By Django Weisz Blanchetta, Chief Executive Hero & Founder at SuperHeroes.

Yes, AI is important. Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past 12 months, you will have noticed the wave of AI in the workplace. It's kind of a big deal now, not that we can predict its entire impact (yet). But it's shaking things up in every corner of our organization (from creatives and accounts to the strategy department). It is big.

That’s why we started experimenting and adopting the use of AI within SuperHeroes at an early stage. And you could say so far we have followed Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation model perfectly. With the innovators, the early adopters and early majority of our heroes team using and experimenting with AI on every level of the organization.

But now we have come to the moment that we need to convince and persuade the late majority. The other 50% of our organization. The followers or skeptics who will buy in only once a new technology has been proven and widely accepted. When it becomes apparent that the benefits outweigh the costs, or there are no uncertainties threatening their position or work methods. And that is exactly the challenge with AI. Because AI does change the way we are working. And it does come with a lot of uncertainties. But that is OK.

So how do we tackle this challenge within our creative agency? How can we keep everybody motivated? Create a balanced team where nobody falls behind? Where nobody risks losing opportunities for self-development? Every manager at some point grapples with these topics and questions, as the risk of losing an efficient and successful team looms. In a rapidly changing world, this is something you simply can't afford.

In an effort to foster change, we have implemented various AI phases in our organization:

PHASE 1. Build a magical land where testing and learning can frolic together: Athena We kicked off with an AI tag team to brainstorm growth strategies and efficiency hacks. One of the outputs of this phase was the creation of our own tool, Athena: an AI dashboard with different AI models (from text to image, text to video, ChatGPT, Transcription tools and tools for analyses). So every Superhero has easy, secure access and can share knowledge and best cases between each other. It really helped us to experiment, learn and adopt working with AI in every corner of our organization. And it came with its fair share of tinkering, face-palms, 'aha' moments, and victory dances.

PHASE 2. Waving the AI adoption flag and rallying the troops Post phase 1 success, it's key to share insights and continue experimenting. Since it's not just a single AI wave, but rather, several ones, following one after the other. That’s why we introduced two new roles within SuperHeroes for every department:

**- The SuperHeroes Sensai ** Someone in charge of training others on AI model usage and guiding them to improve. This will be part of their performance evaluation, determining if they're using AI at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.

- The SuperHeroes Trailblazer Someone who is constantly seeking new models, while also guiding others on tool usage. Their role comprises curation and providing direction based on organizational objectives and intended results.

By assigning these new roles, we offer the right encouragement, ensuring that the late majority realizes that adopting and utilizing the technology is not an optional decision.

PHASE 3 - Squeeze out all the good stuff, make the most of it and keep innovating! While we're still in the second phase, we've simultaneously embarked on the third. Here, we're continually enhancing AI model usage, exploring new tools and using the output of one AI model as input for another. We're even developing our own AI models to implement and create new efficiencies that were previously unachievable.

And as Spiderman’s uncle Ben once said “with great power comes great responsibility”. That’s why we've transitioned into advocates for our clients, as well as for third parties. We disseminate our expertise and assist them in immensely enhancing their campaigns using AI, while also optimizing their workflows.

To be continued… We're still in the early stages of Phase 2 and have simultaneously taken the first steps of Phase 3, but the urgency is already yielding results. Through careful usage tracking and incorporating it into performance evaluation, even the late majority have realized the importance of AI usage.

Due in no small part to the usage of AI, SuperHeroes has celebrated numerous small victories. Our accounts team no longer manually takes meeting notes but uses a great tool for it, while our strategy team can generate reports and analyzes more rapidly. Moreover, our creative department can turnaround projects better. By utilizing brainstorm tools and delivering creative outputs that were once thought unimaginable (ranging from generated videos, improved visual content, to entirely new forms of content).

To summarize: four Key Takeaways for Beginning Your Organisation’s AI Journey So if you are working in an agency (or any organization), and you are still at the beginning of Phase 1, here are a few key takeaways:

1. Embrace AI: In today's rapidly changing world, it's essential to adopt the wave of AI in the workplace. It might bring a lot of uncertainties, but it's crucial for enhancing efficiency and growth.

2. Foster a Culture of Experimentation: Building a "magical land" where testing and learning can occur together is vital. Create space for the team to make mistakes, learn, and improve.

3. Assign Clear Roles for AI Adoption: Introduce roles that involve training others on AI use and seeking out new models. This ensures everyone integrates AI into their work, thus encouraging wider acceptance of the technology.

4. Keep Innovating: Continually enhance AI usage by exploring new tools and models, and even developing your own. The aim is to find new efficiencies that were previously unachievable.