In the Loop - August 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of ‘In The Loop’.
This month, Katy Dell discusses moving AI from a generic tool with potential to a powerful asset that teams can leverage. Andrew . explores how many organisations miss out on significant value by overlooking advanced and rare use cases with James in his latest podcast episode.
Last, but not the least, Kristina Kalpokaite gives us her views on how to avoid the trap of fixing complex problems caused by focusing on either process or technology.
Enjoy!
Project Managers are always looking to drive value for clients. Delivering projects is often a delicate balance, where project teams have a “day-job” and need to maintain their BAU activities while also adding value through more strategic improvement projects.
AI is frequently cited as a potential route to efficiency, but it presents challenges for teams and individuals on where to start, let alone adopt new ways of working. However, the first step doesn’t need to be complex and can move AI from a generic tool with potential, to a powerful asset that project teams can leverage to their benefit.
Unlocking value with context AI delivers real impact when connected to a company’s own trusted documentation through an AI Agent, turning generic outputs into relevant insights.
Experimentation is key There’s no set playbook for AI Agents. Teams need safe spaces to try, test and learn, building curiosity, confidence and collaboration.
Teams driving change Success comes when teams work together, stay curious, accept failure as learning, and move from theory to action.
Where to start Practical first steps include onboarding agents, meeting summaries, proposal drafting, and project knowledge bases. Begin with a small pain point, connect the data, ask simple questions, and share results.
In his latest podcast episode, Andrew . catches up with James Alexander , our founder and CEO, and explores how many organisations miss out on significant value by overlooking advanced and rare use cases in their digital transformation efforts. These use cases, while harder to define and execute, often yield the highest returns. Success hinges not just on technology, but on aligning people, processes, and priorities. From building cross-functional confidence to balancing short-term impact with long-term ambition, it takes more than tools to drive meaningful change.
- A structured framework can help teams prioritise effectively; balancing ambition, feasibility, and business value.
- Real-world examples prove that complex, multi-channel customer journeys can be unlocked with the right support.
- Aggregating use cases by shared capabilities enables faster scaling and broader impact.
Recommended by LinkedIn
If you’re only solving today’s problems, you’re not preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.
Marketing teams often fall into the trap of fixing complex problems by focusing on either process or technology. The result? Pain points get patched, but the underlying issues remain. Here’s why isolated transformations fail and what leaders can do to build lasting solutions.
Where most transformations go wrong
Ever been in a room where the walls are plastered with sticky notes? There was probably a pre-read, a facilitator or two with a timer and a parking lot - that catch-all board where tricky questions get set aside for later, maybe even someone blowing a whistle to keep things on track.
The execs kick things off: Why are we here? What will this achieve?
Then the consultants descend. Let the process mapping begin.
Swim lanes. Handoff points. Decision makers. Stakeholders. RACI charts. Today is all about people and process. The message is clear: fix the people side first because until you do, no technology will save you.
No more silos. No more pain points. Content, data and insights delivered on time and on spec. Campaigns running smoothly, reaching the right audiences with the right consent and the right message. Manual workloads eliminated. Reporting and KPIs finally aligned across every team and layer.
Fast-forward three years: you still have that 102-slide deck trying to digitise the outputs from that day. Maybe you even remember that room wallpapered with RACI maps for months. Twenty-eight steps to launch a campaign across three channels? Not a step too few! And exactly who in global legal needs to be informed?
Funny as those memories may be, here’s the hard truth: somewhere, in a parallel universe, someone mapped out the perfect martech stack. It has real-time streaming, abstraction layers, ETL pipelines and CI/CD. Almost as an afterthought, they put a note in one corner reading, “People and process.”
