The AI Mistake That's Costing Companies Millions

Every company is racing to deploy AI. According to Wesley Pullen, that's exactly the problem. Most organizations are giving employees AI tools before they've built the governance, benchmarking, cost models, and operating systems required to use them responsibly. The result? Exploding budgets, failed AI initiatives, and teams blamed for mistakes leadership should have prevented. In this episode of AI-Native Leaders, Wesley Pullen, Chief Technology Officer of Global Field Operations & Autonomous Engineering at Ascendion, sits down with Ben Fanning to reveal why successful AI transformation shouldn’t be about deploying more models, but rather, deploying them in the right order. Drawing from decades of enterprise engineering experience, Wes introduces his "mise en place" framework for AI adoption, explains why every company needs an AI-native operating model, and shares the costly mistakes he's seen organizations make as they rush to keep pace with the AI revolution. This conversation covers: -Wrong AI Order: Why most companies deploy AI backwards and the critical foundation leaders must build before rolling out a single AI tool -The Hidden Cost Crisis: How organizations unknowingly create massive AI bills by optimizing for speed instead of governance, benchmarking, and measurable outcomes -The AI Operating System: Why AI success has less to do with choosing the right model and everything to do with building the right operating model -Leadership Before Technology: Why AI failures are rarely technical failures; they're leadership failures that leave good employees paying the price Whether you're a CEO, CIO, CTO, engineering leader, or executive responsible for AI strategy, this episode will help you think differently about: -AI-native operating models -AI governance and guardrails -Benchmarking AI before deployment -Managing AI costs at enterprise scale -Agent efficacy and performance -Protecting intellectual property -Leading enterprise AI transformation Chapters 00:00 – The AI mistake almost every company makes 01:46 – Why AI needs "mise en place" 03:48 – The missing step behind failed AI projects 08:35 – The expensive modernization lesson 10:52 – Early warning signs AI costs are spiraling 14:56 – The first questions leaders should ask 18:11 – Recovering projects already underway 19:57 – Who owns AI governance? 21:58 – When AI spending suddenly explodes 24:38 – The one AI metric every executive should track 26:54 – The AI substation model explained 30:40 – Guardrails that protect your business 33:30 – The risks leaders underestimate 37:21 – Before spending your first AI dollar 39:55 – The CEO conversation every company needs About AI-Native Leaders AI-Native Leaders features conversations with CEOs, founders, and technology executives building the next generation of AI-powered organizations. Rather than focusing on hype, each episode explores the leadership decisions, operating models, and execution strategies that determine who wins in the AI era. This podcast is brought to you by Ascendion. Join the Community Subscribe for weekly conversations on AI leadership, executive decision-making, enterprise transformation, and the future of work. #AILeadership #ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseAI #Leadership #CIO #CTO #BusinessStrategy #DigitalTransformation #ExecutiveLeadership #aigovernance About Ascendion Ascendion is the AI-native disruptor reinventing how global enterprises build software for impact. Its engineering teams, powered by AAVA™, the company's proprietary agentic AI platform, deliver measurable business outcomes: accelerating growth, unlocking capital, and de-risking transformation. With 11,000+ engineering professionals and 12,000+ AI agents working across 12 countries, Ascendion delivers the promise of AI to more than a third of the Fortune 500. Learn more at https://www.ascendion.com. Engineering to the Power of AI™, AAVA™, and EngineeringAI are trademarks or service marks of Ascendion®. AAVA™ is pending registration. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Stay Connected Website: https://ascendion.com/