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How does your business respond to emerging problems or changes in the industry? Some companies are reactive, only responding when things change or go wrong. However, a better approach is to be more proactive by analyzing industry trends, identifying potential threats, and safeguarding against issues that could arise. While you can’t predict everything, this puts you in a much better position to succeed.&nbsp;How an organization reacts can help determine the maturity level of your <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategic-management">strategic management</a> process. As strategic planning matures in an organization, it tends to become more thorough and proactive. Let’s look deeper at the strategy management maturity model to see how you can implement it into your strategic planning initiatives.&nbsp;

A strategy management maturity model is a structured framework that assesses how well an organization manages its strategy development and strategy related functions.&nbsp;It measures how mature and developed an organization's processes are, ranging from informal and reactive strategies to optimized, proactive ones. Maturity models help organizations standardize their strategy management processes and drive continuous improvement.<a href="https://quantive.com/lp/strategy-maturity-scorecard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1731069469/site-v5/Asses_the_health_of_your_strategy_9d83270df3.svg" alt="Asses the health of your strategy with scorecard"></a>The IT strategy maturity model is a great example of how organizations implement this tool to ensure their IT infrastructure is aligned with business goals. This model evaluates how IT departments evolve through structured, managed processes to support overall company growth.&nbsp;For example, the IT strategy maturity model can help monitor emerging technologies and assess their impact on operations and customers. By evaluating innovations like cloud computing or AI, organizations can proactively adopt solutions that enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. This helps align tech investments with long-term strategic goals.Many other industries can also benefit from using the management maturity model. For example, healthcare organizations can use it to assess the effectiveness of patient care processes, and retail organizations can use it to assess inventory management strategies.&nbsp;

To help you determine your business's maturity level, you can measure strategic maturity based on five levels that are the most common places where companies land. As you move through the maturity levels, your business becomes more proactive and strategically sound.&nbsp;<ol><li>Initial: At this level, processes are ad hoc and reactive, with little formal structure.</li><li>Repeatable: Basic processes are in place, and operations are consistent, but there is still room for refinement.</li><li>Defined:&nbsp;Processes are standardized and documented, making them more reliable and scalable.</li><li>Managed: The organization actively measures and controls processes, ensuring better alignment with strategic goals.</li><li>Optimized:&nbsp;Continuous improvement is ingrained, and the company is agile, responding proactively to changes.&nbsp;</li></ol>Building on the five levels of maturity modeling, <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/always-on-strategy">Quantive’s Always-On Strategy</a> model offers a flexible approach that continuously adapts to business needs. Rather than static, long-term plans, this model enables real-time adjustments through ongoing data analysis.&nbsp;The Always-On Strategy helps companies stay agile by emphasizing continuous feedback and real-time performance tracking. As businesses mature, this model helps teams adjust quickly while ensuring their efforts still align with broader objectives.

Using a maturity model is as simple as these four steps:<ol><li>Assessment of the current maturity level: Conduct an internal evaluation to determine your organization's current maturity level regarding strategy execution and planning. This step involves identifying strengths, weaknesses, and process gaps.</li><li>Set realistic goals based on the model: Once the current level is assessed, set clear, achievable goals. For example, if your organization is in the initial stage, the next step could be standardizing processes to create a repeatable strategy framework.</li><li>Implement changes incrementally: Use the insights gained from the assessment to make gradual improvements. Focusing on incremental growth allows for a smoother transition to higher maturity levels.</li><li>Monitor progress and benefits: Monitor how these changes impact your strategic outcomes. Maturity models help identify inefficiencies early on and guide timely corrective action.</li></ol><h3>A Real-World Example of Using a Strategy Management Maturity Model</h3>As the automotive industry is shifting toward electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and new mobility solutions, General Motors (GM) recognized the need to adapt and strengthen its long-term strategic outlook.GM evaluated its current capabilities using the strategic maturity model and identified key gaps in its production workflows and strategy execution. This analysis led the company to invest more in electric vehicle (EV) technologies and innovations like its airless wheel prototype, which aligned with GM’s vision of a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.&nbsp;As part of this strategic evolution, GM implemented more structured, consistent processes, moving from reactive problem-solving to a more proactive, forward-looking approach.Through the model, GM was able to standardize operations across its global facilities, optimize its research and development initiatives, and enhance collaboration between teams, all while ensuring alignment with the company’s larger corporate goals. This enabled GM to streamline its production workflows and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing industry.Recently, in Q2 of 2024, GM reported its&nbsp;<a href="https://investor.gm.com/news-releases/news-release-details/us-q2-and-first-half-sales-growing-evs-pulling-ahead-trucks-and/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">best quarterly sales in over three years</a>, including a 40% increase in electric vehicle deliveries, showing that its efforts are moving in the right direction.&nbsp;

