HBR: Agentic AI requires organizational restructuring, not tech tweaks

Harvard Business Review has published a strategic guide for companies implementing agentic AI systems, authored by three experts including Linda Mantia, former chief product officer at Coinbase. The article emphasizes that successful agentic AI deployment requires fundamental organizational restructuring rather than simple technology adoption, drawing parallels to how companies have historically succeeded or failed when adapting to transformative technologies.

What you should know: Agentic AI systems—artificial intelligence that can act independently to complete tasks and make decisions—demand cross-functional execution that breaks traditional organizational silos, requiring companies to fundamentally reorganize their operations rather than simply adding new tools to existing processes.

The big picture: Companies face a critical decision point with agentic AI similar to previous technological inflection points, where success depends not on innovation capability but on willingness to restructure organizational workflows and processes.

Why this matters: The stakes for proper agentic AI implementation are higher than previous technology adoptions, as companies that fail to reorganize around these systems risk significant competitive disadvantage in an increasingly AI-driven business landscape.

Key challenge: Many organizations instinctively respond to new technologies with “process tweaks or bolt-on tools,” an approach that has historically led to failure for companies that couldn’t adapt their fundamental operations to leverage transformative technologies effectively.

Strategic approach: The authors advocate for comprehensive organizational change that moves beyond departmental boundaries, enabling the cross-functional collaboration necessary for agentic AI systems to deliver their full potential value.