An Interview with Organisational Psychologist (Hayden Fricke) and AI Expert (Jon Whittle)

Recently, more than 300 people registered to join us for an event with Hayden Fricke (Steople) and Jon Whittle, founder of Goldilocks AI, Melbourne Business School Professor and former Managing Director of CSIRO’s Data61, exploring one of the most pressing questions facing organisations right now: why are so many AI implementations falling short, and what separates the organisations getting it right?

The headline statistic is sobering. Based on a review of recent research, between 70% and 90% of AI implementation strategies fail to achieve their stated objectives. This could be never reaching production, failing to scale, or failing to produce measurable ROI. Recent MIT research on Gen AI pilots showed that 95 percent demonstrated little or no measurable Profit and Loss impact. The reason isn’t the technology; it’s that organisations are approaching AI with a primarily technical mindset, with little consideration of the human elements and organisational challenges it entails.

As Hayden and Jon put it, the organisations that succeed with AI won’t be the ones adopting the most tools the fastest. They’ll be the ones that lead change well, build psychologically safe cultures, align AI with their values, and support people through uncertainty and transformation.

Culture and leadership: the real bottleneck

Hayden and Jon set the scene by emphasising that AI implementation is a people challenge, and while AI tools are advancing rapidly, many organisations are unprepared for the leadership, workforce, and cultural changes required to support meaningful adoption. Research by Boston Consulting Group suggests around 70% of AI failures come down to people, culture and leadership issues. A US study identifying 11 dimensions for successful AI implementation found the majority were people, culture and leadership related, not technical. Hayden highlighted that:

“The main challenge is not usually the system, it’s the human behaviour, and the human factors, culture and leadership associated with the system.”

Jon reinforced this perspective by stating:

“It’s not about the technology, it’s actually more about the leadership, setting a clear vision, the people aspects, bringing people on a journey, the cultural aspects, and then the governance and trust aspects of AI.”

These insights capture a challenge many organisations are now confronting, that AI changes more than workflows. It changes how people make decisions, how work is prioritised, how performance is measured, and how employees perceive their own roles and value within an organisation. So, who’s running the process? It can’t sit with the CIO alone. The CEO, HR and the broader leadership team all need to be at the table.

Why the people side keeps getting missed

Despite the growing recognition that culture and leadership are critical to successful AI adoption, the seminar explored why these factors are still frequently overlooked during implementation. Hayden and Jon identified three key reasons:

1. AI is still widely viewed as a technology issue rather than an organisation-wide transformation effort. AI is not simply a technological issue, it is a leadership, workforce, governance and cultural issue and therefore sufficient attention needs to be given to communication, governance, and employee engagement.
2. Culture is genuinely difficult terrain. Hayden highlighted that “addressing culture is complex, and effective change requires leaders to look at AI implementation processes strategically and in a more integrated way.”
3. The AI frenzy and sense of overwhelm. With rapid technological changes, leaders focus heavily on tools, automation, and capability while underestimating the organisational readiness required to support sustainable adoption. Jon reflected that AI implementation is often driven by urgency rather than strategy and “what leaders know about leadership, culture and change management seems to go out the window when it comes to AI.”

What does an AI ready culture look like

Hayden and Jon shared three foundations to an AI ready culture:

1. Build psychological safety before expecting innovation. People need to feel safe to experiment and innovate, which requires trust, because AI implementation generates real fear and uncertainty. This is where leadership capability must be strengthened. You can’t shortcut it.
2. Align AI adoption with organisational values and purpose. Before chasing what AI can do, think strategically about what impact you want to achieve. How does AI align with your key objectives and values? Get clear on whether you’re using AI as an enabler to enhance existing work, or as a disruptor to fundamentally change how your organisation operates. The two require very different strategies.
3. Treat ethics and governance as central, not as afterthoughts. A practical example raised at the event: start by understanding where your people sit on the AI spectrum, from genuine enthusiasts to those deeply sceptical or opposed. Only then can you set clear expectations that allow you to navigate the tension thoughtfully rather than have it derail your strategy.

What Organisations Should Be Focusing on Now

Hayden and Jon identified that many organisations are significantly underestimating the investment required beyond the technology itself. While businesses often focus heavily on purchasing platforms and tools, far less attention is given to the leadership, cultural, and change management work needed to support adoption successfully. Jon referenced recent research conducted by Stanford to explain that:

“If you want AI to succeed at an enterprise-wide scale, for every dollar you spend on the technology, you need to spend $10 on the non-technology aspects. So, if you’re currently leading an AI transformation effort… and you haven’t factored in that 10 times cost of the people, culture, leadership and the change management aspects, then go back and revise your business case.”

Hayden reinforced this point by stating that

“If done really well, and if you invest that extra $10 in the leadership and the culture, you’re going to reduce that failure rate that’s currently at 70–90% by a lot and you’re going to have a much greater chance [at success]”

AI adoption isn’t a race to deploy the most tools. It is a leadership challenge, a culture challenge and a change challenge. The organisations most likely to succeed will be those that embrace an AI ready culture and approach AI implementation with clarity, intentionality, and a strong focus on its people.

Want to build an AI Ready Culture in your organisation?

Speak with the Steople team about leadership capability, psychological safety, workforce readiness, and sustainable AI implementation strategies.