The claimed advantage of AI leaders lies in organizational rewiring rather than simply earlier access to better tools. This matters now because broad access to similar models makes organizational execution a larger source of variation between firms.
McKinsey argues that companies should redesign workflows and governance before treating technology selection as the transformation. The article interprets survey differences between stronger and weaker AI performers through operating-model choices. The mechanism is coordinated change across value streams, decision rights, process ownership, technology foundations, talent, incentives, and the cadence used to learn from deployed systems.
Leaders should test the thesis on specific workflows with baselines and avoid converting survey correlation into a guaranteed transformation formula. The evidence is McKinsey's survey and analysis; it supports a management hypothesis but does not establish universal causality. Watch whether longitudinal studies connect identified operating-model changes with sustained quality, speed, risk, and financial outcomes.