How do you build an AI pilot that actually works?
10% time reduction, new team formation
The problem
Strategic intelligence teams at Novo Nordisk were drowning in manual processes while AI hype was everywhere in the company. Most 'AI initiatives' were solutions looking for problems: proof-of-concepts that never scaled and made teams more cynical about technology-enabled change. AI was failing because teams were solving the wrong problems.
What I did
Flipped the question from 'what can AI do?' to 'what's slowing us down, and is AI the right solution?' Mapped workflows across Customer Insights, Competitive Intelligence, and Forecasting to find the highest-pain, highest-frequency process: knowledge discovery. Designed an AI-powered search tool, ran a phased pilot starting with 10 power users, iterated rapidly, and scaled to 50+ colleagues. Established AI champions and documented best practices.
Outcomes
What I learned
The technology was the easy part. I underestimated how much change management was needed for a 'simple' tool.
Starting small was critical. Focusing on one high-pain process, proving value, then scaling built momentum and credibility.
Innovation is about solving the right problem with the right tool at the right time.
Got a similar problem?
Tell me what you're working on. I'll tell you if it's a fit.
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