---
id: "quote-broken-intelligence"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶1"]
tags: ["data-quality", "ai-foundations"]
related: ["concept-broken-data-foundation", "claim-ai-failure-is-data-failure"]
speaker: "Robert Handfield"
speakers: ["Robert Handfield"]
quote: "Build intelligence on a broken data foundation and you get broken intelligence, every single time."
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-107-lenovo-ai-supply-chain"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/how-lenovo-built-an-ai-powered-supply-chain"
sourceTitle: "How Lenovo Built an AI-Powered Supply Chain"
---
# Broken data yields broken intelligence

> "Build intelligence on a broken data foundation and you get broken intelligence, every single time."
> — [[entity-robert-handfield]]

The author's core thesis on why most enterprise AI initiatives fail, emphasizing that the technology is usually blamed for what are really data-infrastructure shortcomings. It is the verbal anchor of [[concept-broken-data-foundation]] and the memorable form of [[claim-ai-failure-is-data-failure]].