Before You Bolt AI onto the Boat

     Market Update- If you were wondering if this is a “K” economy, you needn’t look any further than the outcome of cabinet sales so far this year. Only one category is even close on YTD sales and that would be the most expensive cabinet level- Custom

·      High end is doing well but that alone is not the recipe for righting this ship. Instead of caviar, we will need to have hodgepodge soup. Made with ingredients from top to bottom.

·      Think a year ahead from now. AI deployment gets more traction, and the unemployment rate follows suit by ticking up every month. Kitchen and bath remodels just went from the cooler to cold storage. How do you plan for that when there are 1 gazillion moving parts right now? Alone? Looking to fill a spot at the “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?” You and Jack sipping Antipsychotics lattes?

·      Think KB Elevate Groups. Join us this Wednesday for a complimentary session. We are starting our 5th group! Shoot us a message contact@kbglobalpartners.com and we'll send you an invite!

Before You Bolt AI onto the Boat

Looking for that silver bullet—the one special AI tool that will make all your troubles disappear?

It quotes. It orders. It delivers. And it even installs! All you have to do is sit back, right?

We’ve been working with AI for a while now, and we’re seeing more and more kitchen and bath dealers riding that merry-go-round, hoping to grab the golden ring that will transform their entire business.

But that’s an illusion. Last time I looked, the real winners were still the companies with the best leadership and the strongest teams.

That matters more than ever, because change is starting to arrive in box cars and that is just the start! This is exactly when you need a crew that is engaged, innovative, and energized—people willing to learn, rethink how they work, and help move the business forward.

Here’s how I’d put it:

Learning takes effort. Change takes commitment. And an energized team starts with a leader who shows up ready to keep the momentum going.

When a dealer comes looking for a technology solution, I ask a few questions: Do you have an employee journey? A customer journey? Clear processes? Key performance indicators that your team understands and actually uses?

If those things aren’t in place, are you trying to put a bigger motor on a boat that still has holes in it?

There’s plenty of work you can do now while the right AI tools and integrated systems take shape. Clarify responsibilities. Clean up your processes. Build your employee and customer journeys. Decide what you need to measure and what better performance should look like.

Start putting those pieces in place so that when you bring AI into the business, it has something solid to work with. You want to start making progress right away, instead of discovering that you have to reinvent how the whole company operates.

And if you’re planning to handle this entire transformation in a silo, you’re making that hard job even harder.

You’re going to need peers, connections, and networks to help you understand what’s happening, what needs to change, and how to make it happen. Trying to invent every answer yourself will take far too long. Someone else may have already solved the problem that’s been holding you up for three months.

There’s no getting around it: you’ll need a tight ship to compete with the new business models emerging from this AI storm. And the changes they bring won’t be temporary.

For many of us, that means checking our egos at the door and admitting that experience alone won’t give us all the answers. Leaders will have to become students again—and help their teams do the same.

That takes more than enthusiasm at the kickoff meeting. Your team needs time to learn, room to practice, and a leader who stays involved when the work gets uncomfortable. You have to bring the energy, demonstrate the commitment, and keep people moving long enough for new habits to take hold.

Find a group that meets regularly, shares what’s working, and helps its members follow through. Elevate is one option. Whatever group you choose, join one where you can ask honest questions, learn from other people’s attempts, and contribute what you’re learning along the way.

This is becoming a different ball game altogether. Start getting your business ready, give your crew the leadership they need, and surround yourself with people who will help you move forward.

Even the best captain needs a crew.

There is no getting around the fact that a change like this just doesn’t fall  into place, it’s going to take some real elbow grease. So look in the mirror decide whether you are all in.

If no, patch up the boat and sell.

If yes, roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Rock and Roll like you mean it! Thad