The Challenge: Uncertainty, Innovation Gaps, and Trust Deficits
Business leaders today face mounting uncertainty, stalled innovation, and a growing trust deficit. Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing at an unprecedented pace, forcing organizations to stay ahead—or risk obsolescence. As Elon Musk warns, companies that fail to adapt risk finding themselves on the “losing side of history.”
Here is the staggering reality: Despite the pressure to adopt AI, many organizations struggle to realize its full potential. A recent study (Forbes, McKinsey) reveals that while 65% of companies have integrated AI into their operations, only 26% have successfully scaled these initiatives to achieve tangible value. Moreover, 49% of CEOs identify estimating and demonstrating AI’s value as a significant obstacle, and 42% cite a lack of talent as a barrier to effective AI implementation.
These challenges underscore the critical need for a strategic approach that bridges the gap between AI capabilities and actionable business outcomes.
So, where do we go from here? At Doodle Design, we believe that Human-Centered Design (HCD) is the key to bridging this gap. HCD ensures AI serves people rather than replacing them—building adaptable, resilient organizations ready for any unknown.
The Unknown is Here to Stay: How Leaders Must Adapt
The future is unpredictable, and in the AI-dominant era, uncertainty is accelerating. The real challenge isn’t just AI itself—but how rapidly humans and organizations can adapt.
As the Financial Times notes, “The only certain prediction is that the vast majority of predictions will be overblown.” Whether AI evolves into a fundamental game-changer or simply another overhyped trend, the true differentiator won’t be technology—but leadership.
Forward-thinking leaders won’t fixate on whether AI will replace humans. Instead, they will harness AI as a tool while focusing on the enduring principles that have always driven success—creativity, adaptability, and human-first problem-solving.
Case Study: How Puratos is Preparing for the Unknown
Puratos Grand Place, a leading innovator in the chocolate-making industry, understands that success isn’t about chasing the latest tech trend—it’s about future-proofing teams. Instead of being reactive to AI and other advancements, Puratos committed to building a “future-ready” workforce equipped with creative, adaptable and empowered mindsets and behaviors.
Their guiding principle? “Please FAIL“—a bold embrace of experimentation, learning, and resilience
For the past five years since its inception of Design Thinking, designed and enabled by Doodle Design, Puratos has embedded Human-Centered Design (HCD) into its DNA, ensuring every team member is prepared to navigate any unknown—not just AI-driven shifts, but all future disruptions.
“We are excited for the next change.” says Gricha Safarian, Managing Director, Puratos Grand Place. “The real question isn’t ‘AI or not AI?’. It’s how organizations can leverage AI while keeping human needs & touch at the core.”
The Future of Work: AI + Human-Centered Design
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2024) predicts:
- 85 million jobs will be displaced by AI and automation by 2025.
- 97 million new roles will emerge, requiring entirely new skills.
- By 2030, 70% of today’s job skills will be replaced or fundamentally transformed.
What does this mean for businesses? The need for lifelong learning and continuous upskilling is more critical than ever. Data-driven organizations must transition from a data-mining mindset to an ideas-mining mindset. People centric leaders must focus on cultivating employees with the capability of sense-making, strategic prediction, and critical decision-making – all while leveraging AI as a co-pilot.
At Doodle Design, we have seen firsthand how AI and HCD drive innovation and create meaningful transformation:
- Healthcare Reimagined: Our HCD-driven journey mapping identified care gaps, while AI-powered analytics enabled personalized interventions, reducing patient wait times by 30%.
- Home Credit – Extracting True Customer Insights: This FinTech company faced a critical challenge: Not just gathering data, but asking the right questions to uncover new business opportunities. 80% of their initial assumptions were misaligned with real customer needs. Without blending data-driven insights with HCD, they risked wasted investments and lost competitive advantage.
The Skills That Will Define AI-Driven Success
The future of leadership isn’t just about adopting AI—it’s about ensuring HCD remains at the center of AI-driven transformation. Here’s how HCD fosters the key competencies for sustainable growth:
- Building Resilience for the Unknown: HCD equips teams to solve evolving challenges creatively, while AI provides real-time insights.
- Extracting Human Insights from Data: HCD asks the right questions; AI scales the answers into actionable solutions.
- Restoring Trust Through Ethics: HCD ensures human oversight, reducing AI bias and enhancing credibility.
- Developing Future-Ready Skills: HCD workshops train teams to integrate AI into problem-solving, fostering adaptability and innovation.
- Sense-Making: Converting AI outputs into actionable strategies, validated by human judgment.
- Creating Empathy: Ensuring AI-driven solutions prioritize human values and real-world impact.
- Human-First Problem-Solving: AI can provide insights, but only humans can connect the dots creatively.
The Future of Business Belongs to Human-Centered Leaders
AI is not replacing humans—it’s enhancing our ability to think, create, and innovate. The real competitive advantage lies in how organizations blend human ingenuity with AI-powered insights to create seamless, intelligent, and deeply human experiences.
But here’s the reality: AI alone won’t drive innovation—people will. The difference between companies that thrive and those that fade isn’t AI itself, but how effectively they combine AI with Human-Centered Design.
Chris Elkin, Founder of Doodle Design, reinforces this point:
So the question is: Will you be the leader who adapts, integrates AI wisely, and builds a future-ready workforce? Or the one who keeps chasing—only to be left behind?
Now is the time to reflect and think. Let Doodle Design help you lead this transformation. In this new power dynamic, those who embrace AI with a human-first approach will shape the future—while others struggle to catch up.
Contact us at hello@doodledesign.co to learn more about how our solutions can equip your workforce for the AI-driven world.
