AI Era Forces Companies to Abandon Slow Decision Hierarchies, CEO Warns

Traditional Hierarchies Dragging Down Speed and Adaptability

Corporate decision-making structures designed for a slower era are failing under the pressure of artificial intelligence and rapid market shifts, according to a veteran CEO and board director. Jennifer Renaud, CEO of Kradle LLC and a 30-year digital innovation leader, warns that layered approval processes are costing companies critical time. Renaud argues that organizations must rethink how and where decisions are made to keep pace.

"Hierarchies were built for predictability," Renaud said in an exclusive interview. "They worked when markets moved slowly and information traveled through limited channels. Today, customer expectations shift quickly, competitive advantages disappear faster, and organizations are expected to respond almost immediately."

Decision Proximity: The New Competitive Edge

Renaud introduced the concept of decision proximity—how close authority sits to the insight needed for a strong decision. When authority is too far from the data, context weakens and response times lag. "Leaders may gain consistency, but they often lose accuracy and speed," she noted.

High-growth companies are deliberately shortening the distance between signal and response. Renaud pointed to Amazon's distinction between reversible and irreversible decisions. "Teams are encouraged to move quickly on decisions that can later be adjusted, rather than waiting for perfect consensus," she said. "Not every decision needs executive involvement or has to be perfect the first time."

How AI Is Reshaping Decision Dynamics

Artificial intelligence is amplifying the urgency for change. "AI is dramatically increasing the number of signals organizations can act on. It is not just automating tasks; it is continuously generating insights across pricing, forecasting, supply chains, customer engagement—the list goes on," Renaud explained. With more data available, the bottleneck shifts from information gathering to decision execution.

The challenge, she said, is that old hierarchies cannot handle this flood of signals. "Too many approvals often create delays. When decision authority sits too high in the organization, teams wait for alignment while customer and market signals lose relevance."

Background: The CEO Behind the Warning

Jennifer Renaud heads Kradle LLC, a company focused on pet wellness products, and serves on multiple boards. Her three-decade career spans digital innovation, commercial strategy, and customer-centered growth. She has led operating model transformations and post-merger integrations, giving her firsthand experience with the friction of outdated decision structures.

Renaud's insights come at a time when companies across industries are grappling with AI adoption. The pressure to move faster is exposing the limits of command-and-control models, which prioritize stability over speed. "Organizations rarely fail because of one bad decision. More often, they struggle because they make too few decisions to keep pace with change," she said.

What This Means for Business Leaders

Companies that fail to evolve risk falling behind in an environment where adaptability is a survival trait. Renaud's advice is clear: push decision authority closer to where the insight lives—near customers, products, and frontline operations. AI can help by surfacing tradeoffs quickly, but only if the culture empowers teams to act on those insights.

"The people closest to the issue usually understand the tradeoffs most clearly," Renaud said. For leaders, this means letting go of control to gain speed. The new metric of success may not be perfection but volume: making enough decisions, fast enough, to stay relevant.