Demystifying AI Strategy: What It Takes to Get It Right

By Simon Mawkes , Enterprise Architect and Product Owner for JourneyOne's Summit Planning

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Imagine sitting in a boardroom, and a senior executive leans in: “How are we leveraging AI? Our competitors are miles ahead and the board wants to see our plan.”

It’s a familiar scenario for many organisations, driven by the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and the fear of being left behind. Yet, the real promise of AI lies not in replacing humans but in enhancing people’s ability to solve complex problems, make better decisions, and deliver greater value.

While success stories abound from AI streamlining operations to enabling hyper-personalised customer experiences, the real challenge lies in answering one pivotal question: where do we start?

Building an AI strategy is not about jumping on the latest trends. It’s about aligning AI with your business priorities, solving real problems, and setting your organisation up for sustainable success. Here’s how to break down the process and avoid common pitfalls.

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Start with Business Goals

AI is a tool, not a silver bullet.

Before investing in AI, identify the specific problems you want to solve or opportunities you aim to capture. Are you looking to reduce operational costs, improve customer satisfaction, or uncover new revenue streams? These questions should guide your focus and ensure that your AI initiatives directly impact your bottom line. Equally important is engaging employees at all levels to identify pain points and opportunities where AI can make their work more effective and meaningful.

We find that depicting these ambitions in an aspirational future state diagram provides a solid anchor for clarity and visual communication.

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Focus Your Efforts

Time and funds are finite, so focus on the highest priority challenges or opportunities that will deliver the greatest value. It’s better to solve a few high-value problems well than to spread efforts too thin. Investment and effort can scale as momentum is built and knowledge is gained. Mapping initiatives in a 2x2 matrix is a simple tool to compare value and effort to easily identify potential starting points.

Additionally, prioritising initiatives that directly empower teams, such as automating repetitive tasks or providing better decision-making tools, can build trust and enthusiasm for AI adoption.

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Assess Your Current Capabilities

Adopting AI requires a clear-eyed view of your organisation’s readiness.

Do you have the right data infrastructure? Is your data accurate and well-governed? Do you have in-house expertise or partnerships to fill skill gaps? These questions are critical because poor preparation leads to wasted investments.

Using a capability-based planning approach provides a clear foundation for assessing AI readiness and the necessary investments to realise your AI vision.

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Balance Innovation and Ethics

AI is powerful, offering tools to amplify human potential, but it’s not without risks.

AI introduces unique challenges, particularly around ethics, bias, and transparency. Embedding ethical principles into your AI strategy from the outset will help ensure AI solutions are not only effective but also fair and explainable, building trust amongst stakeholders.

This includes fostering transparency about how AI decisions impact employees and customers, creating a shared understanding of its role as a supportive tool, not a replacement.

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Build Alignment Across Teams

AI adoption requires cultural and organisational alignment. Resistance often stems from fear of job displacement or uncertainty about how AI will complement their roles.

Clear communication and upskilling initiatives can address these concerns. Fostering collaboration through the strategy development process between IT, operations, and business teams can ensure solutions are embraced organisation-wide.

Organisations that engage employees in the strategy process find that this collaboration uncovers valuable insights and fosters a sense of ownership over AI’s integration into daily workflows.

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Establish an Iterative Approach

AI strategies should evolve as the technology and business environment change.

Pilot projects are an excellent way to test AI use cases and refine your approach based on results. An iterative mindset allows organisations to learn quickly, pivot when necessary, and continuously optimise their AI investments.

It’s also essential to revisit your AI strategy regularly or as required to reconfirm your still on the right path and your efforts are aligned.

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What’s Next? Start Strong in 2025

The most common obstacle organisations face is not knowing where to begin.

Developing a strong AI strategy is the first step to overcoming this challenge. By starting with clear business goals, prioritising high-impact initiatives, and fostering alignment across teams, you can build a foundation for AI success.

JourneyOne’s Summit Planning approach simplifies this process. It’s a uniquely structured, highly visual method to turn ambitious AI ideas into actionable roadmaps.

Whether it’s tackling operational inefficiencies, driving innovation, or scaling AI responsibly, a thoughtful strategy ensures AI strengthens your organisation by empowering people and enabling meaningful, technology-driven transformation.

Make 2025 the year you start strong and lead with purpose.

The First Step

Visit our webpage on Summit Planning for Artificial Intelligence to find out more about how our approach can help you.

Alternatively, reach out via our LinkedIn profile or our contact form to talk directly to one of our Basecamp Leaders.

About JourneyOne

Vision to value with human-technology collaboration

At JourneyOne, we nurture value where human insight meets technological innovation.

Our solutions are built with scalability and sustainability at the core, empowering your team to reach new heights. Together, we create pathways that enhance human potential through technology, driving real, lasting impact for your business.

Above all, we’re here to make your journey remarkable.