{"id":2572,"date":"2021-05-22T19:12:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T23:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/?page_id=2572"},"modified":"2021-05-25T08:45:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T12:45:36","slug":"how-to-create-a-great-ai-strategy-even-if-youre-not-a-data-scientist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/articles\/how-to-create-a-great-ai-strategy-even-if-youre-not-a-data-scientist\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Great AI Strategy Even if You\u2019re Not a Data Scientist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By John Stroud and Jen Schellinck
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Creating an AI Strategy can be intimidating.\u00a0 The field seems so new and technical, and it is topic on which so few people have experience, that it is hard to know where to begin.<\/p>\n

The standard industry benchmarks can be downright scary.\u00a0 Some 70% of AI projects fail and some 95% of projects experience delay.<\/p>\n

The good news is that you can learn from the experience of those who went before you.\u00a0 With a little bit of help, any leader can handle it, even if they lack the technical skills.<\/p>\n

Even more importantly, the payoff to getting it right is enormous.\u00a0 AI will change every industry.\u00a0 Even the most traditional of industries, like agriculture, leverages satellite images AI to increase crop yields foot-by-foot basis.\u00a0 If AI can transform farming, it can transform almost anything.<\/p>\n

The secret is to realize that you don\u2019t have a technical problem to solve.\u00a0 You have a people problem to solve.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best way to get people aligned on doing what needs to be done is by asking them the right questions.<\/p>\n

If your team comes to an agreement on these answers, the technical matters won\u2019t exactly just fall into place, but they will be so much simpler.\u00a0 You can hire technical people to solve these technical problems (just the way you hire specialized staff to solve all your other technical problems).<\/p>\n

Here is a cheat sheet of questions to ask.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Start with Your Corporate Strategy \u2013 Is it Still Relevant?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Start with your strategy.\u00a0 Does it still make sense?\u00a0 In particular, does it make sense in a world where (because of AI) we can have \u201csmart\u201d products and services?<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t skim over these questions with a \u201cyeah, yeah.\u201d\u00a0 Be mindful that AI is an exponential technology, whose capability has been doubling about every 3-6 months since 2011.\u00a0 This means that in the last decade the effective computational power of AI (taking the power of the computers + the improvement in the algorithms they use) is approximately 300,000x of what it was ten years ago.\u00a0 That is a lot to take in on its own.\u00a0 Now think about this: in 6 months the capability will be 600,000x what it was in 2001.\u00a0 And in a year it will be 1,200,000x of what it was in 2001.\u00a0 With all that extra capability, are you sure that your strategy still makes sense?<\/p>\n

    Implicit in this steps is a warning<\/u>: please don\u2019t start by picking the first or easiest use case comes to mind.\u00a0 It might work, but chances are that you\u2019ll miss out on the biggest opportunities.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to try to get to the moon by building a ladder.\u00a0 Adding a few more feet of ladder every day might feel like progress, but you will never make it.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. What is a Problem Worth Solving? Picking it is Half the Battle<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Having decided where you want to go, the next question is how will you get there?\u00a0 Now is when you start thinking about use cases.<\/p>\n

      Ask yourself, \u201cWhat question do we want answered?\u00a0 What is a problem worth solving?\u201d.\u00a0 This may be surprising, but getting your team aligned on this is half the battle.<\/p>\n

      Here are some tricks to finding this kind of question:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Start with the customer in mind.<\/li>\n
      • What decision would the customer ultimately care about? What is most valuable to the customer?<\/li>\n
      • What should the end experience be?<\/li>\n
      • With all that in mind, what micro decisions are embedded in in your products, services or back office\/corporate shared services. These micro decisions can be automated, which is where AI comes in<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        1. Is the Problem in a Core Competency or a Cost Centre?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          People often assume that if they want AI they need to build it themselves.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the case.\u00a0 There are incredible number of AI-as-a-service offerings that organizations can use to get started.\u00a0 Picking the right one can save you an incredible amount of time, effort and money.<\/p>\n

          When does it make sense to develop a bespoke solution, and when does it make sense to use AI-as-a-service.\u00a0 We suggest this framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
          \u00a0<\/em><\/td>\nCore Competency<\/em><\/td>\nCost Centre<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Products<\/em><\/td>\nBespoke<\/td>\nAI-as-a-service<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Services<\/em><\/td>\nBespoke<\/td>\nAI-as-a-service<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Shared Services<\/em><\/td>\nTBD<\/td>\nAI-as-a-service<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

           <\/p>\n

          If the problem is in your cost centres, AI can be a way to reduce costs while maintaining or improving operations.\u00a0 Our advice is to take that win, and move on to solving bigger problems.<\/p>\n

          But if the problem is in a core competency, the more likely it is that you will want a bespoke solution.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 This is where your competitive advantage comes from.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Build a Data Pipeline <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            With the right questions in mind, now you turn to getting the data. \u00a0Think of an AI like an electric lamp.\u00a0 A lamp needs electricity to work.\u00a0 Well, the data is the electricity that powers the lamp.<\/p>\n

            The good news is that companies often have more data (potential sources of electricity) than they realize.\u00a0 It can be in the form of text, audio or video files.<\/p>\n

            The bad news is that it is probably not organized the way the AI needs it to be.<\/p>\n

            You need to build what\u2019s called a data pipeline.\u00a0 (We know that we are mixing electrical and plumbing metaphors; our only defense is that that is a standard terminology.\u00a0 Maybe it is because data scientists were not also English majors).<\/p>\n

            Brace yourself: Getting properly organized can be a huge undertaking.\u00a0 In terms of the total number of hours on a project, perhaps as many as 80% of them will be spent here<\/p>\n

            Thankfully, when teams are pointed in the right direction, with the right tools, and with support from leadership, these are very solvable problems<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Think Like a Startup<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Throughout this process, think like a start-up.\u00a0 Be ambitious in your vision (to transform the organization), but start with problems that you can solve.\u00a0 Solve them, and then iterate.<\/p>\n

              Every time you solve a problem, you will get better at the process. Your capability and confidence to take on more problems will only grow.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Due Diligenc<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                To make sure the project is a success you can\u2019t cut corners.\u00a0 AI has its own unique challenges around finding the right talent, change management, protecting privacy and acting ethically.<\/p>\n

                We\u2019re parking those issues for now because there is only so much a person can digest in a single blog.<\/p>\n

                What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

                Bring your team together to start the conversation.\u00a0 They\u2019ll enjoy it (who wouldn\u2019t want to transform the organization).\u00a0 As the leader, you are now guide them even without knowing the answers in advance.\u00a0 Remember, the best leaders run their businesses on questions, not answers.<\/p>\n

                If you\u2019d like us to help facilitate that conversation, don\u2019t hesitate to reach out.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                By John Stroud and Jen Schellinck Creating an AI Strategy can be intimidating.\u00a0 The field seems so new and technical, and it is topic on which so few people have experience, that it is hard to know where to begin. The standard industry benchmarks can be downright scary.\u00a0 Some 70% of AI projects fail and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2567,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2572","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647,"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2572\/revisions\/2647"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sysabee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}