Why AI Strategy Should Start With the Decision
September 19, 2026 · Keith Pasley
Most AI programs start with a tool. That is already one decision too late.
The first question is not which model to use. It is which business decision needs to improve.
Who makes the decision today? What evidence do they use? Where does delay, inconsistency, cost, or risk enter the process? What measurable outcome would prove the decision improved?
Make the decision testable
A useful AI initiative has an accountable owner, a baseline, a target, and a defined role for AI. The system may inform a person, recommend an action, automate a bounded step, or act within approved limits. Those are different designs with different risks.
Work backward
Once the decision is clear, architecture becomes easier to evaluate. Data, models, applications, APIs, identity, security, governance, and observability can be selected because they support a known outcome.
Starting with technology produces a deployment. Starting with the decision creates a reason for the deployment to exist.