Unleash The Power Of Your Data & AI Strategy
Unleash The Power Of Your Data & AI Strategy
How Business Leaders Can Navigate The Dynamic Interplay Of Strategy, Technology, And Trust
Vin Vashishta (AI Strategy Leader) joined me on “What’s the BUZZ?” at the end of last year. And even though generative AI is the new hype topic that people are chasing after, the points that Vin has shared during this episode ring true today as well. Defining and implementing your AI strategy requires the careful alignment of opportunity, technology, and human ingenuity to shape a future ready to harness the full potential of AI and data analytics. Doing so requires you to navigate through a landscape of transformation and get ready to elevate your business strategy to the next level. Here’s what we talked about…
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How to Ensure Strategy and Value Drive Technology Use
When planning for an AI strategy, you should begin with opportunity discovery. This involves identifying the opportunities that the business is best suited to pursue, not simply those enabled by existing technology. The business strategy, business model, and operating model should then be formed around these opportunities. Adding a technology model to these three core pieces can help the business utilize technology to seize these opportunities.
» Most businesses that I see struggling with data science and machine learning think it's probably something that should be done. There's a lot of FOMO. There's a lot of ‘What if the competition gets there first?’ «
— Vin Vashishta
Mistakenly, many businesses use technology to dictate opportunities, but instead, technology should be used to drive value from the identified opportunities. Employing this discovery framework results in a better AI strategy since it remains aligned with the business model, operating model, and core strategy.
Encouraging Cross-Departmental Dialogue
Effective strategy hinges on the concept of continuous transformation. Businesses cannot make a leap in maturity overnight; the transformation process is ongoing and should be reflected in decision-making. A strong AI data strategy empowers every tier of a business to make better decisions, from frontline employees to management. This includes informing choices about software purchases, functionality, data usage, and more. Additionally, this strategy fosters alignment within the business. Cross-departmental communication is vital to prevent redundant technology purchases, centralize data, and anticipate potential impacts on other sectors.
A Path to High-Value Initiatives and Building Trust
Opportunity scoping is essential and often overlooked in product management, especially with data products. Unlike traditional software, datasets and research artifacts have a different value measure due to their reusable nature. Identifying the most valuable processes in the workflow can help create valuable datasets. These KPIs, like how much of the workflow is producing data or how much data we have, can set the stage for capturing value. Building strong relationships with stakeholders by easing their pain points can be more beneficial than just chasing the highest ROI. Building trust through these relationships allows for tackling higher-value use cases in the future.
» At the very early beginning, if I can take pain away from someone. I have a friend for life. That person will go to bat for me and every time I need a recommendation, some sort of social proof, I can go to them and say, Hey, can I get a quote from you? Can I send somebody over to talk to you about what this did for you? «
— Vin Vashishta
From Continuous Transformation to High-Value Initiatives
When strategizing, businesses should start with opportunity discovery, focusing on the areas where they're best suited to perform. A strong AI data strategy, when implemented as a continuous process, should empower decision-making at every level of the business and foster better alignment. Effective opportunity scoping is critical, and the reusability of data products opens a new perspective for value measurement. Building relationships and trust with stakeholders paves the way for higher-value initiatives in the future.
Listen to this episode on the podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
What’s next?
Join us for the upcoming episodes of “What’s the BUZZ?”
August 1 - Scott Taylor, aka “The Data Whisperer”, will let us in on how effective storytelling help you get AI project funded.
August 17 - Supreet Kaur, AI Product Evangelist, and I will talk about how you can upskill your product teams on generative AI.
August 29 - Eric Fraser, Culture Change Executive, will join and share his first-hand experience how much of his leadership role he is able to automate with generative AI.
Follow me on LinkedIn for daily posts about how you can set up & scale your AI program in the enterprise. Activate notifications (🔔) and never miss an update.
Together, let’s turn hype into outcome. 👍🏻
—Andreas