Is it safer to wait for AI technology to mature before we invest, or are we paying an invisible flow cost by delaying our transition?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Many conservative business owners believe the safest strategy is to wait and let other companies test AI technology before making an investment. However, this waiting strategy carries a heavy flow cost, a concept analyzed in Aaron Kolb's strategic real options framework.

While you wait, your competitors are actively:

• Training their teams
• Refining their data pipelines
• Lowering their delivery costs

The longer you delay, the wider the capability gap becomes. This is not a simple choice between acting now or acting later; it is a choice between paying a small, controlled cost to learn today versus paying a massive, existential cost to catch up tomorrow.

You do not need to rebuild your entire company overnight. Instead, view AI as a strategic real option. Invest a small, manageable amount of capital and time now to build baseline capabilities. This approach is similar to how you might consider restructuring your [Accountability Chart to utilize AI automation](/qa/restructuring-accountability-chart-without-layoffs) without triggering panic.

Set a single Q2 Rock to implement one AI-driven improvement in a core process. This allows your team to build the muscle of working with AI without risking your current revenue. By starting small today, you keep your strategic options open and avoid the devastating flow cost of falling permanently behind your market. When considering these changes, it's helpful to also think about [how to define roles for AI-enabled operations seats](/qa/ai-enabled-operations-seat-roles) on your Accountability Chart or even [whether to create a dedicated AI Operations seat](/qa/ai-operations-seat-accountability-chart).

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