Vic SolMore productive, not more profitable: where does the saved hour go?
For managers who already see their team working faster with AI and still see nothing different in the numbers of their area.
When to use it
- Your team says AI saves them time and the area's profit has not moved.
- Someone asks for "the return" on a tool and all you have is saved minutes.
- A licence is up for renewal and you want to know whether the freed time was used for anything.
The sheet
One team, one tool. The percentages are estimates, not measurements: they are for discussion, not for audit.
| Where the saved hour goes | How to recognise it | Today (% estimate) | Next quarter (% target) | Metric that would prove it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| More of the same | More emails, reports or versions nobody asked for. | [ ] | [ ] | None. This is the warning sign. |
| Waiting | Finishes earlier and waits for an approval or a data point. | [ ] | [ ] | Cycle time (does not change). |
| Reviewing what AI did | Time goes into correcting and checking outputs. | [ ] | [ ] | Review hours per deliverable. |
| Nothing visible | Nobody knows. It dissolved into meetings and chats. | [ ] | [ ] | None. |
| Growth | More orders, proposals or cases with the same people. | [ ] | [ ] | Volume per person per week. |
| Quality | Fewer errors, returns and rework. | [ ] | [ ] | Error or rework rate. |
| Time with the customer | Faster replies, more visits, more follow-up. | [ ] | [ ] | Response time or satisfaction. |
The first four rows are where the hour dissolves. The last three are where it reaches profit.
Who decides where the freed time goes: ____________________ · Process step that changes: ____________________
How to fill it in 5 minutes
- Ask the team how much time they estimate the tool saves per week. Write the number down without arguing.
- Split that time across the seven rows of "Today". If you do not know, put most of it under "Nothing visible": it is more honest than inventing.
- Under "Next quarter", write where you want that time to be. Only the bottom three rows count.
- Write the metric that would prove it. If you do not have one, you do not have reinvestment; you have a hope.
- The most common mistake: filling the table and leaving the last line empty. Without an owner and a process change, the time dissolves again.
The line that is almost always missing
"Who decides where the freed time goes." One person's productivity does not reach the company's numbers on its own. Someone has to decide that the half hour goes to one more customer, not to another version of the same report, and change the process so it happens. If that line stays empty, the sheet measures a saving that never existed.
What the study says
Fact: McKinsey published its global survey "The State of AI" on 25 August 2026 (1,719 respondents in 97 countries). 80% of people say AI improved their individual productivity. Only 37% of companies attribute any positive effect on operating profit to AI, and that share was essentially unchanged from the previous year.
My reading: the gap between 80 and 37 is not a tool problem. It is freed time nobody reinvested: each person saves half an hour, the process stays the same and the half hour goes into emails and meetings.
Vic Sol · Decision Desk · vicsol.org/resources/ · Free to use with attribution. This sheet structures a conversation; it is not legal, financial or audit advice.