Why AI is the "elevator" of our time!

Last week I interviewed Dr. Kelly Monahan about her book “Reclaim the Plot: How Leaders Rewrite the Story When AI Rewrites Work”, you can see the podcast here.

In the podcast she told the story about skyscrapers, elevators and the analogy with AI.

Back in 1884, the world’s first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, was designed and opened in 1885.

But here’s the thing: skyscrapers weren't actually made possible by steel or architecture alone. The real breakthrough came decades earlier, in the 1850s, when Elisha Otis invented the safe passenger elevator.

Without it, buildings simply couldn’t grow taller than five or six stories. Nobody wanted to walk up more than five flights of stairs!

Here is how that single invention changed everything:

• Shattering the "Five-Story Barrier"

  Before the elevator, upper floors were deeply unpopular, hard to rent, and reserved for cheap storage or low rents. The elevator completely removed that physical boundary, turning high floors into prime real estate.

• Solving the Safety Crisis

  Platform hoists had existed for centuries, but if a cable snapped, you fell to your death. People were terrified of them. In 1853, Otis introduced a safety brake (using a leaf spring that hooked into shaft rails if the rope broke). At the 1854 New York World’s Fair, he famously rode a platform up, had the cable cut, and caught himself mid-air. Public trust was born.

• Flipping Commercial Real Estate on Its Head

  Pre-elevator: Ground floors commanded top rents because they were easy to access.

  Post-elevator: The top floors became the most valuable. Better views, natural light, less street noise, and fresh air.

AI is the "Elevator" of Our Generation

When the first elevator was created, one person looked at it and thought:

"Great! Now I can get my materials to the 5th floor faster."

Another person looked at the exact same invention and thought:

"Now we can build 100-story skyscrapers."

And this is precisely where most B2B enterprises are stuck with AI today.

They are sitting on the 5th floor, using generative AI purely for tactical efficiencies, writing faster emails, pumping out quick summaries, and churning out social posts. It’s just "more of the same, only slightly quicker".

All this is doing is creating a tidal wave of generic AI noise that buyers are already tuning out. It isn't helping your regional sales teams win, nor is it moving the needle on complex global deals.

The real opportunity with AI isn't about moving your old materials faster. It’s about re-engineering your entire Go-To-Market strategy. It’s about building a digital-first sales engine that simply wasn't possible before.

Stop asking AI to carry your old stuff up five flights of stairs. Start using it to design a whole new skyscraper.

Image Credit: Yaorusheng / Getty Images