Let’s be honest. Most companies say they love collaboration, but in reality, Marketing barely speaks to Sales, IT avoids HR like the plague, and Legal’s idea of teamwork is replying “no” in bold red font.
Now sprinkle in Generative AI, a technology that requires constant learning, alignment, feedback, and trust across your entire organization, and what do you get? A mess, that too a very expensive mess. That’s exactly the kind of pitfall David Catzel warns against in Generative AI: From Buzzword to Boardroom. In Chapters 4 and 5, he makes it clear:
If your teams aren’t aligned, your AI strategy doesn’t stand a chance.
Let’s unpack that with a bit of tough love and a few caffeine-fueled truths.
Generative AI Isn’t a One-Team Job
You can’t just dump AI into the laps of your tech team and expect magic.
Sure, IT will get the tools up and running. But what about the content folks? The product owners? The analysts? The customer service reps?
Catzel emphasizes that Generative AI touches everything from how you create, how you serve, how you sell, and even how you make decisions. That means silos are your enemy. And cross-functional chaos? Your downfall.
The companies that succeed will be the ones where marketing collaborates with data science, legal works with product teams, and leadership actually listens to the people doing the work. So, if your departments still operate like islands, grab a paddle. You’ve got work to do.
AI Can’t Fix Bad Culture, But It Will Expose It
One of the smartest and funniest things Catzel points out is this:
“AI doesn’t replace your people, it amplifies who you already are.”
That’s great if your organization already values openness, agility, and learning, but if your culture is all turf wars and passive-aggressive emails, then AI will only speed that dysfunction up.
Because here’s the deal: Generative AI is a fast learner. It feeds on feedback and thrives in cultures where people experiment, share, and improve together. So if your teams can’t even agree on what “done” looks like or worse, they don’t trust each other, then you’re going to struggle. The tool won’t fail, but your culture will.
Catzel doesn’t just stop at internal teamwork. He also pushes for what he calls an ecosystem mindset, which is basically thinking beyond your org chart and looking at how you partner with vendors, clients, and even competitors.
Yes, you read that right. Competitors.
The most innovative AI use cases? They’re often built on shared platforms, APIs, and models developed through collaboration. Think open-source communities, industry alliances, and data-sharing agreements.
In short: the winners will be the ones who play well with others.
So the question is—are you building walls or bridges?
Quick Checklist: Is Your Team AI-Ready?
Here’s a simple litmus test (courtesy of Catzel’s playbook):
- Do your departments communicate clearly, or just CC each other endlessly?
- Is your leadership encouraging collaboration, or hoarding control?
- Are your people allowed to test and fail, or are they punished for risk?
- Do you treat AI as a team partner, or an IT project?
If most of your answers fall in the second option, then it’s time to do some housekeeping before rolling out that shiny new LLM tool.
Final Thought
Generative AI isn’t some plug-and-play solution. It’s a system of intelligence that reflects the people who use it. And if your people aren’t aligned, curious, or trusted, then no model, no matter how smart, is going to fix that.
So take a page from Catzel’s book and before you launch your AI strategy, launch your collaboration strategy because in the age of Generative AI, your biggest advantage isn’t your data, but it’s your people if you let them work like a team.