A strategic management maturity model is essential for evaluating and improving how organizations execute and manage business plans. By assessing current maturity levels and setting clear goals for improvement, companies can enhance their strategic processes and drive continuous growth.Applying the maturity model in real-world scenarios starts with regular self-assessment and continuous improvements based on feedback. As businesses strive to stay agile in a fast-paced market, these models will continue to play a critical role in maintaining competitiveness.&nbsp;You can also use tools to help manage this process, such as <a href="https://quantive.com/products/strategyai">Quantive StrategyAI</a>, which provides real-time insights and data-driven strategies, helping organizations easily progress through the maturity levels.

With <a href="https://quantive.com/products/strategyai">Quantive’s StrategyAI</a>, your organization can assess its strategic maturity and take actionable steps to improve. From evaluating current capabilities to optimizing processes, Quantive offers data-driven tools to help you elevate your strategy management.&nbsp;Want to assess your strategy maturity?<a href="https://quantive.com/lp/strategy-maturity-scorecard"> Download this scorecard now</a>.Ready to enhance your organization's strategic maturity? <a href="https://quantive.com/">Contact us today</a> to learn more about how Quantive StrategyAI can support your continuous improvement journey.

Unlocking Business Potential: The Power of Strategic Analysis

What is a Strategy Management Maturity Model and How to Use It?

