Stop pilot purgatory
You freeze a value case, name owners, and sequence foundations before the next seat spray.
Start here
Stop pilot purgatory.
Build a steady base.
Most organisations now use AI somewhere. Far fewer show enterprise EBIT impact. If your programme lives in demos, seat counts, and unowned risk, you are stuck in pilot purgatory. Wave 0 is how you leave it.
McKinsey’s State of AI 2025 finds about 88 percent of organisations use AI in at least one function, yet only about 39 percent report any enterprise EBIT impact, and about 6 percent qualify as high performers with at least 5 percent EBIT impact plus significant value. Usage is common. Realised value is not. (McKinsey State of AI)
Three questions Wave 0 answers
Prove value beyond usage theatre
You track realised value and active use, not licensed headcount alone.
Who owns risk
You put Security and GRC on the critical path with named accountable owners.
Gartner’s April 2026 I&O survey of 782 leaders (Nov–Dec 2025) reports that only 28 percent of AI use cases fully succeed and meet ROI expectations, while 20 percent fail outright. Melanie Freeze, Director Research at Gartner, puts the bar plainly: high-performing I&O leaders start with realistic AI business cases and upfront preparation. (Gartner newsroom, 7 Apr 2026)
Named artefacts you will touch
Call them by name in the SoW
AI register template
Fields for systems, owners, risk class, and DPIA triggers.
Overshare remediation list
Hotspots ranked with severity and due dates.
Idle-seat reclaim runbook
Thresholds, notices, and 30/60/90 licence rhythm.
Frozen value case
One page you reconcile against. Not a slide wish.
Literacy plan
Cohort 1 skills and clinic themes.
30/60/90 licence rhythm
Cadence that ties reclaim to active work.
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Harden the data foundation, labels, agent permissions, and incident response before broad Copilot. Risk has an owner here. Start the overshare remediation list in week 1.
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Stand up the AI and agent register, DPIA triggers, literacy, and a minimum viable policy you can evidence. Owners mirror into the business units.
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Forecast the full cost stack. Reconcile realised value to a frozen case. Kill usage theatre before finance asks at renewal.
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Use it or lose it. Reclaim dormant seats on 30/60/90 cycles so spend follows active work. Run the idle-seat reclaim runbook.
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Wave-based rollout, champions, clinics. Measure habit change, not seat volume. Literacy plan covers cohort 1 only until Steady holds.
Parallel SEE
Thin situational awareness
A light pass on You, Business, and Horizon can run beside Wave 0. It informs priority. It does not delay Steady work. See See before you scale.
100-day outline
Illustrative shape
Pattern only. Your SoW names dates and owners. Use the roadmap builder to assemble a printable timeline from your size, pains, and dials.
Days 1–30
Security hotspots, AI register template draft, cost baseline, dormant seat scan, frozen value case.
Days 31–60
Policy floor, DPIA triggers, reclaim wave via idle-seat runbook, first adoption cohort with literacy plan.
Days 61–100
Value reconcile, champion network, clinic rhythm, board narrative draft. Counsel dial check.
Measure plane
Before and after Wave 0
Before
Demos without owners. Seat counts as success. Unowned overshare. Value case still a draft wish.
After
Named Steady owners. Frozen value case under reconcile. Reclaim dates on a 30/60/90 rhythm. Cohort 1 only until foundations hold.
Packages
Foundation, Operate, Scale
Wave 0 sits inside every core package. Guide prices from £5,000. Week 1 always produces owners, baselines, and a prioritised action list. Read offerings or the Wave 0 sequence article.
CRAIG STANLEY / 12 PANES