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You might remember my last confessional (Reflections of a Hiring Manager), and while I’ve learned my lesson on hiring, I’m now knee-deep in something new: leading a team of marketers through the chaos of AI adoption.
Experts like to frame AI rollout as a tidy, step-by-step process: train the team, flip the switch, watch productivity soar. But the reality? It’s been far messier.
And before you ask: no, it’s not a phase. That last confessional was my “Eras Tour”—all reflections, lessons learned, and clean edits. This one? This is my full-blown emo phase.
The Gap Between Strategy and Reality
Here’s what your managers aren’t telling you: while you are carefully architecting AI governance frameworks and change management plans, their teams are already three tools deep in experimentation.
They are comparing ChatGPT to Claude, piloting vendor AI features you didn’t know existed, and moving faster than any rollout timeline you thought you had time to draft.
The gap between your strategic plan and their ground-level reality is wider than you think.
If you’re wondering whether this is just happening in rogue departments with loose oversight, let me introduce myself: I’m a marketing director who thought I had a handle on my
