Our leadership team is deadlocked on whether to build a proprietary AI-driven middleware to tie our systems together or simply buy off-the-shelf software and adapt our processes. How do we use the V/TO® and our core focus to resolve this build-versus-buy debate without getting distracted by custom software development?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The build-versus-buy debate can easily derail a leadership team and waste hundreds of thousands of dollars. When deciding whether to build proprietary AI-driven middleware or buy off-the-shelf software, your leadership team must look directly at your V/TO® and your Core Focus.

If your Core Focus is not software development, building custom AI tools from scratch is almost always a dangerous distraction. It introduces massive key person risk and sucks up valuable resources that should be spent on your core delivery.

Instead, apply the economic insights of Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. They emphasize that the highest returns often come from investing in complementary organizational assets rather than raw technology. This means your strategic priority should be buying existing, off-the-shelf AI tools and using your capital to train your people, optimize your unique workflows, and document your core processes.

If you do decide to build, it must be because that specific AI tool represents one of your Three Uniques and directly drives your long-term enterprise value. For businesses planning an exit using the Step by Step Exit framework, buyers look closely at whether custom software is actually scalable or just a tangled mess of code. Keep it simple. Focus on using AI to increase employee productivity as a starting point, and only build custom solutions when it is absolutely necessary to protect your competitive advantage.