AI Strategy Theater: Why CIOs Are Performing Innovation Instead Of Leading It
CIO, Tuesday, April 14th, 2026
Don't confuse activity with progress. Running 15 AI pilots looks great on a slide, but if none of them change how the business actually works, it's just expensive theater.
Every few years, CIOs face a version of the same board question: What are we doing about this new technology? Today, the answer is expected to be AI. The pressure is real. The competitive environment is real. The board's desire to see progress is legitimate, and I don't dismiss any of it.
What's worth examining is how that pressure has been absorbed. In many organizations, the response to board urgency has become a form of performance. Pilots accumulate.