Who knew, the new couple on the block is business relationships and AI… A lifetime match made in heaven, not to mention.
Introduction
During my research on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on us humans in the workforce, I stumbled upon an article that was written by Enholm, I.M., Papagiannidis, E., Mikalef, P. et al. And this article had an image that caught my attention. Why? Well, it confirmed what I was intuitively thinking. The better the business relationships in an organization, the better it benefits from AI.
The Image
So, what is that image that I saw? Here you go:
And look where it says: “Partnerships and Collaboration”. Doesn’t that sound like business relationships to you? Well, to me it does. And if you don’t agree with me, I don’t mind that you stop reading now and go on with your day.
If you’re still with me, take a closer look at where it is located. In a box that says: “Context/Environment”. Alongside Customers, or business partners as we call them in the world of Business Relationship Management (BRM), Laws and Regulations, and Competitors.
And look at those arrows rising from this foundational box. They all point to every value-producing chain of events:
- AI Capabilities: your ability to use AI to create value.
- Socio-Organizational Change: the change you make to create and deliver this value through your products and/or services.
- Competitive Value: the competitive advantage that is generated through the value you deliver.
Business Relationships and AI: The New Couple On The Block
Since the article did not specifically focus on business relationships and AI, I made the decision to give it my own perspective. Or at least make an attempt. And this is what I came up with.
Let’s start with what Business Relationship Management per the authority in this field, BRM Institute, has to say about its capabilities and responsibilities. A BRM capability:
- Evolves culture;
- Builds Partnerships;
- Drives value; and
- Satisfies Purpose.
Satisfy Purpose
Let’s start with the last one, Satisfy Purpose, and then we go back to the top: Evolve culture.
I don’t think I’m telling you anything new that the introduction of AI comes with rethinking the way we work, the way we conduct business, and so much more. It’s like the introduction of the Internet, it will revolutionize our lives, personally and professionally.
And I don’t think I’m telling you anything new that every organization has an opportunity to realize the benefits that come with AI. Especially when you take into account how democratically AI gained a boost with the launch of ChatGPT. Everyone can have it, or already has it, on their mobile phone.
So, let’s agree that our purpose is to reap these benefits. And that BRM has an opportunity to connect relationships to AI-results. In other words, those responsible for the AI capabilities of the organization should collaborate and partner with those responsible for the necessary socio-organizational changes. And in turn, these coworkers should collaborate and partner with those responsible for generating and delivering AI-fueled products and services.
The healthier these relationships, the more achieving your purpose is within reach.
Evolve Culture
According to Nexford University, and the authors of the article already referred to, the organization’s culture is the strongest force in an organization to adopt AI. This culture has the following characteristics:
- Embrace a mindset lifelong learning.
- Develop soft skills or power skills such as communication, problem-solving, and collaboration.
- Be agile to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
- Specialize in skills and knowledge.
- Be innovative, have a passion for and a willingness to exploit new, opportunistic ideas and technology.
A BRM capability helps evolving this culture. Or as late Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, once said: “Get the culture right, and everything else just falls into place.”. Therefore, the AI capability and the AI-enabled change will heavily depend on getting the culture right. Business relationship management needs to do its share to get this right.
Build Partnerships
While top management and its active support is the strongest determinant of AI adoption, it will take a team approach to realize the value potential of AI.
Besides its crucial role in establishing the culture as mentioned above, it needs to make available to resources and funding investments in the AI capability, the organizational change, and the changes necessary to create, develop, and deliver AI-fueled products and services. It is also the responsibility of top management to develop an AI strategy which describes how the organization will adopt and implement AI to reap the anticipated value.
Equip your coworkers with the necessary (technical) skills to create, develop, deploy, and deliver the AI systems behind the AI-fueled product and services. This comes with news tasks, workflows, and business processes. Collaboration and building partnerships at every level and across the organization is therefore key.
Another key component is establishing trust when it comes to employees and their trust level of AI. The interaction between humans and AI systems is a complex process and it can be difficult to establish this trust. Understanding AI technology is an important first step. Think of how it operates and how it reaches conclusions. Not to mention the fear of many that AI will replace them. A mature BRM capability is key to establishing the necessary trust.
Drive Value
Besides using AI in products and services, it also has the potential of adding value by improving internal decision-making and by streamlining business processes.
Speaking of business processes, per a recent webinar of MIT Sloan School of Management, AI is impacting non-routine analytical tasks by making them more efficient. It can understand, reason, and do problem-solving. Tasks that in the past could only be performed by humans. The efficiency gains AI brings to the table when it comes to taking these tasks produce value for organizations in areas that in the past were not influenced by automation as it typically was focused on the automation of routine tasks only.
Business relationship management shares in the ownership of surfacing opportunities for efficiency gains and improved decision-making with the help of AI systems.
The impact of AI, again per Enholm, I.M., Papagiannidis, E., Mikalef, P. et al., is shown in the image below.
Note how AI creates first-hand value through process efficiency, insight generation, and through business process transformation. In turn, these result in operational performance, think of new or enhanced and innovative products or services, increased financial performance, improved market-based performance, think of competitive advantages, and increased sustainability performance.
It goes without saying that business relationship management has a tremendous opportunity to be in the spotlight of many of these opportunities to increase the value proposition of an organization.
Conclusion
AI is increasingly becoming important for organizations to create business value and achieve a competitive advantage. However, not every AI initiative is successful. Often, there is a lack of a coherent understanding of how AI technologies can create business value and what type of business value can be expected.
A flourishing business relationship management capability has a role to play in creating this business value. By spearheading how AI can be used, organizations can make better decisions about where in their value chain to implement AI solutions.
And finally, business relationship management should know the possible effects of AI adoption to the organization and as a result help with better preparing the organization when it introduces AI in its line of work.
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