When crafting your <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/business-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">business strategy</a>, it’s only natural to want to plan way ahead, spending significant amounts of time fine-lining the details of your upcoming annual plan.&nbsp;&nbsp;But to what extent is this annual plan actually reliable, directive, and applicable?&nbsp;Sometimes, the longer you spend <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategic-planning-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">planning your strategy</a> and the longer you try to apply it, the less successful it will likely be. This rings particularly true in <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/business-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">today’s market dynamics</a>, where strategies that would’ve led you to success six months ago may ultimately hinder you today.&nbsp;&nbsp;To thrive, businesses must combine past and present data to better understand their business direction. Combining this data with trends and simulating scenarios helps them anticipate possible futures and create a fruitful, ever-evolving strategy that adapts to threats, opportunities, and changes brought on by internal and external forces.&nbsp;&nbsp;But this is no easy feat — especially when <a href="https://info.quantive.com/hubfs/Quantive%20Guides/Global-State-of-Strategy-by-Quantive.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">traditional methods for strategy formulation</a> are at play. Not only do these take time and effort, but by the time you’ve finalized your strategy, the facts have already changed, rendering it outdated.&nbsp;So, how do you keep your business strategy ahead? By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in business strategy.&nbsp;In this article, we’ll uncover the power of AI for creating and evolving your business strategy. We’ll highlight its ability to keep you competitive by <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/organizational-alignment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aligning your business </a>strategy with the broader environment.&nbsp;But before we highlight how AI can augment your business strategy, let’s discuss the typical struggles that make developing, executing, and evaluating traditional annual strategies cumbersome.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h3>Frustration from yearly cycles</h3>A strategy created ahead of time and applicable for an entire year is either outdated, too rigid, slow to respond to market changes, or completely missing the mark. This is because traditional yearly strategic cycles likely base decisions on predictions, internal evolutions, trends, customer preferences, and market changes — most of which may be directionally correct, but almost all of which will deviate, some of them wildly due to unforeseeable (yet hugely impactful) events.&nbsp;<blockquote>“If you're wrong about anything in your annual plan, you're probably already too late to fix it.”&nbsp;– David Brussin, Founder and Executive Chairman, Monetate&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>Misalignment between internal motions and external environment</h3>Given the inherent lag between strategy development and execution with annual planning, businesses face stark disconnects between what they’re doing and how suitable it is to their external environment — be that due to sudden competitive forces, regulatory changes, or <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/digital-transformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">technological advancements</a>. This keeps them in constant catch-up, with an ever-present (or constantly widening) gap of missed opportunities and unaddressed threats.&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr>Read more about the <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategy-execution-gap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strategy execution gap</a><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategy-execution-gap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1672763481/site-v5/close_strategy_execution_gap_8de6ba8e73.png" alt="Overlapping, gapped squares with checkmarks to demonstrate how to close the strategy execution gap concept"></a></figure><hr><h3>Data silos, siloed thinking, and fragmentation</h3>Fragmented business data often results in two outcomes: Teams either spend a lot of time connecting the data dots or no time at all.&nbsp;If employees spend too much time in alignment meetings, sifting through incomplete datasets or scouring to find the correct data, they may end up wasting lot of time. Knowledge workers reported spending nearly <a href="https://venturebeat.com/data-infrastructure/report-data-silos-cause-employees-to-lose-12-hours-a-week-chasing-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">29%</a> of their week (11.6 hours) searching for crucial information — time that could’ve been better spent actually doing the work.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the second scenario, employees may be impartial to cross-functional alignment. In this case, the business may not act as one, with differing interpretations of outcomes leading to strategic disarray.&nbsp;<h3>Bias-prone human decision-making&nbsp;</h3>As much as we’d like to think experience trumps biases, human decision-making is prone to faulty judgments, swayed by biases and susceptible to subjective interpretations. Whether emotions, personal beliefs, external hierarchical structures, or power dynamics, these factors can distort strategic analyses, leading to suboptimal decisions.&nbsp;<h3>Ineffective performance measurement and evaluation&nbsp;</h3>A good strategic plan is ever-evolving. Cyclical feedback mechanisms inform, reflect, and direct strategic progress, while strategic adeptness accounts for changing circumstances. As such, ongoing strategic evaluation is vital.&nbsp;If business performance and goal progress are not measured constantly and appropriately, a business will struggle to see where its strategy is headed, what the likely outcomes are, and what it needs to do to improve the future state. Poor <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/okr-performance-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">performance measurement</a> is typically caused by:&nbsp;<ul><li>Outdated or irrelevant metrics capturing the wrong data for current business dynamics and goals&nbsp;</li><li>Strategic misalignment across objectives, resulting in disjointed efforts and conflicting priorities&nbsp;</li><li>Inflexible metrics keeping you at a standstill, unable to adapt to evolving business needs and market conditions&nbsp;</li><li>Improper data collection and analysis lead to skewed insights and misguided conclusions&nbsp;</li><li>Limited feedback inhibiting continuous improvement and necessary adjustments &nbsp;</li></ul>These pain points — outdated or irrelevant metrics, strategic misalignment, inflexible metrics, improper data collection and analysis, and limited feedback — if persistent, can’t just be shrugged off as a one-off bump in the road or a minor strategic mishap. One unaddressed pain point can affect all aspects of business strategy, from development and execution to evaluation.&nbsp;&nbsp;How effective is your current strategy? <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategy-failure" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spot major red flags of strategy failure here</a>.

