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Innovation Process and AI Ambitions: From Possibility to Business Impact

How are you finding value from AI? AI is creating extraordinary possibilities for businesses — but possibility alone does not create value. The real opportunity is to connect AI to a business problem, choose the right level of ambition, implement thoughtfully, and measure what changes.

That is where the Szczurek Innovation Process™, explained in a past newsletter, comes in:
    Insight → Idea → Innovation → Implementation → Impact

AI does not change this process. It expands what we can imagine at each stage.

Five AI Ambitions

• EXPLORING. Leadership wants to understand what is possible. The business problem may not yet be defined. The goal is to discover where AI could create value.
• AI-ASSISTED. Employees use AI to improve individual work. The human remains accountable, while AI provides leverage.
• AUTOMATED. Predictable processes run with less manual effort. If the steps are known and repeatable, traditional automation may be all that is needed.
• AGENT-ENABLED. An AI agent performs a bounded responsibility — such as researching a prospect, answering routine customer questions, or preparing information for a human decision.
• AGENTIC OPERATING MODEL. Humans and agents coordinate across business functions. At this level, the question changes from "What can AI do?" to "How should work be divided between people, automation, and agents?"

Importantly, these are not a ladder where the highest level is automatically better. The right ambition is the one that solves the business problem with the least unnecessary complexity.

Start with AI-Assisted: Make People Better

For many small and midsize businesses that have been exploring AI, this is the best place to begin.

Think about salespeople researching prospects, marketers creating first drafts, leaders synthesizing information, or operations teams searching for answers and creating procedures. The opportunity is to remove low-value administrative work so people can spend more time on work that requires judgment, relationships, creativity and expertise.

Case Study 1: Rau Consultants

Rau Consultants, a personnel consultancy specializing in the food industry, provides a great example. Their consultants conduct about 800 candidate interviews each year. Each interview historically required significant time to create a detailed candidate profile.

The company piloted Microsoft 365 Copilot to transcribe interviews and generate a first-draft profile using a preset prompt. Consultants then review and finalize the work. The result: less administrative effort, more consistent profiles, and more time available for sourcing candidates and serving clients.

• INSIGHT. Valuable consultants are spending too much time creating profiles.
• IDEA. Could AI create the first draft?
• INNOVATION. AI-assisted profile creation.
• IMPLEMENTATION. Integrate it into the existing workflow with human review.
• IMPACT. More capacity for higher-value client work.

Case Study 2: Any Employee Can Make a Difference

A few years ago, a newly hired data analyst at a healthcare analysis firm was assigned a project. The initial task was to discover, review, and summarize hundreds of lengthy and complex publicly available journal articles.

The analyst had an insight. There's a better way to do this rather than the current approach of using the company's in-house keyword search tool. The idea was to use Generative AI. After getting approval from the project manager with support from the group leader, the innovation was to use Perplexity, an off-the-shelf AI tool designed for research.

They piloted it. The results were positive, with faster collection of comprehensive and meaningful data. The project team and the firm bought in, although a few other project teams initially resisted. Ultimately, the result was wider company implementation of AI policies and use of additional AI tools.

• Start by providing business value.
• Follow the Innovation Process: insight to idea to innovation to implementation to impact.
• Match AI Ambition to the work.
• Give people superpowers and let them creatively use them to drive impact. It is not about replacing their jobs.
• Think big. Start small. Pilot. Learn. Scale what works.

Stay tuned for my next newsletter that will cover: Automation → Make Predictable Work Flow.

Book a 15-minute pre-qualification call with Theresa to explore if there is a match to work together. We can assess, plan, and discuss ways that AI can transform your business. A limited number of time slots is available.

Summary

Innovation happens when an idea is implemented and creates value. AI simply gives us more possibilities to explore.

Selected Events

September 9, 2026. Women in Technology, Colorado Technology Association in Denver. Learn more and register.

September 9-10, 2026. Theresa presents "Drive ROI: Innovation as a Pursuit of Passionate Purpose in the Age of AI." Private business group.

• 12:00 Noon. Theresa presents "From $0 to a $40M Exit: Practical Lessons from My Entrepreneurial Journey." Learn more and register.
• 1:30 PM. Theresa presents: "Boardroom Ready: How to Earn a Board Seat or Build a High-Impact Board for Your Startup." Learn more and register.

September 17, 2026. Theresa is at the MxD board meeting in Chicago. Reach out to get together.

September 29, 2026. WoMAN Impact & Growth Summit hosted by the Women of Mergers & Acquisitions Network. Theresa presents "Pursuit of Passionate Purpose: Success Strategies for a Rewarding Personal and Business Life." The Curtis Hotel, Denver. See agenda and register.

October 18, 2026. CROP Hunger Walk. Plan ahead. Work together with me to raise awareness and end hunger locally and world-wide. Walk by joining my team. Give. Change the world. Join my team.

Book Theresa to Coach, Speak, Facilitate, and Consult

Technology and Management Solutions helps mission-driven organizations and leaders innovate, implement AI, and accelerate impact. Let The Catalyst for Extraordinary Results help you and your organization grow to new heights in profit, productivity, and passion. See Theresa in action. Theresa's engaging presence, original stories, actionable insights, humor, wide ranging experiences, and practical pointers have earned her top speaker, facilitator, and consultant rankings at many events, and with a wide range of business clients. See examples of Theresa's speaking programs and consulting services. Reach out to Theresa to book a 15-minute pre-qualification call.

Theresa M. Szczurek, Ph.D.
Fractional CEO / COO / CMO, Certified Corporate Director
Certified Management Consultant®, Executive Coach, Speaker
Colorado CIO of the Year

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