AI Essentials for Tech Executives

Chapter 4. Identify Your Strategy

To help you decide on AI investments, we must first find your AI strategy.

The Trap of Hype-Driven Implementation

If your AI strategy centers around a chatbot where customers can “ask anything,” you’re not alone. Many companies are adding AI everywhere without a clear strategy. This is a mistake. When everyone does the same thing, no one stands out. Remember, a business’s strategy is to gain a competitive edge. This advantage comes from having unique, delightful products that are hard to copy.

Good strategy involves three key elements:

1. A clear diagnosis of your organization’s challenges
2. A coherent plan of action
3. Alignment of resources to address these challenges

The worksheet below will guide you through each of these elements using an example.

Identify Your Strategy Worksheet

The best AI strategy amplifies your company’s strengths. Through this worksheet, you’ll learn how to create one.

Using ACME E-Commerce as our guide, we’ll walk through a step-by-step process to:

1. Diagnose where your business is now.

2. Create a guiding policy that sets you apart.

3. Sequence coherent actions that move you forward.

4. Communicate your strategy effectively.

Remember: It’s not about using AI everywhere. It’s about using it where it counts most for your business. Let’s walk through an example.

Learning from an Example Company

Let’s look at a made-up company called ACME E-Commerce (ACME) to see how good planning works. We’ll act like we’re the leaders of this ...