How CEOs Balance AI Urgency and Risk

BCG's executive coaching team addresses the most common CEO question of the moment: how to balance board pressure for AI speed with organizational readiness. The piece argues that AI adoption is 70% a people problem, 20% a data problem, and only 10% a technology problem—meaning change management, not tooling, is the primary leadership challenge. CEOs are advised to concentrate AI deployment on two or three high-priority use cases rather than broad rollouts, and to frame AI's value as capability expansion ('aperture expansion') rather than headcount reduction. The column also urges leaders to set realistic success thresholds—treating a 70% AI success rate as a win—and to avoid high-stakes regulatory or compliance processes as early deployment targets.