Having lived and worked in Silicon Valley for 25 years, I’ve witnessed the pace and pattern of technological change — from the early days of the web to the rise of e-commerce, search, mobile, social, streaming, and cloud computing. Every technological change comes with anxiety, uncertainty, pauses, and setbacks. But before you know it, we wake up just a few years later in a world built around new technologies and systems, with new business models and industry leaders.

Now we are in the midst of the AI revolution. The same anxieties and concerns about moving forward are emerging. Legal, ethical, organizational, ROI, you name it. Or better yet. AI is just another technology bubble like the metaverse or blockchain. But in Silicon Valley, we call this the “wall of worry.”

Remember the old objections: “No one will put their credit card on a website,” “Amazon can’t ship toys by Christmas,” or “Who will watch a movie on a computer?” Silicon Valley companies love the “wall of worry”. While others hesitate, forming task forces and committees, they build new business models, processes, and platforms.

So, what lessons can we learn from how Silicon Valley companies move, embrace, and lead transformations in fast-changing technology markets? And how can we use those lessons to motivate people in organizations to engage with AI?

Lesson Two: Focus on Costs Before Growth

In times of uncertainty, focus on costs and efficiency first, then on growth. Little-known fact: major technological transitions like cloud computing, mobile web, and paid search often happened during economic slowdowns. When organizations face financial uncertainty, they become more interested in technologies that reduce costs and improve margins.

When it becomes clear that an AI pilot project significantly reduces costs in areas such as creative production, digital design, or media automation, it becomes easier to persuade executives and boards to approve AI initiatives. For one major global client, we are building a radical new AI video advertising process that makes it possible to produce high-quality web spots more cost-effectively and quickly. Once cost efficiencies are proven, we can focus on using those innovations to drive growth.

Lesson Three: Re-imagine Everything — Dream Big

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs use their initial MVPs and use cases to learn first about a focused problem, but they simultaneously use that experience to imagine a greater potential for larger systems and business operations. With each pilot project, you start to see how AI technologies impact a narrowly defined functional area, but also how the technology can be applied to entire marketing systems and business processes.

For example, with Serviceplan Generate.AI, our agency's proprietary, GDPR compliant generative AI tool for image generation, AI can be integrated into creation processes. But as you begin to consider the connection of those AI-generated images to media channels and creative optimization, you can see the potential for greater efficiencies and scale across the entire media ecosystem.

As you gain experience, you can apply multiple AI techniques across a company’s entire marketing ecosystem, presenting larger opportunities for client engagement.