AI has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, offering a wide range of applications for diverse business needs across industries, functions, and teams. From enhancing marketing engagement with personalization to improving financial security with prompt fraud detection, AI continues to revolutionize how businesses operate worldwide.&nbsp;&nbsp;And while its applications can extend to strategy development, execution, and evaluation, the use of AI in business strategy raises some questions.&nbsp;What are the benefits of implementing AI for business strategy? What challenges do businesses face when using AI in business strategy? How can companies effectively leverage AI to reach their desired outcomes?&nbsp;Let’s dive into these below.&nbsp;<h3>Benefits of AI for business strategy</h3>Using AI in business strategy can offer many advantages, empowering informed decision-making, risk anticipation, and efficient operations — all of which contribute to effective strategy development, execution, and evaluation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some key benefits of using AI in business strategy include:&nbsp;<ul><li>Enhancing decision-making by aligning business objectives with company capabilities, resources, and internal context using structured strategic frameworks&nbsp;</li><li>Enabling real-time analysis of large volumes of structured and unstructured data to uncover valuable insights&nbsp;</li><li>Predicting and assessing risks across specific contexts and strategic directions&nbsp;</li><li>Utilizing historical data and predictive analytics to inform future strategies and actions&nbsp;</li><li>Expediting the transformation of strategy documents and information into concise summaries or actionable plans, facilitating the translation of strategy into tangible results&nbsp;</li></ul><h3>Challenges of combining AI and business strategy</h3>While the benefits of AI are vast, businesses may be hesitant to implement AI. This hesitation is heightened when it comes to involving AI in business strategy — a core, fundamental aspect of business operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;The most prevalent challenges of implementing AI for business strategy are:&nbsp;<h4>Distrust and skepticism</h4>Distrust and skepticism surrounding AI arise from concerns around transparency and reliability. Unlike human-led decision-making, AI algorithms often operate as "black boxes” — it’s difficult for stakeholders to understand how decisions are reached. The rapid pace at which AI capabilities evolve — although beneficial — doesn’t help either. Businesses simply don’t understand what AI is truly capable of, fuelling fears of job displacement and loss of control over decision-making processes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<blockquote>"When executives think about strategy automation, many are looking too far ahead — at AI capabilities that would decide, in place of the business leader, what the right strategy is. They are missing opportunities to use AI in the building blocks of strategy that could significantly improve outcomes."&nbsp;&nbsp;– Yuval Atsmon, Senior Partner, McKinsey &amp; Company&nbsp;</blockquote><h4>Data quality</h4>The reliability and quality of strategic insights generated by AI heavily depends on the quality of the data they operate with. If the data is of poor quality — containing inaccuracies, inconsistencies, or biases — a business may create, refine, and execute strategies using flawed or unreliable insights, eroding trust in AI-enhanced strategies and potentially leading to costly errors.&nbsp;<h4>Insufficient skills and guidance</h4>Businesses may find using AI for business strategy challenging due to a lack of expertise, skills, or structured approaches. Employees skilled in machine learning, data science, and AI engineering are essential for maintaining AI solutions aligned with strategic goals. Without them, a business may not know where to start with leveraging AI. Moreover, the absence of frameworks integrating AI into strategic workflows often leaves businesses unsure about its applicability and sustainability within the company.&nbsp;

While the benefits of <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/what-is-the-best-ai-for-strategic-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AI for strategic management</a> and planning purposes are evident, the challenges that may arise leave businesses feeling doubtful. Overcoming these includes striking the right balance between human and tech-based decision-making.&nbsp;&nbsp;One way to do this is by consulting experts in strategy, AI, and technology. These specialists can guide you with incorporating AI into your strategy, ensuring its benefits are fully realized while minimizing risks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Within Quantive, we’ve created a team to focus on understanding, building upon, and leveraging AI technology for strategy optimization. This team focuses on experimenting to find the winning combination between technology and human intelligence to reach desired outcomes effectively.&nbsp;Need help making the most of AI in business strategy? Read more about <a href="https://quantive.com/okr-consulting-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Quantive's consulting services here</a>.&nbsp;For a unified integration of AI with business strategy, you can use an AI-enhanced strategy management platform — a <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategic-intelligence-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Strategic Intelligence Platform</a>. This solution enables the collaborative, unified application of AI at each stage of your strategy, overcoming the issue of siloed tech and data use that typically causes friction, delays, or bottlenecks across strategy management.&nbsp;With seamless integration and optimized decision-making, a <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategic-intelligence-platform-roi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Strategic Intelligence Platform can help drive financial growth</a>, unlocking hidden efficiencies and opportunities to make a real impact on your bottom line.At Quantive, we’ve made it our mission to make data-driven strategy management a competitive advantage for our customers. We’ve created Quantive StrategyAI as a dedicated solution integrating AI throughout the strategic management process. It informs strategic decision-making and outcomes at all levels of your organization, every step of the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><a href="https://quantive.com/products/strategyai" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">See how Quantive StrategyAI streamlines strategy development, execution, and evaluation</a><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1708936069/site-v5/Strategy_AI_4c725883c1.png" alt="StrategyAI graphic"></figure><hr>

