We have spent a fortune on AI software licenses over the last six months, but we are not seeing it reflect in our bottom-line profitability. How do we design a weekly Scorecard to track the direct ROI of our AI tools so we can stop paying for shelfware?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your software spend is increasing but your margins are not, you are likely suffering from tool bloat and low adoption. To fix this, you must introduce financial and operational accountability directly onto your weekly Scorecard. Stop tracking vanity metrics like the number of AI licenses assigned. Instead, track metrics that directly impact your operational efficiency and bottom line. Every AI tool you purchase must be tied to a specific metric on your Scorecard. For example, if you bought an AI drafting tool, your Scorecard should track the average hours spent per draft or the total volume of deliverables produced per analyst. If you bought an automated support tool, track your cost per support ticket. If these numbers are not improving, you have an issue that must be brought to your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ for an IDS® session. Use this data to run a tool audit. Ask your team who is actually using the software and what barriers are preventing them from achieving the promised efficiency. If a tool cannot prove its ROI through a measurable improvement on your Scorecard within ninety days, cancel the subscription and reallocate those resources.