My department heads keep requesting budget for standalone AI tools, but I am worried we are buying shiny toys that do not align with our V/TO®. How do we filter these requests so we only fund tools that actually improve our operations?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To prevent your budget from being wasted on shiny toys, you must establish a strict filter for all technology requests. Every time a team member pitches a new tool, they should not be selling you on the magic of AI. Instead, they must pitch a concrete operational improvement, with machine learning mentioned only as a minor technical detail.

If a department head cannot explain exactly how a tool will move a metric on your weekly Scorecard or support a major goal on your V/TO®, the request should be rejected. This prevents the spread of disconnected software subscriptions that fail to integrate.

To filter these requests effectively, require your leadership team to answer these questions:
- What specific bottleneck in our documented core processes will this tool eliminate?
- Which seat on our Accountability Chart will be responsible for managing this tool and verifying its output?
- How many hours of low-value, manual work will this tool eliminate, and how will we reallocate that freed-up capacity?

By shifting the conversation from technological hype to operational utility, you keep your team focused on execution. You want a lean, integrated technology stack that supports your business systems rather than a collection of expensive software search tools.