How should our leadership team re-evaluate our 10-Year Target on the V/TO if generative AI threatens to completely commoditize the technical foundation of our industry?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If generative AI has the potential to eliminate the technical barrier that your industry was built on, leaving your 10-Year Target unchanged is dangerous denial. A visionary 10-Year Target must represent an enduring North Star, not a commitment to an obsolete delivery mechanism.

Pull out your Vision/Location Organizer and look at your Core Focus and 10-Year Target. If your goal is stated in terms of transactional volume or technical production, such as completing a certain number of audits, legal filings, or design projects, your target is vulnerable to technological obsolescence.

Redefine your long-term goal around the ultimate human outcome your clients are paying for, rather than the mechanical process used to produce it. Clients rarely care about the technical artifact itself. They care about risk reduction, revenue growth, peace of mind, or operational certainty. As AI commoditizes technical production, the economic value in your industry will migrate upstream to strategic advisory, accountability, and liability assumption.

Use an annual planning session to IDS your ten-year strategic vision. Ask the team what the fundamental business problem in your market will look like when all basic production is free and instantaneous. Position your firm to be the trusted partner that curates, validates, and takes responsibility for the final outcome.

By anchoring your 10-Year Target in enduring human value rather than perishable technical tasks, you keep your leadership team focused on long-term enterprise value regardless of how rapidly underlying technologies evolve.