Originally published in The Pulse newsletter — join below for future editions.
Welcome to the 54th edition of The Pulse, your bi-weekly newsletter of Insights for Strategy Leaders. Elate is an AI-powered strategy execution platform that helps strategy leaders align teams, execute plans, and see real results without the chaos of disconnected tools.
In this edition:
- How Strategy Leaders Are Redefining ROI in the Age of AI
- Register for 11/20: Avoiding the Biggest Mistakes in 2026 Strategy Execution
Read time: 7 minutes
How Strategy Leaders Are Redefining ROI in the Age of AI
While it feels like a lifetime ago, it's been nearly three weeks since our public launch of Strategy Advisor.
My goodness has it been a whirlwind.
In addition to the biggest launch in Elate’s seven-year history, one that shifted us from a traditional software company to a domain-specific AI platform, we released our brand video, updated the website, and wrapped up a three-part thought leadership series on the emergence of AI for Strategy Leaders.
Internally, we’ve done our best to live out one of our company values: Celebrate the Wins. Externally, we’ve seen a tidal wave of interest from prospects and customers alike.
It’s been an exciting season for us as a company, and one that I’m incredibly proud to be part of at Elate.
INSIGHT: The Curiosity Around AI and Measuring Impact
Yet, amidst all the buzz, what’s stood out most over the past few weeks is the groundswell of curiosity from Strategy Leaders who simply want to understand how AI can fit into their day-to-day.
And while that reaction shouldn’t be surprising, I was still taken aback.
We are living through a true shift in the way work is done, and in the impact AI is having on our roles as Leaders.
For many organizations, the curiosity is present, but the application is lacking.
We’re all trying to wrap our heads around what AI is capable of and, more importantly, how it creates impact for our organizations.
In fact, the number one question I’ve received since launch is:
“Does Strategy Advisor help organizations better track ROI and the impact of internal Objectives?”
The short answer: yes.
But rather than give my very biased opinion of Strategy Advisor’s impact, I want to explore why that question is so prevalent for Strategy and Operations Leaders today, and more importantly, what we can do to better measure outcomes over outputs.
APPLICATION: Asking Better Questions to Measure Outcomes
Last week I wrote about how AI is shifting expectations within organizations. And by shifting, I mean increasing expectations.
As I shared:
Executives are being asked by Board Members how they are implementing AI to save time and increase efficiency. In turn, those same Executives are operating with an expectation that their teams are researching and testing new AI tools that can unlock more of their time.
These elevated expectations in efficiency mean that standards for results will soon follow.
As professionals, we’re being asked to do more, with more precision, than ever before.
One of the best ways to maximize efficiency is by saying yes to the right things and no (or not now) to the rest.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to results. But for most organizations, hindsight is a subjective narrative, not an objectively measured result.
Many of the organizations we partner with struggle with priority fatigue, tech debt, or a backlog of initiatives and don’t know where to start.
Despite heavy investment in new products, features, or initiatives driven by Sales and Account Management, results are rarely measured.
One of the biggest blind spots we see is the inability to discern when to say yes, no, or not now based on a quantifiable outcome.
For example, if a team spends ten weeks building a new product feature, the obvious question is ‘why’?
Most can answer that. Maybe it’s, “This feature will allow us to sell into more Fortune 500 organizations.” That’s great, but let’s go deeper: Why will this feature enable that? And how will we define success?
These simple yet overlooked questions define the structure and rigor of how an organization plans, and more importantly, executes its strategy.
We don’t necessarily need AI to track ROI better. Often, we just need to ask better questions up front that define an Objective and its measurable outcomes.
That said, AI can help us create better Objectives, provide context, and collaborate more effectively across teams. It can also help team members define and refine outcomes, which is one of the most common sticking points we see.
AI brings a clear, objective lens to every part of the process.
THE SHIFT: AI as a Thought Partner in Strategy
Strategy Advisor was built to help organizations bring more guidance and structure to how strategies are built and executed.
We want to serve as an extra set of eyes. A thought partner that pressure-tests your strategy, surfaces risks, identifies overcapacity, and connects the dots across departments.
But as Strategy Leaders, we often want more than that.
We want a sounding board that helps us answer, “Is this the right thing to focus on with our resources?”
Candidly, this goes deeper than simply setting a solid Objective and tracking results.
But it starts there.
When we begin with a consistent framework that clearly outlines and captures the results of Objectives, we can start to train AI on what to look for in the future.
Like any AI prompt, the more detail and structure we provide, the better the result.
For example, if we want to know, “What impact will this Objective have versus that one?”... we can leverage AI to evaluate the tradeoffs, provided it has the right context.
By consistently building, tracking, and reporting Objectives, we empower AI to guide us based on past performance.
It’s more than comparing outcome X vs. outcome Y. It’s evaluating overall feasibility, resource tradeoffs, and alignment with strategic priorities.
Imagine loading your past performance data, strategic plans, and KPIs into a single source that learns and identifies trends over time.
This is quickly becoming reality for organizations investing in AI today. And the acceleration curve is coming faster than expected.
CLOSING REFLECTION: A New Era of Strategy
AI is reshaping countless roles and disciplines.
Strategy is not immune. And that’s a good thing.
This new era of strategy may be the most exciting yet.
AI as a thought partner that helps evaluate investments, prioritize Objectives, and maximize teams is quickly becoming the norm for leading Strategy and Operations teams.
At Elate, we believe the ROI conversation should focus on three principles:
- Define success for each Objective and measure it.
- Leverage structure to learn and evolve with the partnership of AI.
- Embrace AI as a thought partner that understands your organization and your strategy.
As with any AI platform, outputs are only as good as the inputs.
But when we set a foundation that accelerates how AI learns about our business and provides guidance, our teams will be the beneficiaries.
Here at Elate, that’s our primary focus.
If you’re rethinking how your team defines and measures impact, we’d love to show you how Strategy Advisor helps you do just that.
Have a great weekend,
- Brooks
Join us on Thursday, November 20th!
As 2026 planning ramps up, many teams are realizing that creating a great strategy is only half the battle — executing it with clarity and discipline is where the real work begins.
Join Abby Parker and Shannon Keedy for a practical conversation on how leading organizations are avoiding the most common pitfalls in strategic planning and keeping teams aligned, adaptable, and accountable throughout the year.
Learn more + reserve your spot here
