How to Build Your AI Strategy
If you don’t use AI in your business, then you should plan to be out of business.
AI is getting all the hype right now, and for good reason. The hype is real.
Like the advent of the steam engine or the Internet, business as we know it is about to change forever. But if your company is going to ride the wave, you have to find a way to make AI work for you, not the other way around. This AI revolution is not just about technology, it’s about us and our willingness to dream.
The choice before leaders is clear: create an AI Roadmap that will Make BIG Happen, or stay small and get left behind.
What is an AI Strategy Framework?
At CEO Coaching International, our AI Strategy Framework is a step-by-step process to evaluating and implementing AI for your business. To do this, you must:
- Determine which AI initiatives will have the BIGGEST impact on your business
- Map those initiatives on a framework that measures impact.
- Decide if each initiative is a “buy” or “build” initiative for the company and if your data is ready for implementation.
“The CEO should establish a framework and culture, and then allow their team to come up with the best initiatives,” says coach Randy Koch. “Whether you love AI or just wish you could ignore it, you have to come up with a strategy.”
Whether you’re excited about the technological possibilities AI presents for your business or wary that you’ll be left behind, it’s time for you as CEO to address it as part of your overall vision.
Before you implement AI in your organization, you need to build an effective AI strategy. Here’s how to get started:
1. Determine your AI readiness
Before you jump in headfirst to implementing AI in your processes or your product, determine whether or not it’s a fit for your business.
Too many executives get so excited about the potential that new technology has that they skip over whether or not their business can handle that kind of growth. AI has the power to help your business grow exponentially—are your people and systems ready for that?
To determine whether or not AI is right for your business, ask yourself these questions, using a scale of 1-10:
- How much impact will AI have on your industry in the next ten years?
- How much impact will AI have on your business in the next ten years?
- How confident do you feel with your current AI strategy?
Next, look at the difference in numbers between questions two and three. If your answers have a gap of two or more, then it’s time for you to think about building an AI strategy.
2. Allow yourself to dream BIG
Before you start any AI projects, make up your wishlist of initiatives—and have the rest of your team do the same. Whether that’s adding a layer of AI assistance in your manufacturing or implementing AI-powered software for your sales team, listing out everything that you could do with AI will help you figure out what you need to make it happen.
With AI, you can:
- Ask better questions of your existing data, to better determine product-market fit, customer preferences, or identify sales patterns
- Improve operational efficiencies by adding “smart” features to your processes, like automated document completion, taking care of employee onboarding, or providing automatic translations or transcription
- Power personalization, content or product recommendations, generative AI features, or other nice-to-haves for your customers within your product
And that’s just the beginning of what AI can do. Take the time to brainstorm what you would like to add to your processes or your products before jumping into the first initiative you think you can do. From there, you’ll map out exactly what kinds of people, processes, and tools you need to complete those initiatives.
3. Learn from AI Coaching
AI is a BIG buzzword right now.
There’s a lot of information out on the market—and if your LinkedIn DMs are anything like ours, a lot of sales pitches from companies rushing to push “AI” on the market.
“AI is a tremendously transformative technology,” says Chief AI Officer Curt Gooden. “The only wrong approach is to ignore it. It’s up to the CEO to drive that AI vision.”
To better understand how to make AI work for you—and to figure out what kind of tools actually solve your business challenges, you need a clear methodology and framework that:
- Generates the best-fit AI initiatives for your company
- Rigorously debates the value and timeline for each initiative
- Connects the AI strategy with your larger corporate vision
If you have a gap between your AI ambitions and your AI strategy, it may be time to bring in an expert. Implementing AI requires coordination from your entire organization—including an outside perspective on what that strategy looks like and a plan to get it done that enables BIG growth could be just what you need.
Working with an expert can be just the outside perspective you need to stick to the system, maintain momentum, and keep Making BIG Happen. That’s why hiring a coach can be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Learn more >
Learn more with our free ebook, CEOs: Ask These 5 Questions to Get Clear On AI
Are you feeling stuck when it comes to integrating AI into your business strategy? You’re not alone. Many CEOs like you recognize the transformative power of AI but are unsure where to start. Our eBook is designed to provide the clarity you need to take your first steps into the AI revolution.
Download it today, block out time on your calendar to read it, and consider it the most important meeting you’ll have this year.
Download the free ebook >>
About CEO Coaching International
CEO Coaching International works with CEOs and their leadership teams to achieve extraordinary results quarter after quarter, year after year. Known globally for its success in coaching growth-focused entrepreneurs to meaningful exits, CEO Coaching International has coached more than 1,000 CEOs and entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries and 45 industries. The coaches at CEO Coaching International are former CEOs, presidents, or executives who have made BIG happen. The firm’s coaches have led double-digit sales and profit growth in businesses ranging in size from startups to over $10 billion, and many are founders that have led their companies through successful eight, nine, and ten-figure exits. Companies working with CEO Coaching International for two years or more have experienced an average EBITDA CAGR of 53.5% during their time as a client, more than three times the U.S. average, and a revenue CAGR of 26.2%, nearly twice the U.S. average.
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