AI is no longer a future capability. It's already embedded in inboxes, browsers, and workflows, quietly shaping how work gets done across organisations. And yet, many companies still approach AI as a tooling decision rather than a leadership one.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that AI does not fundamentally change what leaders are responsible for. Instead, it changes how quickly weaknesses become visible. Poor decision-making, unclear priorities, and lack of accountability were always present; AI simply exposes them faster.

This is why AI adoption feels uneven across organisations. The challenge is rarely access to technology. It's leadership readiness.

In earlier posts, I explored how AI reshapes the role of the CSM, the systems that support their work, and the customer experience at scale.

This post builds on that foundation by looking at what AI demands from leaders themselves.

AI is rapidly reshaping Customer Success. But not in the way most organisations expect.  The biggest challenge is no longer access to data, models, or automation. It’s trust.

Across Customer Success teams, the same pattern keeps appearing: AI surfaces insights, scores, alerts, and recommendations — yet adoption stalls. CSMs second-guess outputs. Leaders hesitate to operationalise decisions. Customers feel confused when actions suddenly change without explanation.

AI doesn’t fail because it’s inaccurate. It fails because people don’t trust systems they don’t understand.

To see why, it helps to step back and look at how AI transforms Customer Success in layers.

From roles to systems to experience

Over the past posts in this series, we’ve explored three distinct but connected layers of AI adoption in Customer Success.

First, the role.

Starting an online business feels a little like standing at the top of a hill with a skateboard—full of possibility, momentum, and the exhilarating “this could actually work” energy. The creative spark is real. The ideas come fast. And the freedom you’ve been chasing suddenly feels within reach.

But today’s digital environment is also louder, more competitive, and more demanding than ever. Customers expect seamless experiences. Technology evolves monthly. And the strategies that worked last year may already feel outdated. In conversations I have with founders and business leaders across EMEA, one theme is always consistent: growth in the digital age requires clarity, adaptability, and systems that support your momentum—not ones that drain it.

Yet it’s exactly these foundational pieces that new entrepreneurs tend to overlook. Not intentionally—just because the early stage pulls you toward the shiny parts: branding, design, content. Those matter, but they’re not what stabilises a business long-term.

Here are the essential elements modern entrepreneurs need to get right from day one.

Starting an online business feels a little like standing at the top of a hill with a skateboard—full of possibility, momentum, and the exhilarating “this could actually work” energy. The creative spark is real. The ideas come fast. And the freedom you’ve been chasing suddenly feels within reach.

But in that rush, many new entrepreneurs skip the fundamentals. Not intentionally—just because the early stage focuses your attention on the shiny parts: the branding, the photography, the website aesthetics, the Instagram feed. Those matter, but they’re not the foundation of a business built for scale.

In my work with founders and digital operators (and in my own experience launching small businesses), I’ve seen the same pattern repeatedly: excitement creates momentum, but momentum without structure eventually turns into chaos. And the pieces entrepreneurs tend to overlook are the ones that end up determining whether the business stabilises or collapses when things get busy.

Here are the most common blind spots—and why addressing them early sets the stage for long-term success.

5 Must-Focus-On Areas as a New Business

For a long time, I believed leadership flowed from authority. Titles, reporting lines, decision-making power — these seemed like the essential ingredients for influence. It took working in highly cross-functional, high-stakes environments to realise that leadership is rarely about the position you hold. Instead, it’s about the clarity you bring, the trust you earn, and the consistency of your communication.

There was a point in my career when I had zero direct reports, yet my responsibility was to coordinate and drive execution across a room full of senior leaders across EMEA — VPs, regional leads, seasoned executives. None of them reported to me. All of them had competing priorities. And yet the projects needed to move.

That experience reshaped my understanding of what leadership really is.