Here’s an allocation decision that defies all logic: 70% of AI budgets go to sales and marketing functions, but back-office automation delivers consistently higher ROI. This isn’t optimization—it’s organizational malpractice.
The pattern is pathological. Visible, board-friendly functions get the money. Invisible, high-impact functions get scraps. A VP of Procurement captured the insanity perfectly: “How do I justify a tool that makes my team more efficient when it won’t directly move revenue? I could argue it helps our scientists get their tools faster, but that’s several degrees removed from bottom-line impact.”
This is how organizations fail: by optimizing for visibility rather than value. They automate the work that executives see while ignoring the work that actually runs the company. They celebrate chatbots that annoy customers while rejecting tools that could save millions in operational costs.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
