Adoption Is a Design Problem

You can't mandate adoption. You have to design for it.

I've seen it dozens of times: a company rolls out GenAI with great fanfare. Leadership sends an email. There's a launch event. Maybe a training session.

And then usage drops off a cliff.

The problem isn't motivation. It's friction. People don't resist AI because they don't believe in it. They resist because:

1. It doesn't fit their workflow. The tool is great, but it's one more thing to learn, one more tab to open, one more step to add.

2. They don't know where to start. Generic training shows possibilities. It doesn't show their next step.

3. There's no feedback loop. Nobody's asking them what's working and what's not.

Designing for Adoption

Adoption isn't an event, it's a design challenge. Here's what works:

• Start with quick wins. Find the 2-3 workflows where AI saves the most time with the least effort.
• Embed, don't add. Don't create new processes for AI. Integrate AI into existing ones.
• Create champions. Find the early adopters and give them a role in spreading what works.
• Iterate. Adoption is ongoing. Check in, adjust, repeat.