What does a good AI use case look like?
With AI fever in overdrive, everyone is searching for winning AI use cases. However, the process feels like solving a giant jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the box to guide you....
Brain Circuits
The 4 strategic personas of GenAI – which one are you?
How firms are choosing (and executing) their GenAI strategy
Generative AI (GenAI) promises massive transformation, but only if strategy and execution align. After studying 100 GenAI implementations across sectors, we’ve found that most firms fall into four GenAI personas. Each reflects a different balance of risk, ambition, speed, and control. Your firm doesn’t need to be all things, but it does need to know what it is.
1. Bold innovators
You move first, think big, and aim to reshape your industry.
Think: Heidelberg Materials simulating and optimizing low-carbon cement production with GenAI.
You accept higher risk for potential breakthroughs. Innovation labs, rapid pilots, and mixed proprietary-external tech are your launchpads.
Execution focus: Fast data integration, flexible cloud architecture, lightweight governance, cross-functional labs, and hands-on skill-building.
Watch out: Moving fast without ethical guardrails or scalable infrastructure can backfire.
2. Disciplined integrators
You value trust, compliance, and control.
Think: Roche using GenAI in clinical trial monitoring under strict governance.
Your focus is steady adoption: structured data, hybrid architecture, and rigorous oversight.
Execution focus: Strong data governance, secure infrastructure, role-specific training, and alignment with regulatory requirements.
Watch out: Going too slow may erode momentum or make GenAI feel disconnected from day-to-day work.
3. Fast followers
You want quick wins with minimal disruption.
Think: CarMax summarizing customer reviews on their website with GenAI APIs.
You buy more than build, act fast, and focus on use cases with fast ROI.
Execution focus: Off-the-shelf tools, agile integration, basic governance templates, and prompt-level upskilling.
Watch out: Surface-level success can stall without deeper internal capability building.
4. Strategic builders
You’re playing the long game and building your own IP.
Think: Allianz developing a GenAI stack for claims assessment and fraud detection.
You invest in data lakes, proprietary models, and enterprise-wide enablement.
Execution focus: Enterprise data integration, secure modular architecture, deep governance systems, and broad organizational transformation.
Watch out: High investment needs clarity on ROI, change management, and technical maturity.
Key takeaway
There’s no “best” persona, only what best fits your goals, risk appetite, and capabilities. But strategy without execution is theater. Ground your archetype in five pillars: data, architecture, governance, readiness, and skills. That’s how GenAI becomes not just a tool but a transformation.
Authors
Related
Hacking Digital 4: How to work across silos
Working in silos is one of the biggest obstacles to digital success. The key to real digital transformation is to align the various business units in the organization. Here’s how to avoid...
Hacking Digital 3: How to develop digital skills within your organization
Learning new digital tools, technologies, and business models presents both short-term and longer-term challenges. Here’s a quick guide to the essentials of getting your people up to speed and beyond....
Hacking Digital 2: How to make the CDO role a success
The tenure of a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is relatively short due to a variety of factors. To avoid costly mistakes, design the role around the four key actions below - but...
Learn Brain Circuits
Join us for daily exercises focusing on issues from team building to developing an actionable sustainability plan to personal development. Go on - they only take five minutes.
Explore Leadership
What makes a great leader? Do you need charisma? How do you inspire your team? Our experts offer actionable insights through first-person narratives, behind-the-scenes interviews and The Help Desk.
Join Membership
Log in here to join in the conversation with the I by IMD community. Your subscription grants you access to the quarterly magazine plus daily articles, videos, podcasts and learning exercises.