WORKING PAPER

Three Routes for Embracing AI

By Stephen Wunker

Applying AI to existing operations to drive measurable productivity gains while staying centered on customer Jobs and system design.

Building experimentation muscle—using structured hypotheses, rapid testing, and strong governance to learn fast and scale what works.

Creating the future through strategic foresight, scenario planning, and portfolio thinking that turn uncertainty into long-term growth.

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Summary

Three Routes for Embracing AI by Stephen Wunker presents a pragmatic playbook for leaders navigating AI disruption. It outlines three simultaneous pathways—AI-ify the Present, Become Great at Experimentation, and Create the Future—that together help organizations boost productivity, uncover new opportunities, and shape transformative markets. Drawing on lessons from companies like Microsoft, Fidelity, and Boston Scientific, the paper emphasizes customer empathy, disciplined experimentation, and foresight as the cornerstones of sustainable AI advantage. It warns that doing just one route isn’t enough; the pace of change demands progress on all three at once.

WORKING PAPER

Why This Framework is Relevant for Leaders

AI disruption mirrors the transformative impact of the web, smartphones, and cloud computing—but on a faster, broader scale. Many organizations fail to capture its upside because they respond reactively or too narrowly. This framework offers leaders a clear, actionable approach to integrate AI across three simultaneous routes: improving today’s operations, experimenting for tomorrow, and reimagining the business model itself. By following this ABC playbook—AI-ify the Present, Become Great at Experimentation, and Create the Future—leaders can stay ahead of accelerating market change instead of being overtaken by it.

Three Routes for Embracing AI helps organizations:

Move from reactive AI adoption to proactive transformation.
Balance short-term productivity with long-term reinvention.
Avoid fragmented pilots by pursuing all three routes in parallel.
Build agility to match the speed of technological change.

AI-ify the Present

Become Great at Experimentation

Create the Future

The Case of Microsoft

AI-ify the Present

The first route, AI-ify the Present, focuses on immediate productivity gains. Enterprises can enhance efficiency and responsiveness by embedding AI into existing processes—especially in marketing, customer operations, R&D, and software engineering. Yet success requires more than automation; it demands empathy, systems thinking, and focus on the Jobs to Be Done behind every workflow. Organizations like SOCi show how aligning AI tools with real user motivations turns technology into impact. AI-ifying the present lays the foundation for organizational learning and future transformation.

To successfully AI-ify current operations, leaders should:

Start with user motivations using the Jobs to Be Done lens.
Apply 360-degree systems thinking to align all stakeholders.
Blend algorithmic and generative AI for better results.
Design feedback systems that enable continuous learning.
Avoid “AI for AI’s sake”—build around real customer value.

AI-ify the Present

Become Great at Experimentation

Create the Future

The Case of Microsoft

AI-ify the Present

To successfully AI-ify current operations, leaders should:

Start with user motivations using the Jobs to Be Done lens.
Apply 360-degree systems thinking to align all stakeholders.
Blend algorithmic and generative AI for better results.
Design feedback systems that enable continuous learning.
Avoid “AI for AI’s sake”—build around real customer value.

AI-ify the Present

Become Great at Experimentation

The Case of Microsoft

AI-ify the Present

To successfully AI-ify current operations, leaders should:

Start with user motivations using the Jobs to Be Done lens.
Apply 360-degree systems thinking to align all stakeholders.
Blend algorithmic and generative AI for better results.
Design feedback systems that enable continuous learning.
Avoid “AI for AI’s sake”—build around real customer value.

AI-ify the Present

Become Great at Experimentation

Create the Future

The Case of Microsoft

AI-ify the Present

To successfully AI-ify current operations, leaders should:

Start with user motivations using the Jobs to Be Done lens.
Apply 360-degree systems thinking to align all stakeholders.
Blend algorithmic and generative AI for better results.
Design feedback systems that enable continuous learning.
Avoid “AI for AI’s sake”—build around real customer value.

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About The Authors

Steve Wunker

FOUNDER & GLOBAL LEADER IN JOBS TO BE DONE

Steve pioneered JTBD alongside Clayton Christensen and has led innovation work worldwide. He authored Jobs to Be Done: A Roadmap for Customer-Centered Innovation and four other books, and his thinking appears regularly in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The Financial Times.

WORKING PAPER

Three Routes for Embracing AI

By Stephen Wunker

Applying AI to existing operations to drive measurable productivity gains while staying centered on customer Jobs and system design.

Building experimentation muscle—using structured hypotheses, rapid testing, and strong governance to learn fast and scale what works.

Creating the future through strategic foresight, scenario planning, and portfolio thinking that turn uncertainty into long-term growth.

Download File