The New Advantage Isn’t Data—It’s Coordination

The following are excerpts from an article previously published on partners.wsj.com on April 17, 2026.

Over the past decade, enterprises have accumulated more data, tools, and technology than at any point in history. Yet access to information has not automatically translated into better decisions. PMG was built around the idea that most organizations are not limited by what they know. They are limited by how they act. In the era of AI, the constraint is no longer data. It is coordination. George Popstefanov, PMG founder and CEO, explains how enterprises can close the gap between insight and execution, and ensure intelligence drives action, not just analysis.

Q: In one sentence, what is most misunderstood about AI-driven growth today?

George Popstefanov: AI is most often treated as a tool for generating more insight, when its real value is only realized when organizations are structurally built to act on that intelligence in real time.

Q: Why hasn’t the unprecedented amount of data and technology that enterprises have today translated into better, faster decision-making?

Popstefanov: Because most organizations scale access to data without redesigning how decisions are made. Data, platforms and tools have grown rapidly, but operating models remain fragmented. Different teams own different parts of the process and operate on different timelines. Insights get produced in one part of the organization and never reach the people making decisions in another. By the time a signal moves through that chain, the moment when it can have the most impact has already passed. The opportunity is not acquiring more data. It’s organizing the intelligence you already have to drive coordinated action across the enterprise.

Q: In the age of AI, what structurally prevents organizations from turning intelligence into coordinated action?

Popstefanov: Most organizations were not designed for coordination. They were designed for specialization. This produces a tremendous amount of intelligence without a mechanism to connect it across decisions. Teams are organized by function. Technology is purchased by a department. Measurement is owned by whoever has the closest relationship with the data. Each group optimizes for its own objectives, on its own timeline, with its own tools. AI accelerates the creation of intelligence, but it doesn’t solve for alignment. That has to be built into the operating model.

Q: How does PMG’s operating model provide this alignment?

Popstefanov: PMG operates as an integrated system, not a collection of services. Strategy, activation, and measurement are connected within a single operating model, powered by Alli, our proprietary operating system. The system provides shared data, shared context, and shared accountability. Our teams and our technology operate together, so decisions are informed and executed in the same environment. That continuity is what allows intelligence to move quickly from insight to action, and for decisions to build on each other over time.

Q: PMG invested in engineering from the earliest days. Why did you believe the future of performance required building a different kind of organization?

Popstefanov: Most of the industry was built around a services model. People doing work, supported by whatever technology was available. We went the other direction. We believed that the biggest constraint on performance wouldn’t be access to data or talent. It would be the ability to connect the two. We built PMG as a platform company from day one and engineered Alli to connect strategy to execution and execution to measurement. The conviction was simple: If you want intelligence to compound, it has to be embedded in how the organization operates. Fifteen years later, that bet is playing out. The companies gaining ground today are the ones where insight and action aren’t separated by handoffs and lag time. That’s what we engineered PMG to be from the beginning.

Q: At what point does marketing intelligence become enterprise intelligence, and how does that shape broader business strategy?

Popstefanov: Marketing intelligence becomes enterprise intelligence when it’s connected to decisions beyond the channel. The same signals that inform media performance can inform product mix, pricing strategy, inventory planning, and customer experience. But that only happens when data is integrated and accessible across the organization. When that connection exists, marketing stops being a function. It becomes a source of real-time intelligence for how the business operates.

Q: How should leaders evaluate whether their data and AI investments are actually driving business performance?

Popstefanov: They should look at decision velocity and decision quality. Are insights translating into action faster? Are those decisions improving outcomes over time? And is there clear accountability for performance across teams? If AI and data investments are only producing more reporting, they’re not creating value. The real measure is whether they are improving how the business makes and executes decisions.

Q: As AI continues to reshape workflows, what will separate companies that compound advantage from those that fall behind?

Popstefanov: The companies that win will be those structurally built to act. As data grows and AI accelerates, the gap between insight and action will widen. Organizations that remain fragmented will struggle to keep up, regardless of how much technology they adopt. Those that integrate human expertise with intelligent systems, align around shared accountability, and operate with speed and clarity will compound advantage over time. Ultimately, growth will belong to companies that are engineered to turn intelligence into action.

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