The Case for Phase 0: Industry Voices on Readiness-First Transformation

What Industry Leaders Are Saying

“Your ‘Phase 0’ framing is exactly right. Before choosing anything, organisations must confront whether they are structurally capable of absorbing it.” — Phil Fersht, Founder, HFS Research

“You can have the most transparent, high-performance AI in the world (the Corvette), but without that ‘second transparency’ regarding internal processes and readiness, it’s just a faster way to crash. Model Transparency (Stanford’s index: data, weights, risk) and Operational Transparency (Hansen’s focus: process, readiness, skills).” — Sunny Dronawat, Ph.D., Global Tech Ventures Leader, Board Chair

“Good tools can identify and resolve most duplicates. But it leaves aside the question: why are we creating so many duplicates in the first place? Ignore this and you will de-dupe forever.” — Tom Redman, Data Quality Pioneer, Harvard Business Review Author

“AI doesn’t fix broken systems. It exposes them faster.” — Joselina Peralta, Top 100 Women in Supply Chain

“This isn’t just about selling technology. It’s about sequencing capabilities to where each organization is.” — Stephany Lapierre, Founder, TealBook

“Technology-first approaches ignore behavioral causes and typically automate as-is processes.” — Canda Rozier, Chief Procurement Officer

“These models are interesting, but it’s their impact that’s fascinating – both in terms of what they enable and what they demand.” — Tim Cummins, President, World Commerce & Contracting

“Without readiness, technology only accelerates the chaos.” — Burcu Gürel, Procurement Consultant

Technology amplifies whatever foundation exists. It doesn’t create one.

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