US companies wasted $9B on DEI.
Now they're repeating the mistake with AI.
Here's why.
...The hard truth is those “playbooks” the Big 4 (Deloitte, EY, McKinsey and PwC) leave behind? They’re graveyards. None of your operators uses them. And even leaders of the Big 4 confirm there’s a substantial gap of undeployed functionality.
In the off chance you do implement, you can confidently confirm your competitors received the same playbook with a different logo. This is precisely why EVERY organization was implementing the same DEI tactics. And why it’s easier to pretend DEI never happened than admit you implemented the exact same strategy as your cheapest competitor. Now imagine if all of your competitors use the same McKinsey AI playbook, everyone’s customer experience becomes identical no matter what your brand promises to deliver. Your "X-Factor" is gone.
Inexperienced operators overriding battle-tested operators (like DEI)
We all know Big 4 firms run on a "pyramid model." A senior partner takes you to expensive dinners, and closes the deal, but a 26-year-old MBA associate does the actual work. You are paying $500/hour for a kid who has never fired someone, never calmed down an angry crowd, and never had to hit a quarterly target with broken equipment.
An MBA teaches you how to look at a P&L. It doesn't teach you how to look a bride in the eye...
Read the full article here
Case Studies
National Food-Service Co.
Five contracts. $143M in annual revenue. 400+ jobs. That's what following the Big 4 diversity playbook cost one national food service company The company faced diversity scrutiny in early 2021. Following the Big 4 playbook, they promoted two internal employees with zero diversity leadership experience into figurehead roles. No authority. No strategy. Just public validation They joined the NMSDC, wrote checks, sponsored events, and called it good. By 2023, they'd lost five major contracts. Were all five about diversity? No. But the scrutiny around their performance, driven by a culture that was never actually addressed made them vulnerable to every competitor who had done the work right.
Impact: Reputation and revenue damage.
Net Loss: Lost $143M in annual revenue, 400+ employees affected across multiple locations.
AI is accelerating the promise-to-performance gap when it’s implemented without operational alignment.
Why Multi-Unit Operators Lose Consistency
EvE Diagnostic
Culture & Operations Audit
A full-scale diagnostic connecting culture, operations, and revenue performance. Designed to identify breakdowns, inefficiencies, and missed growth opportunities across the business.
Starting at $75K
8-12 weeks
Efficiency vs Guest Experience. Built for leaders actively implementing AI for speed and need impact clarity before full-adoption.
Starting at $20K
2-3 weeks
The gap between what leaders promise and what operators deliver costs millions.
Here's how to close it...
Custom Engagements
For special projects, strategic initiatives, and executive advisory services, let's talk.
More from FIG
