---
id: "quote-productivity-paradox-lesson"
type: "quote"
source_title: "Don't Let AI Slop Muck Up Your Company's Processes"
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/dont-let-ai-slop-muck-up-your-companys-processes"
source_timestamps: ["¶30"]
tags: ["process-design", "technology-adoption"]
related: ["concept-productivity-paradox", "claim-process-redesign-required"]
speaker: "Matthias Holweg and Thomas H. Davenport"
speakers: ["Matthias Holweg", "Thomas H. Davenport"]
quote: "The core lesson is that new technology only improves productivity if the process around it is set up to enable it."
sources: ["execution"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-execution"
originDay: 8
articleStem: "hbr-sig-54-ai-slop-processes"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/dont-let-ai-slop-muck-up-your-companys-processes"
sourceTitle: "Don’t Let AI Slop Muck Up Your Company’s Processes"
---
# The Core Lesson of Productivity

> “The core lesson is that new technology only improves productivity if the process around it is set up to enable it.”
> — [[entity-matthias-holweg]] and [[entity-thomas-h-davenport]]

The concluding thesis of the article. It ties [[concept-productivity-paradox]] to the practical mandate of [[claim-process-redesign-required]]: individual task acceleration is not enough; only intentional end-to-end process design converts AI adoption into organizational productivity.