Why Only 2% of Companies Are Ready to Win at AI with Bill Murphy
Here’s a sobering fact: despite the AI gold rush dominating boardroom conversations, only about 2% of companies are truly AI-ready. That’s the conclusion of Riviera Partners’ Future of Tech Leadership Report, and it was the focal point of a recent episode of the Signal to Noise podcast, where host Adam Zellner sat down with Bill Murphy, Managing Partner at Cresting Wave and former CTO at Blackstone.
So what separates the elite few from the lagging majority? And more importantly, how can your organization bridge the gap?
Why AI Isn’t Like the Cloud or the Internet
We’ve seen waves of transformative technology before: the Internet, eCommerce, and cloud computing. However, as Bill explains, those shifts took years, sometimes decades, to fully play out. AI is different.
People like to remember the past through rose-colored glasses. But it took years before anyone felt comfortable putting a credit card online. Cloud has been around for 15 years, and there are still companies that have not fully migrated. AI adoption? It’s happening tomorrow.
That urgency means leaders no longer have the luxury of waiting for the dust to settle. Competitors are already experimenting, implementing, and reaping the rewards. For those still hesitating, the window is closing fast.
The Leadership Imperative: Willpower at the Top
If there’s one thread that ties together the 2% of AI-ready companies, it’s leadership commitment. AI initiatives can’t be treated as side projects or skunkworks experiments. They must be positioned as core to the company’s future.
If the CEO isn’t the “Chief AI Officer,” they should probably be fired.
While aggressive, the point is clear: true transformation starts when CEOs and boards treat AI not as an IT experiment, but as a business-critical mandate. That means providing resources, air cover, and cultural alignment across the entire organization.
The best AI-ready organizations aren’t dabbling. They’re investing heavily, aligning cross-functional leaders, and ensuring AI is integrated into their operating DNA.
Why Most Companies Fail
So why do 98% of companies fall short? Bill points to three big reasons:
- Underestimating the required resources
Too many leaders think a chatbot or no-code tool is “good enough.” But real AI transformation requires major investment.
- Shaky foundations
Legacy systems and messy data don’t just slow down AI; they make it nearly impossible to realize its potential. AI shines a light on bad data quality, turning small cracks into gaping holes.
- Overwhelmed by rapid change
With new models and tools emerging almost weekly, today’s smart AI strategy can look outdated in 90 days. Without a flexible, adaptable plan, organizations risk making costly bets that don’t age well.
For many executives, acknowledging these realities requires an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about priorities and spending.
Org Charts and the Chief AI Officer Debate
Should companies hire a Chief AI Officer? According to Bill, it depends.
In some cases, the role simply repackages the failed “Chief Digital Officer” model, a powerless strategist without execution authority. That creates confusion and political infighting.
Instead, Bill advocates for simple org structures with clear accountability. If a Chief AI Officer is hired under a strong CTO or COO, great; it signals additional focus and resources. However, AI must remain part of the company’s core, not a siloed project.
Ultimately, success isn’t about titles; it’s about alignment, accountability, and execution.
Making AI Stick
One of the hardest challenges in AI adoption isn’t the tech itself; it’s change management.
Bill shared a powerful insight from his investing career: the single biggest correlation to new solution success is speed of adoption, and adoption almost always comes easier when changes are incremental.
Throwing out a CRM system overnight and replacing it with a chatbot might be technically possible, but it’s a cultural nonstarter. The best solutions fit into current workflows and push them forward slightly, rather than demanding everyone reinvent the way they work.
In other words: progress over perfection.
Final Thoughts
The difference between the 2% who are AI-ready and the 98% who aren’t isn’t access to technology; it’s leadership, priorities, and will.
AI isn’t just another wave of disruption; it’s the fastest-moving one yet. Organizations that hesitate, underinvest, or treat it as an experiment will be left behind. Those who commit from the top, invest in strong foundations, and embrace flexible strategies will not just survive this shift. They’ll define their industries.
As Bill put it: The leaders who are bold today will be the ones outperforming tomorrow.
Bill’s Background
Bill Murphy is the Managing Partner at Cresting Wave and the former Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone, bringing over three decades of experience in technology leadership and board advisory roles. As a veteran technology executive, he has vast expertise in enterprise technology transformation, AI integration, and strategic technology leadership. In his current role at Cresting Wave, Murphy helps curate innovative solutions for over 300 enterprises across various industries, while his tenure at Blackstone demonstrated his ability to implement large-scale technology initiatives and data-driven strategies.
Listen now: Signal to Noise Episode 4: Why Only 2% of Companies Win at AI with Bill Murphy
