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Welcome to 2026! Want to improve your chances of AI success this year? These five steps should set you on the right path.

(Yes, this is the same list I post every few weeks. The whole secret is that there is no secret: best practices are best practices.)

1/ Get the leadership team up to speed on AI. Execs who understand what AI can(not) do are in a much better position to decide how the company will use it.

2/ Make a plan. Not only will this add structure to your efforts, it will also tell you when things are going awry.

3/ Get your house in order. All that fancy AI relies on clean, correct data supplied by a solid infrastructure.

4/ Involve your legal and PR teams early. Lawsuits due to allegedly purloined training data can be costly. The same goes for a wave of bad press due to malfunctioning AI bots.

5/ Work with a professional. Someone who has end-to-end experience with AI can dramatically reduce your risk and improve your chances of success.

Need a more in-depth guide? You can read my new book!

Twin Wolves: Balancing risk and reward to make the most of AI is a slim, executive-level read on getting the most out of AI while steering clear of needless trouble. Think of it as your unfair advantage in the sea of AI hype.