“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.”

I recently spoke with a CFO at a scaling enterprise who was incredibly frustrated. They had invested heavily in new generative AI and automation tools, but the finance team simply refused to use them.

The initial assumption was that the team was just being stubborn. But the reality was much deeper: the employees viewed AI as a specialized domain limited strictly to the data science teams. Because most of the finance staff lacked prior exposure to AI concepts, they were highly hesitant to adopt the new solutions.

When you roll out an intimidating piece of technology without proper context, people don’t see an “efficiency driver”. They see a threat to their job security.

Realizing that a top-down mandate was failing, this finance organization completely shifted its strategy to democratize AI literacy. They made the technology accessible, rather than terrifying.

Here is the exact playbook they used to turn AI adoption around:

• Ditch the Tech Jargon for Relatable Analogies: They threw out the dry, technical vendor manuals and focused on relatable curriculum development. By integrating storytelling, familiar themes, and cinematic analogies, they made complex concepts like machine learning and prompt engineering memorable and highly relatable.
• Gamify the Learning Experience: Mandatory corporate training is where enthusiasm goes to die. To combat this, they leaned into gamification-led engagement. By introducing leaderboards, badges, and recognition, they motivated employee participation and turned learning into an interactive community experience.
• Measure “On-the-Job” Impact, Not Just Completion: Watching a video doesn’t mean you know how to use the tool. The company tracked success through actual on-the-job usage and specific project outcomes. They monitored the number of pilot projects implemented and looked for shortened implementation life cycles to prove the training was actually working at the desk level.

The results of making AI relatable were staggering. 100% of the finance employees completed at least one training module. More importantly, it fundamentally transformed AI knowledge from a “nice-to-have” capability into a shared language across the finance teams, which ultimately fostered a culture of experimentation and innovation.

If your team is resisting digital transformation, stop buying more software. Focus on literacy first. Make the technology accessible, make it fun, and tie it directly to making their daily jobs easier.

Have you found any creative ways to upskill your team without defaulting to boring corporate training videos?

#TheAccidentalCFO #FinanceLeadership #AIinFinance #CFOPlaybook #INERSEC