Artificial intelligence has transformed the way organizations approach productivity, decision-making, and innovation. Yet despite unprecedented investment in AI technologies, many businesses continue to struggle to achieve the results they expected. According to a report, industries most exposed to AI experienced approximately three times higher growth in revenue per employee than those least exposed, demonstrating that the technology itself is capable of creating significant value when organizations are prepared to use it effectively.
For Brody Billings, CEO and founder of Monument Solutions, an operational intelligence firm, that gap between potential and performance raises a different question. Rather than asking whether AI works, he believes business leaders should ask whether their organizations are truly prepared to execute with it.
That perspective comes from experience operating businesses rather than observing them from the sidelines. Billings has built and managed companies across multiple industries, ranging from a quick‑service restaurant to a virtual bookkeeping firm, a residential real estate portfolio, and partial ownership of a water purification company. Earlier in his career, he also helped operate a family enterprise serving recurring commercial accounts. Across each business, the same lesson continued to emerge.
"From my experience working in businesses and with people, I've learned that AI, being a newly emerging tool, can either greatly empower people or significantly hinder them," Billings says.
To explore this Foresite hypothesis, Billings decided to continually test it in real life. In one of these tests, he designed an experiment at home. He enrolled his two teenage sons in identical online college courses and encouraged them to use artificial intelligence as much as they wanted and were able to. "The condition was to learn from the experience, not just pass the class. Completing the goals of the class was not the objective. The goal was to learn and creatively use the tools available to them," Billings states. The class would eventually complete an assessment that measured genuine understanding rather than AI-assisted completion. One of his boys got credit for the class, while the other did not, but ultimately both passed.
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For Billings, the outcome had very little to do with the artificial intelligence itself. Both of his boys, as students, had access to the same technology, completed the same coursework, and approached the same assignments. The difference, he explains, was how each chose to use the tool of AI.
Introducing AI into the equation and achieving a positive outcome didn't depend on the technology. "AI wasn't the variable for the Billings boys; the variable was the Billings boys," he says. In both family organizations and any other type of organization, the caveat in the equation is the human using the technology. When proper preparation meets opportunity, that is the equation for success. Executing proper preparation is the challenge being faced today, and considering the caveat, the deficit is great and growing when someone is trying to cut corners.
That experience reinforced a belief he has since observed repeatedly while leading businesses. From his perspective, humans still execute, now with new tools, but AI can either help or hinder that execution. "Organizations with strong leadership, clear communication, and accountability to key performance indicators often find that AI accelerates human productivity," he says. "Businesses struggling with accountability, inconsistent processes, or unclear direction frequently encounter that those same tools aid in the downfall of the individual using them, thus creating the weak link in the chain of business."
According to Billings, that is why many discussions surrounding AI focus too heavily on selecting platforms or writing prompts while overlooking the human behaviors that ultimately determine whether technology creates meaningful results.
He says, "You have the AI, you have the human, and you have the business, along with other tools." Billings explains that when the business portion of the equation is messy, it makes the entire equation more difficult. From his perspective, the execution gap usually falls on the greatest caveat: the people. When LLM tools are used properly, artificial intelligence makes that reality harder to ignore by quickly revealing where the gap exists within the organization.
CEOs, founders, and all leadership, therefore, become the starting point for successful AI adoption. Billings believes organizations cannot expect employees to embrace new technology if leaders remain hesitant to learn it themselves. In his experience, AI adoption reflects organizational culture long before it reflects technological adoption.
"The CEO needs to understand AI first," Billings says. "People follow what leaders practice, not what they simply encourage."
He explains that this is why understanding human psychology has become just as important as understanding artificial intelligence. "Every organization is made up of people making decisions, communicating priorities, and working toward shared goals," he says. "If those fundamentals are weak, your equation is weak. Introducing AI changes outcomes regardless of the variables. Instead of the desired results, if the entire equation is not sound, it will create weaknesses and complications."
That observation aligns with broader workplace trends. New tasks added to occupations most exposed to AI are 2.5 times more likely to create human missionaries rather than human mercenaries via judgment, creativity, leadership, empathy, and compassion. As AI becomes more capable, the report suggests these distinct human traits become even more valuable.
Billings believes leaders should therefore view AI as a tool that strengthens people's execution rather than replaces it. Instead of asking technology to think for employees, he encourages organizations to use it to ask better questions, improve accountability, and accelerate learning across teams.
"We have to ask the right questions to get closer and closer to the real root of the problem, but the business owner doesn't know what they don't know," Billings says.
That mindset has shaped the philosophy behind Monument Solutions, which Billings explains as an operational intelligence firm focused on helping organizations improve execution. Rather than positioning AI as the destination, the firm views it as one component of a broader operational equation that includes leadership, communication, and human behavior. From Billings' perspective, organizations generate greater value when they strengthen those foundations before expecting technology to transform results.
Ultimately, Billings believes the conversation surrounding artificial intelligence can be subtle, or it can be a shock, depending on the leadership's presentation of implementation. From his perspective, businesses should spend less time asking which AI platform they need and more time asking whether their people, systems, and leadership are prepared to use any platform effectively at all. He argues that while the technology is advancing rapidly, human execution remains the variable that determines whether AI delivers meaningful results. He says, "AI does not have to replace people. However, people can amplify their impact when working with large language models under strong leadership."
Billings adds, "The question isn't whether AI is ready. The question is whether your organization is ready. AI can accelerate businesses, but it can't, nor should it, replace discipline, ownership, or leadership. Those have always been and always should be human responsibilities."
Media Contact
Name: Brody Billings
Email: brody@brodybillings.com
