Before You Write an AI Strategy, Ask This Question: How Will Work Get Done?

If you’re a business owner, you’re probably tired of hearing some version of the same question right now: “What is your AI strategy?”

It often feels like you only have two choices: rush to buy a tool and hope your team figures it out, or hold off until the dust settles and the technology feels less noisy.

Neither is a strategy.

The better question to ask is this: How will work get done in your business as people and AI begin working alongside one another?

That may sound like a small distinction, but it changes the entire conversation. AI is moving at lightning speed, but businesses are still trying to solve the same core human problems: helping employees do meaningful work, giving managers the information they need, serving customers well, and building an organization people actually want to be part of.

Technology should not distract leaders from those priorities. It should help them meet them. The question is not which app is newest or which vendor makes the biggest promise. The question is whether the technology helps your people solve problems, make better decisions, and spend more time on the work that matters most.

That is the key idea behind Workforce Intelligence, a people-first approach developed by OneDigital Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Mike Sullivan and Chief Product Officer Vinay Gidwaney. 

In their new book, Workforce Intelligence: The People-First Playbook for Leading Your Company Through AI Transformation, they make the case that AI is not simply a technology issue. It is a workforce and leadership issue: how human talent and AI capability can work together to make the business stronger.

“We don’t see headcount when it comes to our people. We see faces.”

— Mike Sullivan, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, OneDigital

For small businesses, your advantage has never been having the biggest technology budget. It has been the judgment, relationships, adaptability, and local knowledge of your people. The right use of AI should strengthen those advantages, not erase them.

Stop Treating AI Like a Technology Purchase

Most AI conversations start in the wrong place: Which tool should we buy?

That is understandable. AI vendors are everywhere, each promising a faster, cheaper, more automated version of your business. But technology doesn’t create value on its own. The work itself does.

Before selecting a tool, leaders need to understand where time is being spent, which activities require real human judgment, and where repetitive work is getting in the way of stellar client service. That is a workforce conversation first and a technology decision second.

Consider a small professional-services firm. Your team may spend too much time summarizing meetings, searching for past client information, drafting standard communications, reconciling data, or chasing routine approvals. Those may be good places to explore AI assistance because the work is repeatable and time-consuming. They are absolutely not good reasons to remove the human being who understands the client, spots nuance, makes the final decision, and owns the relationship.

The goal is not to replace the person. The goal is to free up more of that person’s capacity for the work that creates real value.

Think of AI as a Coworker, Not a Shortcut

One of the most useful reframes from Mike and Vinay’s work is to think about AI as talent you are bringing into the organization.

That does not mean pretending a tool is a person. It means applying the same discipline you would use before adding anyone to the team. What job is this AI capability being asked to do? What information does it need? Who is accountable for its output? Where must a human review or make the final call?

This way of thinking produces sharper, smarter decisions.

AI can organize information, surface patterns, create first drafts, summarize a long document, and reduce routine administrative work. It should not be the final decision-maker on sensitive employee matters, client commitments, performance issues, discipline, compensation, or other choices that require context and accountability.

A simple rule of thumb: Automate repetition, not responsibility.

The Human Work Becomes More Important, Not Less

The anxiety around AI is completely understandable. Change brings uncertainty, particularly when the conversation is framed only around efficiency and cost reduction.

But the businesses that get this right won’t simply do the same work with fewer people. They will invest more intentionally in the work people do best: solving complicated problems, building trust, coaching others, making sound judgment calls, and creating better client experiences.

That makes leadership more important than ever. Employees need to understand why a new tool is being introduced, what will change, what won’t change, and how they will be supported. Managers need room to ask questions, develop their own fluency, and help their teams experiment without implying that the technology is there to make people obsolete.

This is the practical meaning of a people-first approach. It is not a slogan. It is an operating choice.

Four Questions to Ask to Get Started

You do not need a large innovation team or a company-wide transformation plan to start thinking more strategically about AI. You do need an intentional process.

Start with these four questions:

Starting small does not mean thinking small. A focused pilot gives you evidence, confidence, and employee feedback before you make bigger commitments.

Why HR Needs a Seat at the Table

AI adoption cannot sit solely with IT, operations, or finance. It changes jobs, expectations, skills, workflows, and trust. Those are undeniably people issues.

HR should be part of the conversation from the start. HR can help leaders think through training needs, job redesign, communication, policy, data privacy, and the employee experience of the change itself.

For many small businesses, though, internal HR capacity is already consumed by payroll, benefits administration, compliance tasks, employee questions, and day-to-day firefighting. When administrative work takes over, there is little time left for the strategic conversations that prepare a business for what is next.

That is one reason HR outsourcing can be more than an administrative convenience. When payroll, compliance, benefits, and HR administration are supported by the right team and systems, business leaders have more room to focus on strategic questions: How should roles evolve? What skills will our managers need? Where can technology help our people serve clients better?

The Opportunity Is to Build a Better Business

No one has every answer about where AI will take the workplace. But waiting for perfect clarity is not a plan either.

The businesses that will be best positioned are not necessarily the ones that move the fastest or buy the most technology. They will be the ones that learn how to combine capable people, smart processes, and useful technology in a way that improves both the employee experience and the client experience.

That is the real opportunity behind Workforce Intelligence. It is not about replacing the human side of business. It is about making it more valuable.

Join the Conversation

On Wednesday, September 16 at 2:00 pm ET, Mike Sullivan and Vinay Gidwaney will lead a OneDigital webinar, “What AI Changes First: A People-First Playbook for Leading Your Organization Through AI Transformation.” The session will explore how leaders can treat AI as talent rather than just technology, activate managers to lead change, build a blended workforce with clear ownership, and prioritize human amplification over simple cost reduction.

At Focus HR, now powered by OneDigital, we help growing businesses build the HR foundation for change, from practical people policies and compliance support to the systems and strategy that let leaders focus on the future of work.

Want to explore what a people-first approach to AI could look like in your business? Contact Focus HR to start the conversation.

Clint Parry, MBA, SHRM-SCP is a Senior Business Consultant at Focus HR, now powered by OneDigital. Based in Arizona, Clint works with growing companies to help them turn HR from an administrative burden into a strategic advantage.