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A "Fictitious" Story about a CEO Named Bob

Writer's picture: Angie CarelAngie Carel

Updated: Jan 29

Fresh from an AI conference, Bob marched into his leadership meeting clutching a folder named “Operation Rocket Ship.”


Image of a folded paper airplane laying on a conference room table. The table has business people sitting around it and a television screen at the end but the background is blurred so that the focus is on the paper airplane.
Image Generated in Ideogram

His manufacturing company had doubled in size this year, and he was determined to double it again. “This isn’t just about automation or expansion,” he declared. “We’re going all-in on AI. Starting today! It’s our rocket ship to the future.”



Around the table sat his team: Linda from Operations, buried under customer service backlogs; Mike from Production, grappling with supply chain chaos; and Sarah from Marketing, overwhelmed by a growing to-do list.



“I’ve seen what AI can do,” Bob said, brimming with enthusiasm.



Within days, pink slips went out. Those who stayed saw their workloads triple as they waited for the promised, magical AI solutions to arrive.



One month later, after failed implementations and rising frustration, the board stepped in and hired help.



Enter Angie. 💃



During her first meeting with Bob, she pulled a piece of paper from her notebook and folded it into a simple paper airplane… then sent it gliding across the conference table.



“Before we launch your rocket ship,” she said, “let’s talk about the value of starting small.”



Bob raised a disapproving eyebrow.



Angie smiled. “The most successful AI transformations start with projects so small they seem insignificant.”



Bob leaned back. “But at the conference I saw…”



Angie, having heard this many times before, confidently interrupted… 



“They showed you a curated version of your destination, not the journey. The small projects are gold mines for learning. Your team figures out how to use the tools, when to trust them, and how to weave them into their daily work to make a real impact.”



Turning to the team, Angie asked, “What’s your biggest daily challenge?”



“Customer response times,” Linda said with a sigh. “They’re worse than ever.”



“Let’s start there,” Angie replied. “What if we begin with just one thing; using AI to draft responses to shipping delay inquiries.”



Bob’s vision was destroyed, but the team’s relief was palpable.



Three months later, Linda’s team was handling inquiries in half the time. Marketing started using AI to craft email campaigns, and Production discovered patterns in the supply chain they’d previously overlooked.



Small wins piled up, each one a step closer to bigger opportunities. Failures became lessons. And the team? Much, much happier. 



A year later, while Bob’s competitors were still chasing unrealistic AI moonshots, his company had built something more valuable: a foundation. And a team that knew how to construct the rocket. 🚀 

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