Specimen · catalogued monster

The ROI Phantom

Everyone has seen the AI value; nobody can prove it

Glimpsed in town halls and success stories, it leaves warm feelings and enthusiastic nods wherever it passes. Try to photograph it for the finance committee, though, and the frame comes back completely empty.

Symptoms

• AI is live, but no baseline was measured
• Benefits are anecdotes, not numbers
• The CFO or board is asking for proof
• Renewals and budgets at risk
• No agreed value metrics

Overheard in the corridor

• “Everyone says it's saving time.”
• “The CFO wants hard numbers.”
• “We never measured where we started.”
• “How do I put this in a business case?”