How to build a sustainable AI roadmap


This week: Using AI is not the same as deploying it across an organization. Don't let the hype and the (alleged) complexity of AI stymie you. Building an AI roadmap starts with mapping out your business strategy.

Hi Reader

In case we haven't met, I'm Monica. And I'm a woman with a plan. I love planning. I write about it a lot on my blog. I very much enjoy mapping out a strategy: defining where a business is going and more importantly how they plan to get there.

I've written nearly a thousand plans over my career. Business plans. Pitch decks. RFPs. Confidential information memos.

These plans — what I call the "money docs" — have led to nearly a quarter of a billion dollars raised across my entire client portfolio. These money docs all have one thing in common. Start by defining what the customer or buyer or funder wants and building a strong narrative that fulfills that need in a way that is uniquely yours.

Which means I'm always on the lookout for the "edge" my clients bring to the table. Defining that "edge" is one thing that AI doesn't do well. AI loves driving to the middle of the road. Pattern matching across the most common denominator.

So if you're looking to build sustainable success with your AI strategy, you need to define your edge. Feed it to AI and demand it does a better job of keeping your edge at the forefront.

This week, I'm breaking down my three-phase Sustainable AI Roadmap and how to make sure your AI Roadmap starts with your competitive edge.

Monica

PS: Want to talk about what an AI Roadmap looks like for your organization? Schedule a free Vision Call. No obligation, just great conversation. [Schedule Your Free Vision Call ->]

The AI Advantage: A Sustainable AI Roadmap

AI is moving fast—faster than most businesses can keep up with. Every week brings another “must-have” tool, another “smarter-than-ever” breakthrough, and another promise to save you hours of work. Ironically, many business owners are spending all that “time savings” trying to figure out which AI tool they’re supposed to use next.

The companies seeing real results aren’t winning because they found the perfect AI tool. They’re winning because they have a roadmap—and that roadmap starts with their business plan, not their software stack.

What I'm Reading

🔵 Could one person build the next billion dollar company? — OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman believes there’s nothing stopping single-person companies from turning into billion-dollar businesses. [LinkedIn News]

🟢 Open AI's hacking debacle comes down to human error — Many researchers have concluded that rather than elucidating AI’s next frontier, the episode simply highlighted long-standing cybersecurity problems that are more consequential than ever in the AI age.. [Wired]

🔴 LinkedIn adds new ‘Seems Like AI Slop’ button to report all the AI slop — Everyone's doing it. No one likes it. The new feature comes as slop takes over not just LinkedIn but pretty much the entire social media ecosystem, The LinkedIn team says they have already blocked billions of AI-generated posts and comments in just the last couple of months alone. [Gizmodo]

My Upcoming Events

New Mexico Business Growth Summit
Let's meet in-person as I moderate the AI panel during SCORE's Business Growth Summit.
Aug. 6, 2026 | 7:30 a.m. | SCORE | In-person event; $45
[Register]

Brand Refresh
I'm pinch hitting for another SCORE member for this webinar. Although the subject is Brand Refresh, I'll also be talking about building the edge for your business brand (and how to create your first Knowledge Base), so you get better AI results.
Aug. 18, 2026 | noon | SCORE | Webinar
[Register]

Work with Me

💸 Work with Me — Ready to dive in, upskill your team, or just figure out if this whole "AI thing" is right for you? Let's talk about how AI fits into your business strategy.

🎤 Hire Me to Speak or Train — My presentations are largely built around one theme: How to use AI to accelerate your Unfair Advantage. Each session is audience-specific, customizable, and built to give you and your employees strategic skills you can put to work immediately.

The Great Coffee Date — I'm exploring 50 of Albuquerque's finest coffee shops in 2026 — talking to real humans about AI, what's working, and what's not. Want to join me? Not in Albuquerque? Virtual coffee works too. No sales pitch. Just great conversation.