Start AI ROI Calculations with a Clear Enterprise Strategy

Strategy Over Tactics Drives ROI

The Forrester blog notes that most ROI questions come from IT, which bears the cost of AI credits and token usage. The post identifies a strategy gap: firms often lack clarity on why they invest, where value should appear, and how to measure it. Without that, IT is left proving marginal gains like faster email drafting, which rarely surface on the P&L.

Three-Part Model Aligns Vision, Action, and Governance

The report proposes a three-part model. First, a vision articulates concrete business outcomes—CITGO’s CEO helped write his company’s AI strategy, spelling out KPI targets to reduce cost per barrel, boost output, and improve safety. Second, an action plan narrows hundreds of use cases to a handful of “big bets,” as PepsiCo did with four or five core initiatives. Third, principles and policies force leaders to decide trade-offs, funding sources, and skill expectations; most firms skip this step.

CEO Ownership Is the Glue

The blog emphasizes that only the CEO can bind the three components. At Bank of New York, CEO Robin Vince drove the vision that took the bank from a common AI platform to AI agents it calls digital employees. With the CEO in charge, a CIO has the incentive to prioritize data and AI readiness for the CMO’s growth ambitions, and a chief AI officer no longer spends the day refereeing executives who do not report to them.

Value Matrix Sets the Scale of Ambition

The Forrester AI Value Matrix maps value across a 3 × 3 grid of nine types, spanning productivity (quick wins), engagement (longer-term customer impact), and transformation (slow, high-payoff changes).

Our read: The article’s strength lies in coupling strategic clarity with a concrete measurement framework, showing that ROI is a function of disciplined vision, executive sponsorship, and a calibrated value ambition.