, “Let's not use it as a means to reduce workforce, … let's actually just do more, produce more, create more value.”

• Dedicate time for feature exploration and testing
• Document best practices and learnings
• Create feedback loops for continuous improvement
• Involve the team in AI pilots (see #3 ↓)

3. Plan Strategic Implementation

For many organizations, strategic implementation starts with an AI roadmap. 

Don’t overthink it. Roetzer advises, "The future of all of this is human language. If you have words and you have expertise, you can get value from these tools. Just get started."

Leadership teams need to focus on broader problems in the organization that could be improved with AI. These larger problems may focus on revenue and profitability over efficiency.

Roetzer broke down a simple framework to help people take the next step with AI.

1. Identify quick wins

Run a team session to find repetitive tasks AI could help with (like case studies, landing pages or video editing). Now you have a starting place and everyone knows how to identify use cases for future consideration.

2. Benchmark

Track how much time you're currently spending on the projects you identified.

3. Launch a pilot program

Determine which use cases have the most potential benefit and start there.

4. Measure success

Track time savings and output quality after incorporating AI. 

5. Set a time frame for review

Review results after the first 90 days and determine whether you'll end the pilot or integrate this new process into your workflows. 

Bring in Support 

In today's AI landscape, going it alone isn't just difficult—it's potentially detrimental to your success.

Stinnett shares her experience: "Find a great collaborator that's in the network … [they can] come in and get you up to speed on certain things and then you just take off."

The right partners can help you:

• Assess your current AI readiness
• Identify high-impact opportunities
• Accelerate implementation while avoiding common pitfalls
• Build internal capabilities

Human-Powered AI: Leading Through Uncertainty

The human element of AI implementation cannot be overstated. When leading through this change, it’s essential to focus on augmentation over replacement.

Key leadership approaches should include:

• Open dialogue about AI's role in your organization
• Clear communication about how AI will augment, not replace, human work
• Investment in training and skill development
• Celebration of human creativity and judgment

The goal is to create what Hans calls "heterogeneous teams" that bring diverse perspectives to AI implementation. 

"I love when I see companies that have teams of people that are like, this person was a biologist, but now they're a marketer. And this guy was a youth pastor and now he's our CEO. I love that. Surround yourself with different vantage points, different experiences, because that's where innovation, that's where creativity comes from. That's where we figure out how to solve for a customer in really unique and different ways."

By focusing on human-centered AI implementation, organizations can harness the power of technology while maintaining the creativity, judgment, and relationship-building skills that only talented people can provide.

Looking Forward

The future belongs to organizations that can build the right foundation for AI implementation.

As Stinnett reminds us, "In the next 12 to 24 months, it's all about figuring out what is AI and how does it make you competitive... If you're not fully on board with it yet, or you feel like you're not comfortable with it yet, do it fast because in the next year, somebody else will be doing what you're doing, quicker, faster, better."

The question isn't whether to adopt AI – it's how to build the foundation that will make your AI implementation successful. Start with the basics, build your foundation and let that guide your AI journey.

Stinnett, emphasizes: "First of all, the advice is don't be intimidated. It's just a new form of tech. And remember, you are running your company. You are the people that know your business the best."