Nov 26, 2025
Why mid-sized teams are falling behind — and how to shift back into motion
Inspired by and adapted with acknowledgement to Cien Solon (LaunchLemonade)
Inside a lot of organisations right now, there’s a widening gap.
AI capability races ahead, but the systems meant to use it are stuck in older rhythms. Teams feel the tension: people experiment with AI at home, but hesitate inside the workplace because the tools are clunky, the policies are unclear, or the workflows are too rigid to support change.
The capability is there. The environment isn’t.
Why this happens
Most mid-sized organisations were built for steady, predictable work.
AI doesn’t fit inside those patterns. It needs clearer ownership, faster decisions, and simpler pathways than many current processes allow.
A big friction point is how work gets defined.
Many teams still focus on step-by-step tasks instead of clear outcomes. Agents and automation need clarity, intent, and boundaries — but a lot of internal workflows evolved out of habit, not design. When the foundation is murky, AI feels harder than it should.
The absorption problem
Some teams move quickly because they try things: small experiments, rough prototypes, low-risk tests. They treat AI as part of the work, not a separate project.
Others slow themselves down by searching for certainty: detailed plans, perfect alignment, formal sign-off. Their movement is careful, controlled — and slow.
This difference in absorption speed creates the gap.
How to keep pace
Here are three simple moves organisations can make to shift out of freeze and into momentum:
Rebuild one workflow with AI
Choose something your team touches every week. Map it. Surface the friction. Redesign it with AI as a partner, not an add-on.
One lived example teaches more than ten hypothetical use cases.Build one agent that supports real work
Forget exploring every new tool. Pick a role. Give one agent a narrow, real responsibility.
The goal is consistency, not scale. It teaches teams what delegation to AI feels like.Create a shared space for learning
Momentum grows when people can see what others are trying.
A shared channel for examples, wins, questions, and experiments builds confidence faster than top-down training.
These small moves turn hesitation into movement. They build internal capability, pace, and confidence — the ingredients organisations need to stay relevant.
The simple question
What’s one workflow inside your organisation that could run smoother, smarter, or with less friction this week?
This is the moment to redesign, experiment, and build human-ready capability that can keep up with the intelligence layer.
Acknowledgement
This piece adapts themes and ideas from Cien Solon’s original article, with full credit to Cien as the source of the core insights.