How company culture drives AI strategy success

"Many organizations are racing to build AI strategies, but too often they focus on adopting the latest tech, rather than creating the environment to support it. The reality is that lasting transformation is fueled by people, which requires companies to take a good look at their culture. At Architech, that's exactly what we did. By prioritizing and rewarding innovation, we aligned our culture with our AI strategy-and it worked."

"Innovation comes from people. At Architech, we operationalized that idea by creating an Innovation Lab, a dedicated R&D space where curiosity thrives and exceptional geeks are celebrated as heroes. Backed by a 10% reinvestment of revenue, our Innovation Lab provides the time and tools to tackle real problems. One of our standout successes: an intelligent collections application that earned a spotlight in Microsoft's AI Lunch and Learn series."

"We launched a company-wide AI Innovation Challenge in September, 2024 inviting every employee to identify their own workplace challenge to solve and to tackle organizational inefficiencies using AI. Over three months, cross-functional teams reimagined workflows and built automation tools that reduced friction, accelerated delivery, and inspired new client offerings. The challenge sparked experimentation and breakthroughs from the bottom-up. Among the most impactful was an automated quality assurance testing system that improved consistency and freed our teams to focus on creativity."

Architech aligned its culture with its AI strategy by prioritizing and rewarding innovation. The company created an Innovation Lab — a dedicated R&D space funded by a 10% reinvestment of revenue — providing time and tools to tackle real problems. The lab produced an intelligent collections application featured in Microsoft's AI Lunch and Learn series. A company-wide AI Innovation Challenge in September, 2024 invited employees to solve workplace inefficiencies with AI. Over three months, cross-functional teams built automation tools that reduced friction, accelerated delivery, and inspired new client offerings. Winning ideas were celebrated at a town hall, reinforcing participation.

Read at Fast Company