Leading AI Change: Why Ambition, Not Caution, Wins the Day

2025 was a defining year for AI. The technology is no longer experimental — it's reshaping who wins, how work gets done, and what leadership really means. Yet as organisations race to understand what AI can do, many leaders are still asking: how do we get this right? According to Neil Davidson, Group Vice President of Professional Services at Deltek, they might be asking the wrong question altogether.

In a recent episode of the Changemakers podcast, Neil offered a thought-provoking perspective:

"The biggest jeopardy is ambition."

In other words, the real risk in AI transformation isn't failure — it's playing it safe. While organisations hesitate or experiment around the edges, those with bold ambition are already transforming operations, delivering more value to clients, and redefining their competitive edge. Bob Hughes, CEO of Deltek, reinforces this in his recent Forbes interview, noting that companies willing to embrace bold AI strategies are the ones setting the pace in professional services.

The Real Risk: Playing It Safe

For many organisations, AI efforts remain stuck in "low-hanging fruit" mode — automating meeting notes, generating reports, or speeding up administrative tasks. Useful, yes, but far from transformative.

As Neil explains in the podcast:

"It's not about settling for small optimisations. It's about scanning the full internal value chain for step-change opportunities."

Step-change thinking means reimagining how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how value is delivered to clients. Yet too often, AI is treated as a side project — something non-core and optional. In uncertain times, caution can seem like a strength. But in AI, caution can quickly become a liability. Waiting too long or aiming too low comes at a steep cost:

• Falling behind more agile competitors
• Losing relevance with clients
• Failing to engage employees who want modern, meaningful work

That mindset can result in slower adoption, lost market share, and weakened client engagement. A cautious approach signals hesitation at a time when clients and employees expect forward-thinking leadership. Leaders who move decisively with AI create cultures of innovation and attract talent and clients looking for partners who can help them navigate a rapidly evolving landscape.

What Ambition Looks Like in Practice

At Deltek, ambition fuels progress — powering purposeful innovation for clients and transformation inside the business. Deltek has integrated AI into the full project lifecycle through Dela™, its AI Orchestrator, which helps professional services teams:

• Generate smart, automated content
• Predict project and organisational success
• Explore and interact with data in natural language

For Deltek, purposeful innovation means using AI to drive measurable business outcomes — not AI for its own sake. These innovations are designed to enhance productivity and deliver results like growth and improved working capital.

Internally, Deltek applies the same ambition to its operations. In the global sales function, AI is being used to:

• Identify best-fit opportunities
• Sharpen competitive strategy using frameworks like MEDDPICC
• Deploy agentic AI — intelligent systems that work 24/7 to research markets, uncover leads, and prepare teams for action

As Neil puts it:

"Unleashing agentic AI to work 24/7… so that when people log in, they can hit the ground running."

This is ambition in action — not just adopting new tools but building an AI-first mindset across teams and processes.

Mindset Shift: From Experimentation to Transformation

AI transformation isn't about dabbling — it's about changing how your organisation thinks, works, and delivers value. That requires intentionality, cross-functional collaboration, and transparency.

Neil elaborates:

"We're not just deploying AI tools — we're changing how people think, work, and collaborate."

AI is being embedded into onboarding, training pathways, daily workflows, and leadership behaviours. Neil also stresses the importance of balance — driving bold ambition while ensuring teams have the support and training to adapt. Change succeeds when people feel confident and equipped to embrace it.

Transparency plays a key role. By sharing AI wins and measurable gains, Deltek builds confidence, celebrates progress, and helps scale innovation across teams.

The Project Lifecycle: AI at Every Step

Professional services firms are under more pressure than ever — tighter margins, shifting client expectations, and increasing competition. Deltek has always been about helping project-based businesses deliver their best work. But as that work becomes more complex and data-driven, the business has evolved too.

Deltek is now the intelligent platform that powers the entire project lifecycle with speed, clarity, and control, from winning new business to analysing performance and improving outcomes. Whether designing infrastructure, managing projects, or delivering strategic consulting, the Deltek platform — powered by Dela — supports the familiar rhythm of the project lifecycle: win the work, plan the resources, execute effectively, and analyse to improve. This helps professional services teams win the right projects, plan for profitability, execute efficiently and remain compliant, and analyse performance to drive growth and client satisfaction.

Conclusion: Lead Boldly, Lead Now

The message from Neil Davidson's Changemakers podcast is clear: the greatest risk in AI transformation isn't getting it wrong — it's doing too little, too late. Leaders today need more than technical knowledge; they need the courage to set a bold pace, role model AI-first thinking, and tie AI to real, purposeful business outcomes.

The challenge isn't whether your organisation is "ready" for AI — it's whether your ambition is big enough to seize what's possible.

Lead with ambition. Be the changemaker.