The mistake I see owners make with AI is starting at the top. They want the big strategic dashboard that shows the ten-year climb. Skip to that before the basic data is reliable and you get a beautiful picture of noise.
The right order is the opposite. Build the smallest dashboard that answers one question you already ask yourself every week, from data you already export from one tool. Trust it. Then add a second source. Get a few of those working and the operating-level view becomes worth building. Only then the strategic one.
And do not wait for the data to be clean. It never will be. Drop the ugly export in and ask for the dashboard. If it is wrong, say what is wrong, and it is fixed in minutes, not weeks.
AI sits on top of the first two pillars. Systems document how the work is done. Subscriptions turn that work into recurring revenue. AI makes both legible without you living in the spreadsheets. Next week we get to the people side: Offshore, the delivery muscle that runs everything underneath while you watch the instrument panel.
What did you decide to build or capture this week? Post it in the room.