Skydiving Part 2: The Clock Is Running, The Ground is Getting Closer
In the previous blog we covered that large enterprises lead in rolling out AI programs, while many mid-market companies, by contrast, have only limited proof-of-concept or pilot programs, and why that is. [Link to previous blog]
In this blog let’s examine why moving slowly will hurt you in the long run.
1.Your competitors are getting more productive, and you won't see it until it's too late
The initial narrative around AI was that companies would use it to replace workers and cut costs. That story is turning out to be wrong and the real story is more threatening to those who are sitting still.
Gartner's research found that when technology simply replaces tasks workers used to do, it often increases inefficiencies employees end up working around broken processes rather than benefiting from the change. The companies winning with AI are the ones using it differently: not to cut headcount, but to amplify what their people can do.
IBM is the case study. They generated $3.5 billion in productivity gains over two years not by eliminating employees, but by using AI to handle 94% of routine HR queries and thereby freeing their HR professionals to do higher-value work. They automated hundreds of roles while increasing total hiring in areas requiring creativity and judgment.
Gartner's CEO research found that the leading approach is using AI to expand the span of control: enabling a single manager to effectively oversee approximately 20% more employees. That's a compounding advantage. And your AI-enabled competitors are building it right now, quarter by quarter, while you're deciding whether to put AI on next year's agenda.
2. You're already paying for AI, you just don't know how much
Here's an uncomfortable truth for any mid-market leader who thinks they've opted out of AI: your employees haven't.
Gartner research found that 69% of companies already suspect or have confirmed that employees are using unauthorized AI tools at work. A separate survey found that 78% of IT leaders have reported unexpected charges due to AI pricing models, a figure that grows every year. Employees are subscribing to AI tools on their own credit cards, expensing them as software, or routing them through department budgets where they go unnoticed until year-end.
Without a strategy, you don't have visibility into what your organization is spending, what data is being fed into these tools, or what risks you're incurring. Gartner predicts that by 2030, more than 40% of enterprises will experience a security or compliance incident linked to unauthorized AI use. For mid-market companies without governance frameworks, the exposure is significant.
3. You're about to lose your best people
Top performers, particularly younger ones, now expect AI tools to be part of how they work. It's not a perk. It's table stakes. A December 2025 Gartner survey found that only 27% of executives have a comprehensive AI strategy, and just 20% believe their workforce is truly AI-ready. Gartner's prediction: by 2027, half of enterprises without a people-centric AI strategy will lose their top AI talent to competitors who have one.
Mid-market companies already compete against larger firms for talent on compensation and brand. The last thing they can afford is also losing on the question of whether the workplace feels modern and capable.
4. The competitive gap is compounding
This is perhaps the most important point, and the least intuitive one. You might assume that being a late mover on AI means you're six months behind. The reality is that the gap is compounding.
McKinsey identifies a growing group of "AI high performers", companies that treat AI as a strategic initiative, deploy it across multiple functions, and redesign their processes around it. These companies are more than three times as likely to pursue transformative AI use cases as their peers. And the gap between them and everyone else is widening every quarter. Six months of delay today isn't a six-month gap. It's the difference between catching up and not being able to.
5. The mid-market window is closing
The World Economic Forum makes the opportunity clear: mid-market companies have genuine advantages in this moment: resilient business models, proprietary data, established customer relationships, and the agility that large enterprises lack. These are real assets in an AI strategy.
But with up to 95% of AI pilots failing industry-wide, the companies that move thoughtfully with a strategy will be the ones who know which bets to make and which to avoid. Those who wait will find themselves competing against AI-amplified teams doing more with less, with no roadmap for how to catch up.
So What Does "Strategy" Actually Mean Here?
Let's be direct: we're not talking about a 60-page document or a six-month consulting engagement. We're talking about a leadership team getting aligned on four things:
Where AI is already in our business, sanctioned or not;
Where it could give us a real competitive edge in our specific context, with our specific customers;
What guardrails we need for data, for costs, for governance;
How we prioritize so this doesn't become just another initiative that dies in a board room.
That's a conversation. A focused, well-facilitated conversation. The cost of not having it now is much lower than it will be next quarter or next year, and measurably higher than the cost of not having it at all. If you want to see how to get started in just twenty minutes, watch our 2 minute video on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjtzmmcV39E
The ground is getting closer.
*Sources: McKinsey State of AI 2025; Gartner CEO Survey 2025; Gartner HR Leader Survey 2024; Gartner Cybersecurity Leader Survey 2025; Capstone Partners Middle Market Business Owners Survey 2025; Business Development Bank of Canada 2024; Globe and Mail, August 2025; World Economic Forum, January 2026.*