Using AI in strategy empowers businesses to evolve from the traditional cadence of strategic decision-making to a continuous one that aligns seamlessly with the pace of business execution. This type of AI strategy entails a shift from slow, infrequent, and <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategic-planning-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">annual strategic planning</a> — a process typically perceived as complex, requiring thorough analysis, numerous decision frameworks, time-consuming collaboration, and astute stakeholder alignment.&nbsp;With AI-based connectivity and data-driven communication, strategic decision-making enters a new era. Decisions can be faster and more accurate, rooted in agility and responsiveness as opposed to the slow pause-reflect-decide-act approach typical with the traditional business strategy cadence.&nbsp;As a result, AI emerges as a powerful solution addressing the main pain points and challenges present in traditional strategy planning. Here’s how:&nbsp;<hr>Short on time? Check out this video summary<div class="raw-html-embed"><script src="https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/sv6tuae099.jsonp" async=""></script><script src="https://fast.wistia.com/assets/external/E-v1.js" async=""></script><div class="wistia_responsive_padding" style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><div class="wistia_responsive_wrapper" style="height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;"><div class="wistia_embed wistia_async_sv6tuae099 seo=true videoFoam=true" style="height:100%;position:relative;width:100%"><div class="wistia_swatch" style="height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;"><img src="https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/sv6tuae099/swatch" style="filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;" alt="" aria-hidden="true" onload="this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;"></div></div></div></div></div><hr><h3>Proactive optimization and agility</h3>AI-driven predictive analytics can help you understand your business’s direction, offering insights beyond those provided by traditional means. By discerning leading and lagging indicators within complex datasets and identifying anomalies that might bypass human observation, predictive analytics enables your business to face core issues head-on, accurately defining your path to success and simplifying data management.&nbsp;<h3>Risk mitigation and outcome prediction</h3>Scenario planning powered by AI's advanced algorithms and data analysis techniques can help mitigate unforeseen risks and forecast outcomes promptly. This empowers you to confidently — and quickly — navigate uncertainty with pre-emptive and responsive actions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Strategy and market alignment</h3>AI is a powerhouse in driving strategic adaptation, processing vast amounts of structured and unstructured data from diverse sources in real time, ranging from company documents to social media, news articles, and industry reports. This empowers you to pivot your strategies according to market needs, regulatory changes, and competitor actions to ensure alignment and stay ahead of the curve.&nbsp;<blockquote>"One of the challenges most strategists face is the overwhelming complexity of the world we operate in — the number of unknowns, the information overload... In reality, it [AI] can be a sharp knife that cuts through some of the clutter."&nbsp;– Yuval Atsmon, Senior Partner, McKinsey &amp; Company&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>Objective decision-making</h3>AI insights powered by information from your business's internal and external context can facilitate <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/ai-for-decision-making" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bias-free decision-making</a>. These recommendations can inform the next best steps and mitigate biases to enhance the quality of <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategy-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">business strategy development</a>, execution, and evaluation.&nbsp;<h3>Streamlined communication</h3>AI capabilities such as natural linguistic processing (NLP) and machine learning can help you interpret complex strategic concepts, breaking these into actionable steps according to each employee's role and responsibilities as they relate to business value. This bridges the gap between top-level strategic objectives and daily operations, empowering individuals to understand, implement, and create initiatives that directly support the wider strategy.&nbsp;

The old way of managing your business strategy is not cutting it anymore — It’s simply unfit for the current fast-paced environment. The only way to keep up is by keeping your business strategy on the leading edge.&nbsp;And with AI, you’re not just keeping the pace. You’re setting it.&nbsp;Using <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/ai-for-decision-making" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AI tools for decision making</a> and business strategy helps you overcome the shortcomings of traditional business strategy development. By facilitating proactive strategy improvements, adaptability, alignment, and data-driven actionability, AI helps you bypass the time-consuming, error-prone, and manually-intensive barriers plaguing the traditional strategy approach. Instead, your business can rely on an agile, refined, and present approach to business strategy — one suitable for sustained success amid the chaos.&nbsp;<hr>Quantive empowers modern organizations to turn their ambitions into reality through strategic agility. It's where strategy, teams, and data come together to drive effective decision-making, streamline execution, and maximize performance.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;As your company navigates today’s competitive landscape, you need an Always-On Strategy to continuously bridge the gap between current and desired business outcomes. Quantive brings together the technology, expertise, and passion to transform your strategy and playbooks from a static formulation to a feedback-driven engine for growth.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Whether you’re a fast-growing scale-up, a mid-market business looking to conquer, or a large enterprise looking for innovation, Quantive keeps you ahead – every step of the way. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.quantive.com/">www.quantive.com</a>.&nbsp;

