Instead of an abstract, top-down AI strategy, a practical starting point is to identify the most tedious, repetitive tasks your team performs. Focusing automation efforts on these "chores" provides a tangible win, builds momentum, and offers a low-risk environment for learning AI tools.

Don't try to optimize your strongest departments with your first AI project. Instead, target 'layup roles'—areas where processes are broken or work isn't getting done. The bar for success is lower, making it easier to get a quick, impactful win.

To win over skeptical teams in regulated fields, start with optimizing existing workflows. A powerful but underutilized strategy is to use an AI assistant to help prioritize tasks, benchmark potential gains, and even draft the one-page strategic brief to make the case to leadership.

To find high-impact AI opportunities, reframe the goal from speed to quality. Ask what a perfect team with unlimited time would do. This helps identify transformative workflows, like analyzing every support ticket to improve documentation, rather than just doing existing tasks faster.

Don't assume AI can effectively perform a task that doesn't already have a well-defined standard operating procedure (SOP). The best use of AI is to infuse efficiency into individual steps of an existing, successful manual process, rather than expecting it to complete the entire process on its own.

To find valuable AI use cases, start with projects that save time (efficiency gains). Next, focus on improving the quality of existing outputs. Finally, pursue entirely new capabilities that were previously impossible, creating a roadmap from immediate to transformative value.

To find high-impact automation opportunities, identify tasks you never want to do again—your "anti-to-do list." This framework, which could include manually sorting Slack or entering action items into Asana, provides a clear and motivating starting point for using AI to improve your daily work.

Leadership often imposes AI automation on processes without understanding the nuances. The employees executing daily tasks are best positioned to identify high-impact opportunities. A bottom-up approach ensures AI solves real problems and delivers meaningful impact, avoiding top-down miscalculations.

Instead of guessing where AI can help, use AI itself as a consultant. Detail your daily workflows, tasks, and existing tools in a prompt, and ask it to generate an "opportunity map." This meta-approach lets AI identify the highest-impact areas for its own implementation.