Get the Puck Out: Stop Chasing AI and Start Leading it!

As we find ourselves in the throes of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, this analogy seems fitting. In hockey, the greats don’t chase the puck, they skate to where it’s going. The same applies to IT leaders navigating today’s AI landscape. Too many teams are being pulled into the AI conversation late, reacting to executive mandates or vendor hype rather than setting the strategic direction. The result? Disconnected tools, unclear goals, and missed opportunities.

It’s time for IT to stop chasing the puck, and start owning the play.

From Reactionary to Visionary

AI is dominating boardroom conversations, but often without a grounded understanding of what it should actually do for the business. Leadership says, “We need an AI strategy,” and IT is left scrambling to evaluate tools, prove ROI, and implement platforms that may not align with operational needs.

That’s backwards.

IT professionals are uniquely positioned to understand the full ecosystem of their organization—how data flows, where bottlenecks occur, and which processes are ripe for automation. You already know where the friction lives. That means you should be the one guiding the AI conversation, identifying use cases that matter, selecting technologies that integrate cleanly, and driving a strategy that’s grounded in both infrastructure and impact.

The Real Meaning of AI Readiness

At Matrix Networks, we talk a lot about AI readiness, and it’s not just about spinning up a cloud model or enabling a chatbot or giving Pro-GPT licenses to the entire organization. True AI readiness is about clarity and intent. It starts with asking the right questions:

• Where do we spend too much time on low-value tasks?

• What parts of our communication systems create delays or confusion?

• Where are decisions made based on assumptions instead of data?

From there, it’s about identifying how AI can meaningfully address those issues—not just adopting AI for the sake of innovation, but using it as a precision tool to solve specific challenges. Whether that’s deploying AI-powered voice intelligence in your contact center or using machine learning to streamline internal workflows, the power is in the alignment, not the tool itself.

AI as an Opportunity for IT Leadership

For decades, IT has been seen as a support function. But AI changes the game. This is an opportunity for IT leaders to step into a more strategic role, not just as implementers, but as innovators, helping the business reimagine how it operates.

• In customer experience, AI enables organizations to scale human-like interactions, automate redundant agent tasks, and uncover insights from every conversation.

• In operations, it empowers teams to eliminate repetitive workflows, extract intelligence from legacy systems, and gain real-time visibility into performance metrics.

This isn’t just about doing things faster—it’s about doing them smarter.

Don’t Wait for the Ask | Make the Play

AI strategies shouldn’t be executive pet projects or marketing campaigns, they should be core to how a business thinks about efficiency, growth, and customer engagement. But for that to happen, IT has to lead the charge.

Don’t wait for your leadership team to come knocking with a vague AI directive. Instead, build your case. Map opportunities. Identify which parts of your stack can benefit from intelligent automation. Work with partners who understand both the potential of AI and the complexities of your existing environment.

Skate to where the puck is going, and bring your organization with you.

The Final Period

The next wave of AI innovation won’t be led by the loudest vendor or the flashiest tool—it will be driven by IT leaders who understand the full context of their business and know how to architect real change. At Matrix Networks, we help organizations do exactly that, bridging the gap between aspiration and execution.

If you're ready to stop reacting and start leading, let's talk.