Similar to the ‘gold rushes’ and ‘land grabs’ of our forefathers, the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has opened a new frontiers of opportunity. While everyone is frothing over AI’s implications, not every organization is equally situated to capitalize upon the emerging AI frontier. I am exploring a new model to aid us in thinking through the dynamic relationship between an organization’s opportunities in AI and its commitment to executing its vision.

I believe there are ultimately 4 meaningful questions every organization must answer:

1. How data-intensive is my organization?
2. How central will AI be to my organization?
3. What is my organization’s level of commitment to AI?
4. What is my organization’s opportunity using AI?

Your Organizational DNA

At its core, an organization has varying characteristics that comprise its culture. The longer you work with an organization, the more obvious its unique signature becomes. I call this organizational DNA.

As a metaphorical concept, organizational DNA can be used to describe the fundamental elements and characteristics that define an organization’s identity. Core values; people and skills; processes and systems; and its products and go-to-market motions are all characteristics that make up organizational DNA; no two organizations are ever quite the same.

Evaluating organizational DNA can take many forms. What is pertinent to our exploration are 3 aspects:

1. How central is AI to the core product offering (measured as ‘centricity’)?
2. How intensive and unique is the data the organization generates, possesses, or accesses (measured as ‘intensity’)?
3. How committed is my organization to AI, measured in focus and funding?

By directly measuring these facets through a series of questions, this model will evidence the organization’s level of commitment, also allowing us to infer the potential opportunity in the emerging AI landscape.

The initial measurement can be diagnostic in nature, and can be easily derived by answering 8 simple questions that can provide a set of markers that allow organization’s to chart a path forward. When combined with cumulative snapshots, organizations can see signs of progression (or regression) as they navigate the bold, new, AI-enabled frontier.

The AI DNA Scorecard Explained

The AI DNA Scorecard is a conceptual model designed to map out the relationship between three significant variables used to evaluate AI deployments within an organization. These ‘AI DNA Strands’ are: AI Intensity, AI Centricity, and AI Commitment.

• AI Intensity measures the uniqueness and value of an organization’s data flow. This gauges how an organization generates, tabulates, and utilizes data to drive its processes, product, and go-to-market. The more unique and high-volume the data sets shepherded by the organization, the higher the value of the opportunity. Said succinctly, AI Intensity is representative of the volume of high-value data processed.
• AI Centricity measures how central AI is to the organization’s product or service offering. Companies who produce AI offerings (such as OpenAI) would consider AI core to their offering. Meanwhile, those who only mildly employ third-party solutions as part of organizational processes do not hold AI as central to their product offering or go-to-market strategy.
• AI Commitment measures how committed your organization is to its AI initiatives. AI may not be central to your business, but can you now think of a business that doesn’t require email, office productivity, and billing software? AI will become table stakes in organizations across all industries and of all sizes. Commitment is measured by understanding an organization’s focus and funding of its AI initiatives.

Eight fundamental questions allows insight and measurement of an approximate score, and will be tuned over time as the market matures.

Anatomy of the AI DNA Scorecard

Once the 8 simple questions are answered, a set of scores are rendered accompanied by personalized results specific to the organization’s scoring.

The AI Opportunity Score is your organization’s composite scoring based on the 3 strands of organizational AI DNA: AI intensity, AI centricity, and AI commitment.

Each strand of AI DNA Strand score offers a little more insight into where your organization is presently on its AI journey.

Your results are interpreted and then next steps are offered.

AI DNA Scorecard Archetypes

As I’ve studied the rapidly evolving landscape of AI over the last 13 months, I have observed four classic archetypes.

Lookout (Low Intensity + Centricity + Commitment): This organization doesn’t rely heavily on proprietary data for AI, nor is AI a central part of its product offering. Further, evidence of commitment to AI initiatives is not yet evident. Such organizations may engage with AI in a more superficial or peripheral manner. These organizations may be taking ‘wait-and-see’ approach to let dust settle.

Wanderer (Modest Intensity + Centricity + Commitment): This organization is making moves in the AI landscape. It may have intensive and unique data, seeking to add an AI-enabled product offering, and even making modest investments (such as AI training) in its AI initiative. This organization will typically seek to use AI for internal processes or secondary offerings rather than as a core product feature, and is still pulling the levers getting ready for eventual launch.

Explorer (Moderate Intensity + Centricity + Commitment): This organization is on the move and launched one or more programs in AI. It likely has some combination of intensive and unique data; identified one or more AI-enabled offerings; and investing actively in its AI initiative. There is typically core leadership assigned to this as a priority, budget has been allocated, and programs are in pilot or launched. This organization is typically seeking to use AI for internal processes or secondary offerings rather than as a core product feature.

Trailblazers (High Intensity + Centricity + Commitment): Organizations where AI is a core part of the product offering as well controls a robust and unique data flow. They are likely to be leaders in their field, utilizing AI in innovative ways that are central to their business model.

What Is Your Organization’s Level of Commitment to AI?

During my time researching services-led transformation of product-centric companies, I worked with leaders around the globe that came in all shapes and sizes. We confirmed that executive commitment is the key differentiator between those who succeed and fail. Commitment is evidenced in the form of vision-casting, resourcing, and execution. In other words, without focus and funding your plan fails.

AI Commitment is a continuum measuring the organization’s current investment gauging for 2 key aspects: Focus and Funding.

Focus is a key gauge of commitment. The AI DNA Scorecard infers this through organizational structure. There are a number of organizational structures such as dedicated AI executive, departmental committee, and even IT-managed operations. Trailblazers will have a single ‘AI Czar’ while Wanderers are likely still figure it out.

Funding is another way to infer commitment. The phrase, “Put your money where your mouth is,” underscores this perfectly. Do yo have dedicated budget? Do you have an active AI pilot initiative? Are you expensing individual licenses for your team to learn? Answers to such questions evidence varying levels of commitment.

As a word of caution, it is my observation that many organizations pay lip-service to AI commitment by integrating fast-follow enablements by leveraging existing engines to prop up pre-AI apps and flows or inserting some new AI-powered tool into operation. While this novel approach helps gain early wins, unless there is substance following this foray, commitment is not sufficient for long-term victory. This is another reason why I believe an objective measurement framework is important.

What Is Your Organization’s Opportunity for AI?

Similarly, without intensive and high-value data flows, a keen understanding of central AI strategy; and executive commitment your efforts will consistently fail to produce the results you desire. Opportunity, then, is an inflection point of centricity, intensity, and commitment. If an organization is committed and executing upon a product- or market-centric AI offer and controls a high-volume of highly valuable data, it possesses an incredible opportunity. Conversely, if organizational commitment is weak and the data volume is insignificant or low-value, then the reality is opportunity is low.

Of course, other factors ultimately play into the total opportunity landscape–customer-fit and competitors being chief among them. Without the requisite ingredients of organizational commitment and access to unique, high-value, high-volume data, an organization’s AI opportunity is relatively weak.

How Should I Use The AI DNA Scorecard?

The AI DNA Scorecard is a compelling tool for thinking about AI deployment strategically. As with any model, its usefulness will be tested when applied in real-world scenarios, and will be refined to capture the complexity of how different companies use AI.

The AI DNA Scorecard is a grounded in 8 foundational questions that presently represent the landscape of AI based on education, observation, and experience. I fully expect it will evolve over time. I encourage you to use the AI DNA Scorecard in your own work or collaborate on its evolution.

I welcome your feedback.