2026 Briefing

What I’d tell your board
if they asked.

The data your AI vendors aren’t putting in their decks. Send this to your CEO before the next board meeting.

2026 Reality Check

The failure rate is the story

MIT research: 95% of enterprise GenAI projects fail to produce measurable returns. Not because AI doesn’t work — because 70% of the problem is people and processes, and most budgets are allocated in exactly the inverse ratio.

The agent era is arriving. Most of it will be wasted.

Gartner projects 40% of enterprise apps will incorporate AI agents by year-end — and 40%+ of those projects will be canceled by 2027. Companies are treating agents like features to bolt on rather than systems to think through.

The consulting industry is not your friend

1,200+ new IT consulting firms launch every month in the US alone — most were doing something else eighteen months ago. Meanwhile, 42% of leaders say AI adoption is tearing their company apart.

Speed without direction is just expensive chaos

The companies getting this right define what “right” looks like before they commit capital — then act decisively with the right people in the room. That sequence is the entire difference.

The companies getting this right aren’t moving faster. They’re thinking first.