Ideas
When it comes to AI strategy, focus sounds like a good idea. But in the context of your firm’s priorities and resources, it may not be.
As with investing, purposeful diversification – the portfolio strategy – ups the odds of having at least some success and reduces the likelihood of a washout.
Firms today tend to get stuck in an either/or mindset: chasing quick productivity wins on the one hand or launching long-term transformation projects on the other. As though these were mutually exclusive options.
The truth is you need both.
That’s why I created a framework – the AI Strategy Matrix. It’s a way to balance priorities across two dimensions: revenue impact and speed of results. I’ve taken some typical AI initiatives and assigned them a place in this matrix.
Efficiency Improvements (lower-left quadrant) Think automated research summaries, email templates, or presentation builders. These deliver immediate productivity gains that free up capacity and give leadership confidence AI is working. They aren’t revenue drivers on their own, but they unlock time to focus on growth.
Pipeline Accelerators (upper-left quadrant) Examples include prospect scoring, competitive intelligence alerts, and automated follow-up sequences. These narrowly aimed tools improve conversion and win rates within quarters. The trade-off is scope – they solve specific bottlenecks rather than transforming entire processes.
Foundation Builders (lower-right quadrant) This is the behind-the-scenes work: unified client databases, data integration, and process standardization. If your systems don’t talk to each other, then you’ll hit a wall scaling sophisticated AI applications. Not glamorous work, but essential.
Strategic Differentiators (upper-right quadrant) These are the big bets – predictive lifecycle management, real-time opportunity detection, or new product development. They take 12–18 months to fully realize but can fundamentally change win rates and client retention.
The question isn’t which quadrant to choose. It’s how to purposefully balance across all four, based on your firm’s goals, risk appetite and time horizon.
So as you evaluate your AI roadmap, ask yourself:
Do we have a framework for organizing our AI strategy?
How diversified is our AI allocation?
What’s our current mix of fast wins and long-term plays?
The firms that answer those questions thoughtfully are the ones already seeing sustainable advantage.
VShift is a digital strategy, design and technology agency for enterprise-scale brands in regulated industries.