Discover the world of modern strategy management with Quantive StrategyAI

Don't Get Left Behind: Why AI In Business Strategy Is The Future

Running a business can feel like aiming at a moving target, with <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/business-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">market shifts</a> often causing chaos and forcing ineffective, knee-jerk reactions. The key to ongoing success lies in <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/business-adaptability" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">adaptability</a>, which helps you create, retain, and sustain a competitive edge.&nbsp;But how do you keep your strategic plan <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/always-on-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Always-On,"</a> continuously adapting to internal and external changes?&nbsp;Facing this exact challenge, PedalTone, a fitness technology company, struggled to adapt to post-pandemic market shifts. Their solution? Quantive StrategyAI.&nbsp;With its <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/ai-for-decision-making" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AI-powered insights</a>, extensive <a href="https://quantive.com/products/results/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">integrations</a> to their data systems, and data-driven decision-making features, PedalTone relied on Quantive StrategyAI to refresh their <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/business-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strategy</a> and deploy it in record time. Quantive StrategyAI provided PedalTone with dynamic strategy suggestions tailored to their specific business data, context, and working methods, helping them overcome the hurdles of market disruption.&nbsp;This article illustrates the power of Quantive StrategyAI by exploring PedalTone’s journey and how it used Quantive StrategyAI to overcome its post-pandemic challenges.&nbsp;Before diving in, let’s take a quick look at PedalTone’s evolution before, during, and after the pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;

PedalTone is a fitness technology company known for its interactive exercise equipment. They offer bikes, rows, and treadmills, and subscription-based streaming services for live and on-demand fitness classes.&nbsp;<h3>PedalTone before the pandemic&nbsp;</h3>Before the pandemic, the connected fitness market was steadily growing, and PedalTone was a favorite among enthusiasts seeking premium, at-home workouts. The company built its reputation on high-quality hardware, engaging digital content, live sessions, and a vibrant fitness community.&nbsp;During this time, PedalTone focused on building brand awareness, attracting customers, growing its subscriber base, and developing new fitness programs. This strategy led to steady, though modest, growth in <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/sales-okrs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sales</a> and revenue year over year.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2019, PedalTone went public with an IPO priced at $25.76 per share, signaling the company’s potential to disrupt the fitness industry.&nbsp;<h3>PedalTone’s COVID boom</h3>The COVID-19 pandemic caused a dramatic shift in customer workout preferences, skyrocketing PedalTone to new heights. With lockdown measures in place and people confined to their homes, traditional gyms struggled, while digital, at-home fitness solutions thrived.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a result, PedalTone quickly became a top leader in this new landscape, experiencing unprecedented user and revenue growth. This caused their stock price to skyrocket, peaking at $167.42 in January 2021.&nbsp;In response to the demand spike, PedalTone focused on scaling its <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/operations-okrs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">operations</a> while maintaining customer satisfaction. It invested heavily in its supply chain and customer experience, expanding its digital content library and introducing new workout programs.&nbsp;Despite these efforts, supply chain disruptions and maintaining product quality amid rapid growth became persistent challenges.&nbsp;<h3>PedalTone post-COVID &nbsp;</h3>As the pandemic eased and gyms reopened, PedalTone saw yet another shift in customer preferences. While many users continued to enjoy at-home workouts, many returned to their pre-pandemic gym habits.&nbsp; &nbsp;As a result, PedalTone’s sales growth slowed post-pandemic. The company reported a 22% decline in annual revenue year-over-year, and its stock price fell to $3.65 as of early June 2024, marking a significant drop from its peak.&nbsp;Since then, the fitness industry has continued to evolve. Competition intensified from companies offering similar at-home fitness solutions, and the <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/digital-transformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rise of AI</a> and wearable technology further impacted PedalTone’s performance. Yet, ongoing health concerns and gym capacity restrictions created a new demand for the hybrid fitness model — one combining at-home and in-gym workouts.&nbsp;In response, PedalTone has been trying to reposition itself as a broader health technology provider. They’ve been working on offering more holistic health programs, including mental wellness, personalized workouts, AI-powered strength training devices, and corporate wellness programs. Despite this, PedalTone hasn’t rebounded as expected.&nbsp;Ready for a breakthrough, PedalTone turned to Quantive StrategyAI for a refined strategic approach. &nbsp;Let’s explore how PedalTone’s chief strategy officer (CSO) used Quantive StrategyAI to get strategic recommendations and adapt their approach to meet changing customer demands.&nbsp;

