The Foundation of Innovation: Why "Rock Solid Operations" Comes Before Vision
It is a widespread misconception in many executive suites of medium-sized companies that AI projects fail due to a lack of creativity or vision. Listening to Katrin Lehmann, CIO of Mercedes-Benz, in conversation with Larissa Holzki, it quickly becomes clear that the real obstacle is often much more banal: Operational stability is missing. In the podcast, Lehmann unequivocally emphasizes her most important task: "My most important task is to keep the company running." She calls this "Rock Solid Operations." Without stable infrastructure, without functioning cybersecurity, and without reliable IT systems, any AI initiative is doomed to failure. For SMEs, which often tend to build lighthouse projects on shaky IT architecture, this is a crucial wake-up call. Innovation is not an escape from daily business, but its refinement. Lehmann makes it clear that you have to learn to swim before you can surf. She compares her career and technological adoption to her time as a competitive swimmer: You jump into the cold water and swim as fast as you can. But the water in the pool must be clean. Applied to sales, this means that before we talk about highly complex AI prediction models, the CRM database and fundamental processes must be "rock solid." Those who skip homework here will not experience an AI revolution, but will automate chaos.
