Our Visionary wants to make AI the central pillar of our three-year picture on our V/TO®, but our Integrator thinks it is too speculative to put in our long-term plan. How do we resolve this strategic disagreement and document our AI capabilities on the V/TO®?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your Visionary and Integrator must be aligned on how AI fits into your long-term plan before you document it on your V/TO. It is a mistake to make AI the central pillar of your three-year picture if you do not yet have a stable, proven application for it in your daily operations. This leads to strategic distraction and frustrates your leadership team.

To resolve this tension, treat AI as an operational capability rather than an independent goal. On your V/TO, your three-year picture should focus on the concrete business outcomes you want to achieve, such as scaling your transaction volume or improving gross margins. Underneath those goals, you can list AI-powered automation as one of the operational methods to get there.

Keep your one-year plan and quarterly Rocks focused on immediate, practical implementations. If the Visionary wants to explore advanced AI capabilities, assign them a specific Rock to research and test a single pilot program over the next ninety days. This satisfies the Visionary's urge to innovate while keeping the Integrator focused on execution.

By anchoring your AI initiatives to specific, measurable business goals on your V/TO, you ensure your technology strategy serves your business vision. This prevents your strategic planning from devolving into a discussion about speculative tools and keeps your leadership team focused on building a highly profitable, scalable operating company.