As a first step, they crafted a prompt to guide Quantive StrategyAI’s recommendations: &nbsp;"PedalTone needs strategic guidance on how to adapt to customer workout preferences and expand its market share to a wider audience outside of the home workout environment."&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131643/site-v5/image_91a8088ad7.png"></figure>They then uploaded the relevant PedalTone documents to Quantive StrategyAI’s secure servers. These included key strategic artifacts and market information (e.g., financial data, <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/mission-vs-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mission and vision statements</a>, industry data) to ensure Quantive StrategyAI has a comprehensive understanding of PedalTone’s internal environment.&nbsp;Once uploaded, the CSO provided Quantive StrategyAI with additional context.&nbsp;“We've observed a slowdown in business growth and identified shifting trends in consumer and customer behavior. Notably, consumers are spending less time at home and more time at the gym. We aim to adapt our offerings to grow our share of wallet but are uncertain about the best approach.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:540px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131672/site-v5/image_7952912d66.png"></figure>Based on the prompt and context provided by the CSO, Quantive StrategyAI generated a decision map with various hypotheses to explore, including:&nbsp;<ul><li>Market potential&nbsp;</li><li>Competition&nbsp;</li><li>Customer considerations&nbsp;</li><li>Go-to-market strategy&nbsp;</li><li>Financials &amp; profitability&nbsp;</li></ul><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:398px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131712/site-v5/image_cd2c21f60c.png"></figure>For each hypothesis, Quantive StrategyAI recommended strategic frameworks and guided further analysis using AI's rapid data processing.&nbsp;Within minutes, rather than the standard days and weeks, the CSO had a SWOT analysis ready for <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/cross-functional-collaboration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stakeholder collaboration</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:521px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131748/site-v5/image_c66274484d.png"></figure>PedalTone’s CSO presented this SWOT analysis to major stakeholders. Equipped with thorough, qualitative analysis of strategic decisions, they could quickly agree on three key strategic pivots:&nbsp;<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Establishing partnerships with mid-level gyms (to target consumers who prefer hybrid workouts)&nbsp;</li><li>Doubling down on AI-driven personalization (to keep existing customers engaged)&nbsp;</li><li>Diversifying their offerings to include low-impact workouts (and as such, expand their market)&nbsp;</li></ol>With consensus reached, PedalTone's CSO could then use Quantive StrategyAI to turn their decision into a clear action plan with one click.&nbsp;This seamless translation of strategic pivots into <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/goal-setting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strategic goals</a> significantly sped up the decision-making and <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategic-planning-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">planning process</a>, allowing PedalTone to drive action quickly.&nbsp;Quantive StrategyAI generated three strategic goals, in the form of <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/okr-meaning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">objective and key results (OKRs)</a>, to align with their agreed-upon strategic pivots. These were:&nbsp;<h3>Company goal #1: Mid-level gym partnerships&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Objective: Establish strong partnerships with mid-level gyms&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 1: Secure collaboration agreements with 5 mid-level gym chains to integrate PedalTone's software solutions into their workout offerings&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 2: Develop and deploy software that seamlessly integrates with the existing workout products of 5 partnered gyms&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 3: Introduce a new feature that allows PedalTone subscribers to sync their in-gym workout data with the PedalTone app, ensuring a seamless experience across both environments&nbsp;</li></ul><h3>Company goal #2: AI-driven customer retention&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Objective: Leverage AI-driven personalization for superior customer retention&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 1: Implement AI algorithms to create tailored workout plans based on user preferences, goals, and performance data&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 2: Use AI to recommend personalized content such as classes, challenges, and community events, increasing user engagement by 20%&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 3: Integrate AI-driven feedback and adjustment mechanisms into workout routines to maintain a customer retention rate of 90%&nbsp;</li></ul><h3>Company goal #3: Product line for low-impact workouts&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Objective: Transform the product line to include comprehensive low-impact workouts&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 1: Introduce comprehensive yoga and Pilates digital workout classes&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 2: Develop and launch a multi-functional reformer tool that supports both Pilates and yoga exercises&nbsp;</li><li>Key result 3: Achieve a 27% increase in revenue from the new low-impact