As a non-technical owner preparing for our annual planning session, I want to guide my leadership team to identify the best operational bottlenecks for AI automation. How do I lead this conversation without getting dragged into technical discussions I do not understand?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You do not need to know how to write a single line of code to lead this conversation. Your job as the owner is to focus on operations and results, not the underlying technology. During your annual planning session, start by looking at your Accountability Chart and your weekly Scorecard.

Ask your leadership team a simple question: which core processes are currently the most cumbersome and keeping our people trapped in low value, repetitive tasks? Have each department head list the top three processes that slow their team down or cause administrative friction. These are your potential bottlenecks.

Once you have this list, instruct your team to prioritize them based on business impact, not technological novelty. Do not let them pitch you on buying cool AI software. Instead, make them pitch you on the specific operational improvements they want to achieve, such as cutting proposal turnaround time in half or automating routine client data updates.

Treat these initiatives as standard operations improvement projects that happen to use machine learning as a tool. By framing the discussion around operational efficiency and process optimization, you keep the focus entirely on business outcomes.

This allows you to hold your leadership team accountable for delivering real business results rather than getting distracted by expensive, shiny tech toys that do not move the needle on your V/TO.