We recently introduced a dead simple methodology for figuring out where to focus with AI in your business, and then decide what makes sense to build. We call it AI Pathfinder.
The idea was born out of countless conversations with leaders and teams who were signing up for AI, certain they needed to use it, but stuck knowing how to make it do something that returned value for them.
In my experience, this is a problem that’s existed the duration of my career. So long as technology advances and businesses operate, figuring out how to apply it in ways that produce more value is a durable problem.
The AI Pathfinder 5-Step Method is simply:
Map Value
Find Opportunities
See the Solution
Design V1
30-Day Start
We believe that keeping this dead simple is really important. Complicated processes and decision trees fuel all of the negative emotions that cause us to procrastinate or avoid deciding what to do about something. Dead simple creates the ability to move forward, and create momentum.
The most common alternative first step people are taking is to try and understand the capabilities of the technology. This is both natural and honestly easier. Understanding how things work satisfies a certain curiosity, and it feels awfully productive. Unless your job IS factually to deeply understand the capabilities of the technology, I’m bold enough now to suggest this is actually a convenient distraction for you.
What I hear about when people fall into this trap, are people taking demos, trying out new software, reading product releases, etc. Talking about how AI can help you with your calendar might be the most popular example. You’ve likely seen it on TV. When we see examples in this fashion, we almost always react positively. We think “that’s cool!”, “I could do that.”, “that would be helpful for me!”. This may very well be true, but you don’t really have any clarity on the value that’s getting injected into your job.
There are plenty of “look what AI can do” examples that actually take longer and slow people down while making them feel like they’re doing less. Same result, same timeframe = no net value increase.
We don’t want people we work with and support to fall into any of these types of traps. Generative AI is probably the first (and potentially only) technology that can reasonably answer “Can AI ?” with a yes near 100% of the time. Yes, there are caveats galore here. However, the barriers to building solutions of many kinds are coming down so low that it’s not as practical of a question as it used to be. Say you’re shopping for a CRM 5 years ago: it would be really important to ask “Can it integrate with my email provider?” “What buyer intent features do you support?” etc. We would figure out what solution options fit our business the best, and adapt accordingly. That’s not what AI is like at all.
So, for perhaps the first time ever: starting with Mapping the Value of your role or team is not only ideal, it is actually required.
A good Value Map in our framework teases out the short list of key things you as an individual or a team are responsible for delivering. Value is different from the job responsibilities and tasks. Value is reflected in the outcomes your job exists to create.
It is so deceptively simple to identify what your value is, but simultaneously easy to forget about in the toils of the day-to-day work. For example, scheduling teams create Value by ensuring production runs with minimal downtime, orders get delivered on time, labor costs are optimized, etc. However, if you work in this type of job, you might find yourself thinking that your job is really just to fill out certain paperwork (physical or digital), attend the right meetings, etc. And that’s because of the lived experience you’ve been having in that role. The activities have taken center stage in the mind, over the value.
Starting with mapping value recenters us. It brings our focus and intention back to where it needs to be. It makes it easier to clearly name all of the things we do that customers don’t care about. It makes it easier to recognize the things distracting us from that purpose. There is admittedly a “captain obvious” feeling once you take the time to write down the short list of things that make up the value you and your team are responsible for. However, I find it to be incredibly fulfilling and gratifying when teams reconnect with it.
If you’re interested in doing this for yourself, it is very simple, and you can do it right now. Clear off any distractions in front of you. Grab a notepad or open a blank document on your computer.
Write down up to 3 “outcomes we own”. If you have cross-functional leadership responsibilities, pick one area to start.
Outcome
Outcome
Outcome
Next, name “where the time actually goes”. Name up to 5 activities that your team has to deal with that limit your ability to focus on the value outcomes you just defined.
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Activity
Evaluate your named Outcomes and Activities, what is the single biggest problem you see? Now, you have the basic components of naming “The Gap”. Write it down.
The Gap: Your number one conflict between outcomes and activities.
The Gap starts to set the stage for you to start Finding Opportunities to address the things that are holding you and or your team back. It puts your mind on a path of wanting to solve a specific problem vs. solely figuring out how to leverage new technology.
In my next post, I’ll share thoughts on Step 2.