We understand that AI is a general-purpose technology, but we are struggling to identify which specific core business processes we should reorganize first to gain a true competitive advantage. How do we strategically select our initial AI-driven operational pilots to maximize our return on investment?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To gain a genuine competitive advantage from AI, you must avoid the trap of chasing every shiny new tool. Instead, look at your business through the lens of your Core Processes.

Begin by listing your Core Processes as defined in your V/TO. To maximize your return on investment, prioritize using AI to increase employee productivity as a starting point. Employees are your largest P&L item, and a massive amount of their time is spent on low-value, repetitive administrative tasks.

Identify the most cumbersome processes that keep your key employees bogged down in clerical work. For example, look at your sales qualification process, your client onboarding sequence, or your billing reconciliation workflow. These are the operations ripe for automation.

Use the IDS process during your next quarterly planning session to select one or two high-impact pilots. Do not try to automate everything at once. Focus on one specific process and set a clear Rock for the quarter to integrate AI into that workflow.

Quote experts like Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who emphasize that the real value of general-purpose technology comes from reorganizing how work is done, not just replacing a human with a computer. By restructuring your Core Processes around AI, you free your best people to focus on strategic, high-value work, which instantly increases your operational capacity and drives up your enterprise value.