At the National Grain and Feed Association Convention in Nashville, AI was everywhere. It came up in opening and closing sessions, in committee meetings, in the conversations happening between sessions in the hallways. I walked away thinking: AI is the theme of the year.
Not because it's new, but because organizations are finally asking the harder question — not "what is it?" but "what do we actually do with it?" That's the conversation we want to have.
You need both the strategy and the skill
We talk a lot about this with our clients: for something to truly be effective in an organization, you need both the strategy and structure to support it and the individual skill to execute it. AI is no different.
The skill — or individual capacity — is about equipping your team to use AI tools effectively day-to-day: drafting communications, summarizing reports, researching questions. Most organizations we talk to are focused here, and that's a good start. Nearly every technology adoption in history began with individuals figuring it out before organizations formally embraced it.
The strategy is about connecting AI use to where your business is trying to go — defining the direction and making intentional decisions about how to get there. This is where most organizations haven't gotten yet.
You need both. Individual skill without strategic direction produces scattered, inconsistent results. Strategy without skill is all talk and no action. The maximum return comes when skilled people are using AI well and that effort is pointed at something that matters to the business.
The most important reframe: AI is not the strategy
Here's the piece that tends to get lost: AI is not the strategy. AI is a tool to achieve the strategy.
Think about drones. No one's strategy is to "implement drones." The strategy is to reduce operational risk, lower costs, or improve efficiency. Drones are a tool to get there. Mergers and acquisitions work the same way — the strategy isn't "to acquire," it's to grow or create efficiencies.
AI is no different.
The risk of falling in love with the solution (like AI) before defining the problem (where you want to go) is that you end up chasing the technology instead of your goals. Just because we can do it doesn't mean we should — and whether we should is entirely defined by whether it advances the strategy.
When we asked webinar attendees to name their actual business goals, the answers were strong: operational efficiency, reducing risk, deeper customer relationships, growth. Those are strategies. AI is one of the tools to get there.
Where to focus next
If you're building individual capacity, your next step is likely one of these:
- Define what AI should and shouldn't be used for in your organization
- Build structure around approved tools and safe practices
- Find your people who are already using it well and get them sharing
If you're ready to think strategically, start here:
- Get crystal clear on your strategy — specific enough that someone two levels below you could articulate it
- Ask honestly: where can AI most directly support that strategy?
One caution: AI has an inherent tendency to affirm what you put into it. Without intentional prompting, you risk creating an echo chamber. Push back on it — What am I missing? What's a different perspective? What are the risks I haven't considered?
The bottom line
The goal isn't to have a plan for AI. The goal is to have a plan for your business — and then figure out how AI can help you get there faster.
Start with the strategy. Then ask what AI can do to support it.
People Spark Consulting partners with agricultural businesses to develop leaders and build organizational alignment. Subscribe to the Ag Leader's Edge newsletter or tune in to the People Spark Podcast for more.
