6  Communicate Your Strategy

Author

Greg Ceccarelli

Last time, we talked about identifying your AI strategy– and if you did your homework, you should have developed your own document that identifies the challenges, strengths, and guiding policy for your AI initiatives. With that strategy in hand, the next step is being able to communicate it effectively.

The “Business on a Page” Approach

Over the last 20 years, I’ve found the “Business on a Page” practice to be an incredibly useful tool for communicating strategy. This document distills your entire business strategy into a single page, forcing clarity and alignment around key priorities. To get started, create a new document with these five key sections:

1. Big Picture Vision

Start by defining your company’s long-term vision. This should go beyond the day-to-day and describe where you want to be in the future.

2. Why Your Organization Exists

Next, capture the “Why” behind your organization. This should include the fundamental reason you exist, and the impact you want to make. It should answer the question: “Why do we do what we do?”

3. What Your Organization Does

This section gets more specific about what your organization does, and the value it provides. Clearly state your unique value proposition and target market by answering these key questions:

  • What problems do you solve for your customers? Who are they?
  • What are the mechanics of your solutions?
  • What is your positioning?

4. How Your Organization Will Succeed

Revisit your strategy document, and distill it to address how your organization will succeed:

  • How are you different from your competitors?
  • How do your products enable long-term transformation for your customers?
  • How will your products be perceived?

5. Actions

The final, most important step is where you define the specific actions you will take for the next six to twelve months. These actions should be clear, specific, and measurable, and should align with your long-term vision and strategy. They might be things you will do more of, less of, or things you will stop doing altogether. No matter what, they should be aligned with your long-term vision and strategy.

Clear Communication is Key

The “Business on a Page” exercise creates clarity and conciseness, making it an excellent basis for communicating strategy to internal teams, stakeholders, and customers alike. For example, you might use it to communicate to employees how AI will affect their roles, or to investors how AI will drive growth and profitability, or to customers how AI will enhance their experience with your product.

Remember, communicating strategy isn’t a one-time event. As you continue to implement and learn, you’ll need to revisit this exercise and communicate updates as necessary. With everyone aligned on your AI strategy, it’s time to mobilize the team into action! We’ll cover this in the next section.