AI makes it cheap to launch adjacent service lines that our software now supports. How do we use our Core Focus on the V/TO to avoid shiny object syndrome?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The greatest danger AI presents to ambitious owners is not disruption; it is distraction. Because generative tools and automated workflows make it easy to assemble software prototypes, marketing funnels, and service packages in days, leadership teams are flooded with opportunities to pursue adjacent markets. This is classic shiny object syndrome accelerated by technology.

Your Core Focus™ on the V/TO® exists precisely to prevent this capital-destroying drift. It consists of two elements: your Purpose/Cause/Passion and your Niche. Whenever a team member proposes launching a new service line simply because AI makes fulfillment cheap, run the proposal through the Core Focus filter before allowing it on your strategic agenda.

Ask your leadership team two straightforward questions:

- Does this adjacent opportunity directly serve our stated Purpose and Core Passion, or are we chasing it purely because the marginal cost of production feels low?
- Does this capability sit dead-center in our defined Niche, or does it dilute our operational focus and force our sales team to hunt down unfamiliar customer profiles?

If the proposed service line sits outside your defined Niche, kill it immediately or park it in your long-term parking lot. Just because AI enables you to deliver legal research, copy editing, or custom software coding does not mean your company should sell those services.

True enterprise value comes from radical operational discipline and market dominance. Use AI to streamline the cumbersome processes within your existing Niche, not to scatter your team across five unproven business models.