The Underrated Force Behind Every Successful AI Pilot
How FOMO became the most effective AI adoption strategy of 2025.
Dear subscribers,
I wanted to do something a little different for this week’s issue. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking to several leaders about how they’re approaching AI adoption inside their teams, and I found some very valuable nuggets.
But in those nuggets, there was this one idea that really stood out to me.
And I’ve never been known to gatekeep. So I’m going to share what I think is the best possible way to not only adopt AI but get the most out of it.
Think of this issue as your guide on how you’re going to get your team enthusiastic and equipped. Let me break it down.
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Your training sessions aren’t working
Here’s the thing: most companies try to roll out AI through training sessions, internal docs, or “read this” emails. And this only makes sense; this is what we’ve been doing for decades.
Why change now?
But if you’ve taken any ‘Complete AI Course!’, you’ll be able to figure out very quickly that AI isn’t something you learn.
It’s something you build an intuition for — through trial, error, and visible wins.
Your most important motivator
The leaders I’ve spoken to — from Amplitude to Anthropic — all landed on the same realization: adoption is a motivation problem.
People don’t resist AI because they don’t understand it. They resist it because they don’t trust it yet.
And trust isn’t built through documentation — it’s built through proof.
You need proof that this thing works, that it’s not just hype or a quick phase.
Proof that it works. Proof that it saves time. Proof that it makes the job easier without making people feel replaceable.
So now that we understand what truly motivates people, let’s talk about how you can plant those seeds of trust and momentum inside your own team.
Training → Show and tell
Every leader I talked to said some version of the same thing: nothing drives adoption faster than seeing someone else win with it.
Example: At Amplitude, James Evans’s team saw this firsthand. Their internal analytics assistant, Moda, saw 10× higher usage the moment it moved from a standalone app to Slack — where people already worked, watched, and shared results.
When someone on your team shares a small win, a report automated in seconds, or a workflow that saved two hours, it creates a ripple. Others start feeling ‘behind.’ They start asking questions, trying it out, experimenting.
So the social loop becomes: One person ships something cool → everyone sees it → someone else tries it → suddenly it’s a movement.
🧩 Exercises to try this week
1. Prototype Friday (90 min)
Each team ships one small, working demo by EOD. Doesn’t need to be perfect; it just needs to try to solve a problem.
2. Public Results Board
Track usage, time saved, or eval pass rates visibly. It can be a Notion page or a Slack thread. The goal is to make progress public.
3. Peer Demo Ritual
Host three short demos every week. Reward the most impactful one. Keep it fun, fast, and lightweight; no PowerPoints allowed.
None of this needs a “strategy doc.” It just needs permission and visibility.
Closing thoughts
If there’s one thing I’ve learned talking to dozens of builders: You don’t “convince” teams to use AI, you let them see it work.
A single working demo will build more belief than a 40-slide strategy deck ever will.
So this week, don’t ask your team to “learn AI.” Ask them to play around with it and show off some results.
👉 If you found this issue useful, share it with a teammate or founder navigating AI adoption.
And subscribe to AI Ready for weekly lessons on how leaders are making AI real at scale.
Until next time,
Haroon