A C-suite guide to capturing the potential value of AI
According to Deloitte’s research State of Generative AI in the Enterprise, organisations are having challenges capturing the full potential value AI brings. C-suite leaders are dealing with the same question: How to transition beyond the experimentation phase and start realising actual business value and P&L impact?
In conversations across industries and regions, we are hearing C-suite leaders dealing with similar topics around AI. To that end, we present below a comprehensive, holistic set of questions, divided into five areas that leaders should systematically address:
- Strategy
- Organisation and people
- Risk and compliance
- Technology and implementation
- Ecosystem and partnerships
This article introduces the questions per each of these five categories. In the next weeks we will bring deep-dives for these categories to support answering these questions.
Strategy: Solidifying your AI expectations
From accelerating revenue growth, realizing cost efficiencies, strengthening core competencies to redefining business models, CEOs want to understand how AI is relevant to their sector and organisation. A clear and explicit strategy towards AI, as integral part of the business strategy, is an essential starting point.
The questions below will help determining how far and how deeply AI will permeate the business. The answers to these questions will give input to the questions in the other categories. As an example, if AI is going to impact the core of the business model, the operating model will most likely change significantly and technology investments will have to be material.
Organisation and people: Gauging your organisation’s readiness for AI transformation
AI’s effects are felt throughout workplace cultures, the labour market, education and skills training – demanding that you prepare your organisation and employees to accept and keep pace with how AI will be (or is) fundamentally transforming their work. This involves considering how you’ll integrate AI into your culture, how you prepare employees for new tasks and what new leadership qualities are needed.
Typically, the following questions are asked to understand the implications of AI for the workforce:
Risk and compliance: Governing responsible AI use
With new technologies come new risks, meaning that privacy issues, ethical dilemmas, cyberthreats and reputational risks demand a robust governance model. This area of AI focus is about creating clear frameworks that comply with laws and regulations and safeguard the trust of customers and stakeholders.
Typically, the following questions fall under the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer or Chief Risk Officer:
Technology and implementation: Building a safe and robust AI infrastructure
The technological foundations of AI require a well-thought-out architecture, careful choices when it comes to internal development and external solutions, and an approach that guarantees data quality and reliability. The speed and effectiveness of implementation depend, in part, on how centralised AI capabilities are; big-picture thinking is needed to find opportunities to connect and align for a centralised structure.
Typically, the following questions fall under the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer:
Ecosystems and partnerships: Keeping AI relevant into the long term
Choosing and applying AI technologies is about discovering the right option for each purpose. But AI innovation rarely occurs in isolation. Building a dynamic ecosystem of partners is essential to maintain continuous access to the latest developments and expertise.
Typically, the following questions fall under the responsibility of the Chief Commercial Officer:
Navigating with confidence
Addressing this comprehensive set of questions – and accepting what it reveals – goes beyond adopting a technological innovation: It’s a navigation guide for an end-to-end business transformation that creates sustainable value and a competitive advantage. It’s also a way to make each C-suite leader aware of the overall vision, and empower them to make aligned decisions to maximize the return on investment.
As a CEO, you can feel confident approaching your board armed with the answers to the strategy-focused questions – a necessary first phase that the rest of the teams can build on when answering their own questions.
Stay tuned for the deep-dives per category.
