The Instruments  /  The Question Sets  /  Before the journey

Before the journey: the board’s decision scan

Thirteen questions across six dimensions, from Issue Two of the Letter. They are not a scorecard — they are conversation generators: the intent is never a simple yes-or-no, because the real insight and value live in the conversations, not in the questions.

Strategic · ambition · technology
If we had to name the AI-native business opportunity we would pursue first, what would it be?
Name the competitor we are most worried about on AI.
Which two or three of our products or lines are most exposed to AI in the next two years?
Ownership & talent
If we had to name two or three AI champions to join this transformation, who are they?
Who would lead the AI-native business initiative?
Who on this board or executive team could genuinely own this — not sponsor it, own it?
Risk, legal & regulatory
Who, by name, is tuned in with our regulator on the changes being driven for and by AI?
Can we name a moment when our risk or compliance team found a way to yes on something hard?
Investment
Name two currently budgeted initiatives we would stop or suspend to fund this.
What is the largest cheque this board would write for AI before demanding to see a return — and over how long?
People
If we told our people tomorrow that this was beginning, what is the first question they would ask?
Name the part of the organisation most likely to resist this — and why.
Foundational · the enabler under all of it
Can anyone point to one decision last quarter where we had the clean, governed data we needed, in time?

Where the answers come easily and the room agrees, the organisation is standing on firm ground. Where they are difficult, or the room diverges, that is even more valuable — those are precisely the questions to carry into the deeper readiness study. Add any others you think belong on the list.

Each of the six dimensions is reasoned through in Issue Two of the Letter — Before the Journey: How a Board Decides on AI. For a board or executive team, the Senior Team Briefing runs this conversation live; the session is complimentary.

From The Instruments at bharatravuri.com — the frameworks are open; the value is what’s brought into the room. Free to print, forward, and table. — Bharat Ravuri, The Practitioner Thinker.
All question sets
An invitation

If any of this meets where you are, I would welcome the conversation.

No intake process, no gatekeeper. A note reaches me directly, and I reply myself — usually within a day or two.

This comes straight to my inbox. I read every note personally and reply myself — not a team, not an auto-responder.

Message received

Thank you — your note has reached me.

It comes straight to my inbox, and I reply personally — usually within a day or two. I look forward to the conversation.

Or reach me directly
Mobile
Call or message — India (IST)