AI Isn’t a Magic Bullet—It’s a Muscle-Building Regimen

Why Sustainable Innovation Requires Both Explorers and Preservers.

 

In the race to boost productivity, artificial intelligence (AI) is being hailed as a miracle cure. Politicians and CEOs alike are prescribing it like penicillin—an all-purpose remedy for economic stagnation. But as The Conversation has pointed out, AI is no panacea. It’s more like physiotherapy after major surgery: it only works if you commit to the process, follow the program, and engage the right people.

This metaphor is especially apt when viewed through the lens of Dr Gaia Grant’s research on innovation leadership. In The Innovation Race, Grant introduces the concept of Explorers and Preservers—two distinct innovation mindsets that must be balanced for sustainable transformation.

Explorers are the bold pioneers who push boundaries and embrace risk. Preservers, on the other hand, are the stabilizers who ensure continuity, governance, and trust.

Move Fast, But Don’t Trip: Leading Through the Paradoxes of the AI Race

As AI reshapes industries and redefines the future of work, leaders face a new paradox: how to harness the power of intelligent technology without losing the uniquely human capabilities that drive innovation. Leaders will need to learn how to lead in an era where creativity, complexity, and AI must coexist.

When it comes to AI adoption, most organisations are driven in this area by ‘Explorers’. They move fast, break things, and often implement AI without fully engaging the workforce.

But this approach is proving costly. According to current research, 80% of AI projects fail—not because the technology is flawed, but because of poor staff engagement, lack of trust in something ‘new’, inadequate training and weak governance. Only one in four executives reported meaningful returns on their AI investments.

This is where Grant’s diagnostic tools, such as the Innovator’s Profile (iCLi), become essential. They help leaders identify their own bias—whether they lean toward exploration or preservation—and build ambidextrous teams that can navigate both disruption and stability.

Without this balance, organisations risk falling into what economists call “so-so automation”: replacing workers with AI without achieving real productivity gains. In fact, 55% of UK executives who replaced staff with AI later regretted it.

 

Here are some areas to consider when dealing with AI:

  • Shift from imposing to co-creating: How to avoid the AI pitfalls
    Companies must shift from imposing AI to co-creating it with their people. This means involving ‘Preservers’ early in the process—those who may be skeptical but are essential for long-term adoption. For a more preserving mindset to adopt new innovations and ensure it is implemented in a sustainable way, such as AI, this requires trust, transparency, and a shared sense of purpose and a more incremental rollout approach.
  • From FOMO to Focus: Finding Balance in the AI Implementation Paradox
    This creates a classic competing demands paradox: Organisations are caught between keeping up with the AI trends and sustainable implementation. Whether this be pure FOMO, or a realistic ‘adapt or die’ predicament. Move too fast, and risk destabilising your systems. Move too slow, and risk being left behind in the AI Innovation Race.
  • Trust Isn’t Optional: Why the Most Advanced AI Still Needs Human Buy-In
    The data backs this up: organisations that meaningfully engage employees in transformation efforts are nine times more likely to succeed. AI works best not when it replaces human capability, but when it amplifies it. Workers bring contextual knowledge, emotional intelligence, and practical insight—qualities no algorithm can replicate.

If AI is the physiotherapy, then Explorers and Preservers are the muscles that must work in tandem. One drives the stretch; the other ensures the strength. And only together can they build the resilience needed to thrive in the innovation race.

By Andrew Grant

LEADING AI: Reflection questions to consider

Questions to consider: on how to lead AI with clarity, navigating the paradoxes of speed, ethics, and innovation to build a smart, resilient culture in the age of disruption.

  1. When has “moving fast and breaking things” helped—or hindered—your team’s adoption of new technology?
    (What did you learn about balancing innovation with trust?)
  2. Do you lean more towards the Explorer or Preserver when it comes to driving change in your organisation?
    (How does that impact how you engage with AI or digital transformation?)
  3. What’s the most effective way you’ve seen employees meaningfully included in innovation rollouts?
    (Is co-creation part of your team’s change DNA?)
  4. Have you experienced “so-so automation”—where a shiny new tool over-promised and under-delivered?
    (What would you do differently now?)
  5. Is Your AI Strategy a Power Move or Panic Response?
    (How can co-creation with people—not just code—become the true competitive edge in AI implementation?)
  6. How can we best navigate the paradoxes of speed, ethics, and innovation to build a smart, resilient culture in the age of disruption?

LEADING AI: Keynotes, workshops and collaterals

AI is accelerating change at breakneck speed—amplifying both opportunity and complexity. To lead effectively, leaders must navigate the competing demands it creates and guide teams through the tensions it surfaces. Drawing on global consulting experience and cutting-edge research,  the Grants reveal how the most future-ready leaders embrace paradox, not as a problem to solve, but as a dynamic tension to navigate. The topic of this article is available as a keynote, workshop and biz facilitation. Below are several ways to focus on this topic and assist.

  1. Embracing the AI Paradox to Win the Innovation Race: A Futuristic Keynote that equips leaders to move beyond trendspotting, with a focus on future-proofing with substance: not predicting the unknown, but empowering leaders to shape it.  
  2. The Innovative Change Ready Leader: Developing Ambidextrous Leaders with the Future-Ready Mindset – for dealing with rapid change and innovation, including AI-transformation.
  3. The Innovation Team: Fostering Aligned Teams – how to embrace innovation and change to lead aligned teams.
  4. The Agile Innovation Organisation: Mapping innovation culture for strategic organizational alignment
  5. Purpose-driven Innovation Leadership: How to make confident decisions in a complex AI-driven world – including the Purpose-Driven Innovation Radar tool (PDIR) for building decision-making
  6. The AI Utilization Dial: Maximizing Creativity Without Losing Control
  7.  Learning to Lead in an AI-Shaped World: How and when to use AI, especially in the design of a learning experience (workshop / keynote / gamified simulation)