---
id: "quote-drain-on-resources"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶1"]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/manage-your-ai-investments-like-a-portfolio"
source_title: "Manage Your AI Investments Like a Portfolio"
tags: ["pilot-purgatory", "strategic-alignment"]
related: ["claim-piecemeal-drain"]
speaker: "Faisal Hoque, Erik Nelson, Tom Davenport and Paul Scade"
speakers: ["Faisal Hoque", "Erik Nelson", "Tom Davenport", "Paul Scade"]
sources: ["spine"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-spine"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-foci-61-ai-investments-portfolio"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/manage-your-ai-investments-like-a-portfolio"
sourceTitle: "Manage Your AI Investments Like a Portfolio"
---
# AI as a Drain on Resources

> "Without a way to systematically decide where to start, how fast to move, and when to stop, AI efforts quickly become a drain on attention and resources rather than a source of advantage."
> — [[entity-faisal-hoque]], [[entity-erik-nelson]], [[entity-tom-davenport]] & [[entity-paul-scade]]

The article's opening problem statement. Grounds [[claim-piecemeal-drain]] and motivates the entire portfolio-management discipline ([[concept-dual-lens-portfolio]]).