Most AI transformations fail. Not because the algorithms are inadequate, but because the organizations deploying them are.

Looking at over 200 implementations from 2019 to 2024, it's clear that 73% of AI transformation failures are due to human factors like leadership, talent systems, and culture, not the technology itself. This pattern warrants further investigation. Interestingly, organizations tend to spend about $10 on AI technology for every $1 they invest in preparing their people, which significantly influences whether the tech succeeds. The numbers tell the story: when the ratio is above 8:1, success drops below 30%, but at 4:1 or better, success soars above 70%.

At the heart of the book is the Human-Centered Future of Work Framework, which highlights three interconnected organizational capabilities: Adaptive Leadership, Talent Elasticity, and Psychological Safety. These are the essential human elements that enable AI to deliver the results organizations are investing in. Each of these pillars is supported by a chapter of evidence and a chapter of practical guidance, along with helpful tools like diagnostic assessments, governance structures, and a step-by-step implementation plan.

The book showcases three inspiring case studies that highlight how the framework truly comes to life: Mountain View Regional Health, a robust 2,400-bed system that managed to delay its deployment by six months yet still surpassed all the performance targets set by its board; First National Bank, which successfully rebuilt its trading-floor leadership amid active regulatory oversight; and Precision Manufacturing Group, which retained its most experienced technicians by involving them directly in the AI deployment process rather than sidelining them.

In Change Optimized, Curtis L. Odom, Ed.D., draws on twenty-five years of Fortune 100 transformation work combined with ten years of qualitative research as a faculty member at Northeastern University to specify what the missing investment is, what it costs, and how to build it. Change Optimized is his eighth book. His writing on AI, leadership, and organizational transformation appears regularly in Harvard Business Review and Forbes.

Change Optimized is for CHROs, CIOs, transformation leaders, and boards who have figured out that the algorithm is the easy part and that their next AI investment isn't another algorithm.