#002 - AI Strategy Should Be Like a Walk.
Your AI strategy isn't a sprint. It's not a marathon either.
Sprinters burn out in the first hundred meters. Marathon planners get lost in endless preparation, then watch their perfect plan crumble when reality hits. Sound familiar?
After 25 years of building AI strategies for Fortune 500 banks, telecom giants, and production companies—and fixing the wreckage left by others—I've learned something executives hate hearing: your biggest obstacle isn't technology.
It's you.
The Leadership Mirror
You know your data architecture. You understand the technical requirements. But can you see your own blind spots?
Most leaders can't. They're too busy being right to notice they're walking in circles.
Three leadership traits separate successful AI strategies from expensive disasters: maturity, resilience, and intelligence.
Not the kind of intelligence that builds algorithms—the kind that builds clarity in chaos.
The Courage Deficit
Picture your company five years from now.
AI-powered products. Streamlined operations. New revenue streams.
Now comes the hard part: cannibalizing your existing business to get there.
This is where most strategies die. You want transformation and the status quo. You want innovation without risk. You want the future without leaving the present.
That's not courage. That's wishful thinking.
Real courage means making your current cash cow uncomfortable. It means admitting your flagship product might become obsolete. Can you handle that conversation with your board?
The Ego Trap
Your opinion matters. You're the CTO, the CIO, the decision-maker. But here's what 25 years taught me: the moment your ego enters the room, clarity leaves.
Ego-driven leaders set arbitrary deadlines. They skip planning phases. They dismiss quiet voices that carry the sharpest insights.
Result? Muddy goals. Fantasy roadmaps. And the inevitable conclusion that "AI doesn't bring value to our business."
Wrong.
AI brings tremendous value. Your approach doesn't.
You might need a coach.
The Silent Voices
Listen to the people who don't speak first in meetings. The analysts who see data patterns you miss. The frontline employees who understand customer pain points better than any executive summary.
Your loudest voice shouldn't be your only source of truth.
Walk Your Way to Clarity
Calm plus courage equals clarity. Master these two forces, and your AI strategy becomes a purposeful walk through known terrain instead of a blind stumble through fog.
Skip this foundation, and you'll join the graveyard of failed AI initiatives—companies that spent millions proving they were right about being wrong.
The choice is yours: continue sprinting toward exhaustion, or start walking with intention.
Your move.
More on my blog:
👉 Read the complete list of AI strategy traps I keep fixing
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