The AI Problem No One Is Talking About

This morning, on a call with an industry working group, something hit me hard: many organizations aren’t struggling with AI because of technology… they’re struggling because of governance.

Here’s the real issue—one I see repeatedly across associations, coalitions, and multi-stakeholder industry bodies:

1. Everyone wants “AI action.”

No one has the authority—or capacity—to actually coordinate it.

These organizations are often governed by volunteers. Passionate, committed individuals… but not fiduciaries. They’re not structured or empowered to set enterprise direction, define priorities across functions, or drive cross-organizational alignment around AI.

So what happens?
You get siloed initiatives, unclear ownership, and competing interpretations of what “AI” even means.

And then it gets messier.

Enter: the big consulting firms.

McKinsey. BCG. Bain.

They all show up to “help” because they know the downstream commercial value that comes from being close to billion-dollar CPG, food, and retail members. But here’s the quiet truth:

They’re competing with each other.
They’re volunteering time.
No one wants to take true leadership ownership.
And none of them want to give a free strategic blueprint away.

Which leaves the organization with…
Lots of AI talk. Lots of AI decks.
Very little AI strategy.

The Epiphany: They Don’t Need More AI Projects.

They Need an AI Strategy.

A real one. Not a vendor pitch. Not a consulting sales funnel. Not a scattershot list of “use cases.”

They need someone who can:

✔ Facilitate real cross-functional alignment
✔ Map who is doing what
✔ Define clear objectives and outcomes
✔ Clarify capabilities vs. aspirations
✔ Build a roadmap grounded in governance, not hype
✔ Ensure neutrality—no tech vendor, no consulting upsell, no hidden agenda

In other words…

They need an independent, tech-agnostic strategy partner.

Someone who understands standards, data governance, AI readiness, and the operational realities of CPG, food, retail, and manufacturing supply chains. Someone who isn’t trying to sell software. Someone who isn’t competing for multimillion-dollar downstream engagements. Someone who can simply help them get aligned so they can actually execute.

This Is Exactly Where MDB Comes In

This is the work we do every day:

• Enterprise and industry-wide strategy development
• Cross-functional alignment and governance design
• AI     readiness, data strategy, and capability mapping
• Independent, tech-agnostic facilitation
• Clear roadmaps that leadership can actually execute

If your organization—or your industry association—is struggling with:

• Competing priorities
• Siloed AI initiatives
• Volunteer-led governance
• Lack of capacity
• Too many advisors with too many agendas

…then what you need isn’t another AI use case brainstorm.

You need a strategy.

And you need someone neutral to build it.

If that’s a conversation worth having, we're here.

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