Partnered Intelligence

Last August, I wrote about MIT’s finding that 95% of enterprise AI pilots fail to deliver measurable ROI and what that meant for professional services marketers. You can read that post here. The response was strong, which told me the question is real...

Last summer, Partnered Intelligence covered MIT's findings on why 95% of AI pilots fail to deliver ROI. The conversation that followed told us this topic matters deeply to our community. New research from Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise report adds an important update: the challenge has evolved. Access to AI tools grew 50% in a single year. Results have not kept pace. Deloitte calls it the Activation Gap, and it sits at the center of what professional services marketers are wrestling with right now. Our latest post goes beyond the diagnosis. It examines the specific reasons projects stall and the practical steps leading organizations are taking to close the gap. The link to my full post is in the comments. I'd love for you to share what you are experiencing on your own teams. The more we learn from each other, the better equipped we all are. #PartneredIntelligence #AI #ProfessionalServices #Marketing #BusinessDevelopment #AIStrategy

Over the past year, I have watched organizations invest significant time and money in AI training. Teams are learning prompts, experimenting with tools, building workflows, and comparing platforms. All of that is useful. It signals curiosity and...

Many organizations are investing in AI training right now. Teams are learning prompts, shortcuts, integrations, and new workflows. That momentum is important. At the same time, there is a greater skill that determines whether AI delivers strategic value or simply produces faster output. Problem framing. AI amplifies what it is given. If the underlying business question is clear, constrained, and aligned to a defined decision, the output can be powerful. If the framing is vague, the technology scales that ambiguity just as efficiently. In my latest post, I explore: • Why defining the decision matters more than drafting the deliverable • How naming constraints changes AI collaboration • The role of assumption-testing in stronger strategy • Why leaders must separate exploration from production AI adoption is not just about tools. It is about raising the standard of how we think about business problems. Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/eUBm4zcW How is your organization is approaching this shift? #ArtificialIntelligence #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #MarketingLeadership #AIinBusiness

Last week, researchers at Microsoft published findings on a tactic they’re calling AI recommendation poisoning. On the surface, it reads like a cybersecurity story. Hidden prompts embedded in links, AI memory manipulation, and malicious actors nudging...

AI is no longer just a content tool. It is becoming a recommendation engine. Recent research on “AI recommendation poisoning” highlights a new risk: hidden prompts that can influence how AI assistants remember and recommend brands. While this is framed as a security issue, it has important implications for marketing leaders. If AI systems: - Store preference signals - Shape downstream recommendations - Act as intermediaries in buyer research We are then entering a new optimization environment, and the question is not simply how to influence AI outputs. The question is how to build durable trust signals that AI systems surface organically. In my latest post, I explore: - What AI recommendation poisoning is - Why it matters to marketers - The difference between short-term manipulation and long-term credibility - What marketing teams should be evaluating now If AI is mediating decisions, marketers need to understand the layer in between. Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/e89P5_cY #AI #MarketingTechnology #B2BMarketing #BrandTrust #MarketingStrategy

In my last post, I wrote about opportunity spotting within existing client relationships and why so much potential growth often remains just out of reach. There is another issue underneath that challenge, one that many firms underestimate. Opportunity...

Most firms underestimate the extent to which growth depends on memory. Not personal memory. Institutional memory. When client context lives in inboxes, meeting notes, or a few people’s heads, relationships quietly reset every time teams change. Opportunities get mistimed. Trust gets strained. Clients end up repeating themselves. In my latest Partnered Intelligence post, I explore: - What institutional memory really means in professional services - Why its erosion directly impacts growth and client experience - How AI can support continuity without touching privileged advice or replacing human judgment This isn’t about capturing conversations or automating relationships. It’s about preserving the non-privileged context firms already rely on, so teams can move relationships forward instead of starting over. What client context does your firm rely on every day, but has no reliable way to preserve? Read my full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/eU228T6t

Using AI to Spot Opportunities Inside Existing Client Relationships. If you ask most firms where growth comes from, they will tell you the same thing: existing clients. There may be more opportunities within existing client relationships as well.

The growth most firms are chasing isn’t always new. Often, it’s already there. Many professional-services firms will say their best growth comes from existing client relationships. And yet, opportunity spotting inside those relationships is often informal, inconsistent, and dependent on who happens to remember what at the right moment. In my latest Partnered Intelligence post, I explore: - Why opportunity spotting inside existing clients is harder than it should be - Where current BD and account-planning models fall short - How AI can help surface patterns across clients and time, without replacing human judgment This isn’t about automating sales or telling partners what to sell. It’s about creating clarity so better conversations can happen earlier and more intentionally. If your BD team had clearer visibility into patterns across clients and time, what conversations might change? Read the full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/eKaC9_rF