The Triangle of AI Fear

For us consultants in the AI world, the only thing to fear is fear itself.
And fear is a triangle.

Here’s a classic scenario for one of my AI strategy workshops: your client’s CEO wants AI tools because their board is pressuring them. The rank-and-file worry about job cuts. And their data is a mess that can’t even launch a dashboard.

Most would try to solve all 3 of those fears at once.

I think this is a huge mistake.

The reality of implementing any technology as a consultant is that there are tradeoffs: no alignment to leadership leads to tools that go nowhere, a lack of change management leads to poor adoption, and not focusing on foundations builds tools that look nice and break fast.

Enter one of my favorite frameworks: The Triangle of AI Fear

Every AI project triggers three types of uncertainty:
- Personal: Social pressure on leaders, preconceived notions of AI
- Financial: ROI and job loss uncertainty
- Organizational: Lack of infrastructure to support the team’s vision

The problem is you can’t solve all 3 without creating mediocre results across all of them.

So my objective is to focus all my workshops on the two fears that move the needle for that specific client.

This isn’t to say that the remaining fear goes away.

It just becomes an iteration of what matters *most*.

Remember: Momentum first, perfect solutions later.

Where do most of your clients land on this triangle? I think most technical folks sit on the financial + organizational corner, for example.

But it changes from team to team, so would love to know in the comments what it looks like in your work!