Most business leaders talk about AI adoption in optimistic, measured tones. They speak of "augmentation, not automation" and "upskilling the workforce." But Eric Vaughan, the CEO of enterprise-software company IgniteTech, took a far more radical approach.
Convinced that generative AI was an "existential" threat, he set out to remake his entire company around it, with stunningly brutal results.
In 2023, according to Fortune, Vaughan told his team that everything would now revolve around AI. He mandated "AI Mondays," a day when no one could work on sales, budgets, or anything other than AI projects. The company dedicated a massive 20% of its payroll to retraining, providing tools, education, and access to new projects. But despite this significant investment, Vaughan was met with mass resistance.
The result? Within a year, IgniteTech had replaced nearly 80% of its workforce because they hadn’t adequately embrace AI.
To understand just how radical this move is and what it means for businesses everywhere, I talked it through with Marketing AI Institute founder and CEO Paul Roetzer on Episode 164 of The Artificial Intelligence Show.
It’s rare to get a truly honest look at AI transformation inside a company. As Roetzer notes, many companies doing it well aren't talking about it, and many who are struggling don’t want to admit how difficult it is. But Vaughan's story, while extreme, highlights a core challenge of AI adoption that is often overlooked: human friction.
This resistance can stem from various sources. Employees may fear AI will take their jobs, while others may simply be unwilling to learn a new way of working. As Vaughan discovered, technical staff in his case were actually the most resistant, focusing on what AI couldn't do rather than what it could. This friction isn’t unique to IgniteTech. A report by Writer, an AI platform for enterprises, found that one in three workers have actively sabotaged their company's AI rollout.
"You can't compel people to change, especially if they don't believe," Vaughan told Fortune. He learned that building a new culture of belief was harder than simply adding new skills.
Roetzer echoes this sentiment, saying that if you're building an "AI emergent" company (one that infuses AI into every aspect of its operations) the hardest truth is that employees who aren't bought into that vision have to go.
Vaughan's approach was a high-stakes gamble, but it paid off. After replacing most of his staff with "AI innovation specialists," IgniteTech kept its nine-figure revenue, acquired another firm, and began launching AI products in days instead of months. This wasn't just a tech change for Vaughan; it was a fundamental "cultural change" and "business change."
Still, Vaughan does not recommend his radical approach to others, calling the decision to lay off so many employees "extremely difficult.” He says it was never the goal, but rather a harsh consequence of the resistance he encountered.
What, then, is a more balanced path? Roetzer suggests that leaders must have a clear vision and communicate it honestly. He believes CEOs should tell their employees directly the following:
“We will provide you education and training. We will give you access to these tools. You have to want it though. And if you don’t take advantage of these things, you will not be part of this company anymore.”
The goal isn't to be a company full of people who are compelled to change. The goal is to build a company where everyone is in the same boat, rowing in the same direction.
The brutal honesty of this case study forces us to confront some uncomfortable questions. While it's extreme, it underscores a new reality for the workforce. As Vaughan gave his employees an incredible "gift" of time and investment to gain a new skill, he also placed a responsibility on them to lean into the change.
Leaders can't promise that AI won't impact staffing in the future, says Roetzer. What they can promise is to invest in their people and prepare them for the future of work. Whether that future is with their current company or elsewhere, employees who embrace this new era will be ready to create value wherever they go.
Ultimately, the lesson from IgniteTech is a stark reminder: AI adoption isn't just about technology, it's about people. And while we need more leaders who are transparent about the challenges, we also need to recognize that some resistance is inevitable. The real test is how leaders and employees respond to it.