MAINSTREET CHAMPIONS PT. 5
One of my fondest memories growing up in the US was taking family road trips squeezed into the back of my dad’s green 1999 Honda CR-V, long before Google Maps became a thing. My three siblings and I would sit in the back, constantly trying to figure out how to share limited space. Two of us would sit upright, awake and alert, while the other two leaned back trying to nap, rotating shifts as we traveled. The highlight of every journey was navigating using printed MapQuest directions, since my parents couldn’t afford a Garmin GPS. Each kid had their own copy - except my little sister, who was too young to read or follow along - and we'd take turns guiding dad until someone inevitably missed the critical exit. Suddenly, the car erupted into playful chaos, with everyone playing expert navigator, shouting directions, opinions flying in every direction until we eventually got back on track. Technology later improved, making our trips easier, but I will always treasure the laughter, excitement, and pure joy of those fun, chaotic MapQuest moments. Looking back now, I realize those trips taught me something powerful: no matter how advanced technology becomes, nothing beats having a clearly defined roadmap; it’s the only way to maximize your chances of successfully navigating from where you are to where you want to be.
This is an important lesson for small businesses in today’s AI age. With so many exciting tools emerging every day, it’s easy to jump right in without having a clear roadmap for navigating your implementation journey. In a previous blog post, we talked about defining your strategic priorities - essentially, knowing exactly where you want AI to take your business - but it's equally important to recognize that every business starts from a different point on their AI journey. To successfully leverage AI, businesses must first clearly establish where they currently stand, prioritize opportunities using the 4S-3R framework we've discussed in part 4 of the Mainstreet Champions series, define the scope and complexity of the opportunities, and focus efforts on opportunities where resources have already been allocated or can be committed.
Starting Point
Businesses begin their AI automation journey at different stages. Those with little to no experience should start with simple, low-risk tasks that provide quick wins and valuable learnings, laying the foundation for scaling AI across more critical operations. Automating low risk but repetitive tasks help build confidence and refine implementation strategies before tackling more complex processes. On the other hand, businesses with a more mature AI adoption strategy can move directly into end-to-end process automation or even full operational AI integration, accelerating efficiency and unlocking greater competitive advantages.
Build The Roadmap
Once a business has identified its starting point, it is time to build a road map for implementation. A road map for AI implementation is simply a prioritized and actionable implementation plan that provides an ordered sequence to guide the company on what opportunities to target and in what order. To create this implementation plan, businesses should follow three steps.
1. Prioritize opportunities using the 4S-3R framework
As discussed last week, businesses should evaluate opportunities based on two key dimensions: impact and effort and create a prioritization matrix following the steps laid out here. Each opportunity should then be ranked with quick wins ranked first, low handing fruits ranked second and strategic objectives ranked third
2. Categorize the scope of each opportunity
Businesses should classify each opportunity according to their automation scope. There are three different potential automation scopes namely, task, process, or full operational automation.
Task Automation targets individual, repetitive tasks, offering quick, easily achievable efficiency gains.
Process Automation connects multiple tasks into streamlined workflows, providing greater impact and efficiency than automating isolated tasks.
Operational Automation integrates various processes and systems across the entire organization, creating significant long-term strategic improvements but requiring more substantial effort and planning.
Each opportunity should then be ranked for AI implementation based on its scope with task automation ranked first, process automation ranked second and full operational automation ranked last.
3. Identify opportunities where resources are already allocated
After prioritizing and categorizing the scope of each opportunity and creating a ranked list, businesses should identify opportunities where resources are already allocated or can be allocated to target the opportunity. Opportunities with resource allocation should be ranked higher in the AI roadmap implementation plan.
This structured approach ensures businesses create a roadmap and execute AI adoption in a way that is practical, scalable, and ROI-driven.
Accounting Firm Case Study
Continuing with the case study from our last blog post, the accounting firm we worked with faced three key challenges: manual data transfers causing workflow delays, data entry errors leading to inefficiencies, and a lack of system integration fragmenting operations. To create a structured AI implementation roadmap, we evaluated each opportunity across three dimensions: impact vs. effort (4S-3R framework), automation scope (task, process, or operational automation), and resource allocation. After scoring each opportunity, we layered these rankings into a final roadmap (Table 1).
The results showed that automating manual data transfers ranked as the top priority—a quick win that falls under task automation with existing resources already allocated, making it the first AI initiative to implement. Data entry automation, while also high impact, required additional resources and was ranked second. Meanwhile, full system integration, though valuable, required significant effort and no allocated resources, making it a long-term strategic objective to complete as the last step on the road map.
Small businesses that create a clear roadmap for AI implementation have a better chance of driving success and getting the most ROI from adopting AI within their organization. In the following weeks, we will discuss how to select the right tools and measure impact for your AI initiatives.
THIS WEEK ON MAINSTREET
📰Mainstreet Minute:
No major developments to report this week. We'll be back with fresh insights in our next update.
📌Quick Win Tip:
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