Beyond the hype: AI at the core of your business strategy

Transform an AI vision for your business’s future into a strategic advantage today

Tamarah Usher
Slalom Business
5 min readJun 14, 2024

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Photo by Alexander Suhorucov via Pexels

AI strategy as a catalyst for business transformation

We stand on the brink of a paradigm shift, where the integration of AI into business strategy is not merely an enhancement but a fundamental transformation. Just as ecommerce revolutionized retail and mobile technology redefined communication, AI is poised to have an even more profound impact on business models across every industry. Imagine the seismic shift when computers became ubiquitous on every desk — AI is set to surpass even that level of transformation.

AI is no longer an optional add-on; it is the driving force propelling businesses into the future. As strategists, the time has come to move beyond the hype and seize this unprecedented opportunity to revolutionize your firm’s potential. To start we must align your AI strategy with your business goals, driving innovation, efficiency, and growth. In reality, this can be done at a pace previously unimaginable. We must bring the mindset that this is not just an evolution but a revolution in how businesses operate and compete. Those who integrate AI deeply into their strategy will leap forward, creating new value and capturing the market in ways that were once the realm of science fiction.

Extension of the “Playing to Win” framework by Roger Martin

Vision-driven leadership: Pioneering the AI revolution

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, a strong AI strategy is anchored in a bold, visionary approach from the organization’s leadership. This vision must be enterprise-wide, illustrating how AI will serve as a cornerstone for driving competitive advantage and fostering unprecedented growth. It should cascade through all business units, ensuring cohesive alignment with strategic goals and fostering the identification of high-impact use cases.

However, embracing AI requires a fundamental shift in mindset. This isn’t just an incremental improvement; it’s an exponential transition. Leaders must challenge themselves and their teams to think differently about AI’s role in their business. Moving beyond traditional paradigms and exploring how AI can fundamentally revolutionize business operations and reshape industry landscapes is essential.

We offer a Journey Navigator assessment to assist in this transformation. This quick online assessment helps organizations gauge their AI journey. By taking it, you can identify your current level and the steps needed to harness the full power of AI.

Take the Journey Navigator assessment

Slalom’s AI Maturity Model: From experimentation to evolution in business strategy

Building a visionary roadmap: Execution is key

Vision sets the destination, but execution determines the journey’s success. A bold roadmap, while needing to be directionally correct, must be firmly guided by unwavering leadership commitment. It’s about setting a clear direction that aligns with the overarching vision while remaining flexible enough to navigate the complexities and rapid changes in the AI landscape.

Agility in strategy execution is more critical than ever. Traditional, static annual strategic plans are no longer sufficient. Leaders today must embrace adaptive and dynamic strategies driven by real-time data and AI insights. This approach enables organizations to anticipate shifts, detect performance entropy, and regularly calibrate to stay on course.

A dynamic AI-driven strategy involves continuous monitoring and refinement based on performance data and evolving business needs. This ongoing experimentation, deployment, and optimization cycle ensures that AI initiatives remain relevant and impactful. Leveraging AI to drive strategic agility allows organizations to maintain a competitive edge, rapidly respond to new opportunities, and sustain long-term growth.

Visionary roadmaps provide direction, but it is the commitment to agile and informed execution that transforms vision into reality. Embrace a strategy that is not only bold and directionally sound but also agile and adaptable, ensuring your organization can thrive in the ever-changing AI landscape.

Extension of the be radical 5/28 update, “Your Superpower to Navigate Ambiguity and Uncertainty”

Driving continuous value and agile innovation

Continuous evaluation and agile adaptation are essential to unlocking the full potential of AI initiatives. Measuring value realization should be an ongoing practice, allowing organizations to continuously identify efficiencies and optimize processes. Rather than being held back by technical debt, AI offers the opportunity to leapfrog data challenges and drive transformation at every level.

Transformation should reach the edges, with all teams involved in creating, adopting, and measuring AI’s value. This collaborative approach ensures that AI’s benefits permeate the entire organization, turning every corner into a source of innovation and efficiency. As a general-purpose technology, AI can deliver significant outcomes through basic technical enablement and robust work transformation.

An ongoing cycle of experimentation, deployment, and optimization is crucial. This dynamic process allows organizations to remain agile, quickly iterating on AI strategies to respond to new insights and evolving business needs. Businesses can continuously refine AI solutions based on performance data to ensure their AI initiatives remain relevant and impactful.

AI-driven agility transforms organizations into adaptive, forward-thinking entities capable of rapid innovation. Companies can maintain a competitive edge and achieve sustained growth by focusing on value realization and leveraging AI to overcome data challenges. Let AI drive your strategic agility, fostering an environment where transformation is constant and success is continually redefined.

The future awaits

AI-driven agility transforms organizations into adaptive, forward-thinking entities capable of rapid innovation. By focusing on value realization and leveraging AI to overcome data challenges, your company can maintain a competitive edge and achieve sustained growth. Let AI drive your strategic agility, fostering an environment where transformation is constant and success is continually redefined.

Embrace this AI revolution and lead your organization into a future of limitless possibilities. The time to act is now.

Slalom is a next-generation professional services company creating value at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity. Find out how to turn your AI aspirations into tangible business value today.

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Tamarah Usher
Slalom Business

Business technologist, AI strategist, digital philosopher, humanist realist, and pragmatic futurist.