workout programs and reformer tool&nbsp;</li></ul>These were automatically displayed on Quantive StrategyAI’s collaborative whiteboard as:&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:624px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131885/site-v5/image_828ebc2e5a.png"></figure>PedalTone’s CSO then picked three <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/what-are-kpis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">key performance indicators (KPIs)</a> to match these goals, <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/okrs-vs-kpis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">linking them together</a>. To get the ball rolling, the CSO tapped into Quantive StrategyAI’s “Suggest OKRs” feature, which broke down the initial <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/company-okrs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">company goals</a> into actionable, lower-level ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:276px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131900/site-v5/image_823cc11f53.png"></figure> For the company goal focused on establishing partnerships with mid-level gyms, three <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/okrs-for-business-alignment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cascading goals</a> were created:<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:522px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131924/site-v5/image_98410c9a18.png"></figure>The same lower-level goals were created for the other two company goals, resulting in a comprehensive view of cascading goals in Quantive StrategyAI.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:671px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131954/site-v5/image_0eee58cb12.png"></figure>Next, PedalTone’s CSO ensured accountability by assigning each objective and key result to designated owners and contributors. They specified the units of measurement, targets, and deadlines for each key result while adding any additional resources or tags as needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:344px;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/gtmhub/image/upload/v1721131979/site-v5/image_e7f0239232.png"></figure>Quantive StrategyAI then notified the various teams, owners, and contributors of their newly assigned OKRs. This feature ensures teams are looped into the new strategic pivots right away and can start planning their initiatives around them.&nbsp;Using Quantive StrategyAI’s features, PedalTone’s CSO could further streamline time-to-action, ensuring teams are aligned on their goals and making steady strides to achieve them.&nbsp;PedalTone’s executives did this by relying on StrategyAI’s:&nbsp;<ul><li>Alignment View: Provides a comprehensive overview of strategic objectives and their <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/organizational-alignment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">alignment across teams and departments</a>, ensuring everyone is on the same page to reduce misalignment and improve collaboration&nbsp;</li><li>Integrations: Connects Quantive StrategyAI with tools and systems already in use, ensuring seamless data flow, reduced manual entry, real-time updates, and enhanced decision-making as well as operational efficiency&nbsp;</li><li>Check-ins: Helps maintain a pulse on the progress of initiatives, allowing teams to report on status, discuss challenges, and make necessary adjustments to keep projects on track and aligned with strategic objectives&nbsp;</li><li>Reporting: Offers detailed insights and analytics on <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/strategy-execution" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">strategy execution</a>, helping executives understand performance metrics, track KPIs, and make informed decisions based on customizable reports that focus on and measure critical aspects of strategy&nbsp;</li></ul>To stay on top of goal and KPI progress, PedalTone’s teams meet biweekly to discuss progress, feedback, and any roadblocks they’ve encountered. During these meetings, they also discuss whether changes to goals, tasks, or initiatives are needed.&nbsp;In the meantime, if anything needs attention between meetings, teams can rely on StrategyAI features like comments, reactions, confidence levels, and progress reports for real-time insights and cooperation.&nbsp;As a result, PedalTone's approach to managing strategic change was transformed. They no longer rely on a slow, top-down approach that results in outdated initiatives. With Quantive StrategyAI's AI-powered suggestions, OKR and KPI linking, and prompt analysis, they can quickly analyze, implement, and evaluate strategic pivots. If, at any time, a strategy proves effective, they can reassess it promptly, avoiding wasted resources.&nbsp;&nbsp;By using Quantive StrategyAI to <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/okr-tracking" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monitor goals</a> and make timely adjustments, PedalTone's leaders ensure everyone is aligned and making meaningful progress, focusing on tasks that move the needle on the right strategic goals.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Quantive StrategyAI isn't just limited to fitness tech — its capabilities extend across business sectors. Whether you’re planning, executing, or reviewing your strategy, Quantive StrategyAI serves as an end-to-end strategy management solution. Its real-time data analytics, advanced AI-powered insights, and seamless integration with your preferred tools ensure your business remains <a href="https://quantive.com/resources/articles/agile-meaning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agile</a>, aligned, and responsive, keeping internal dynamics in lockstep with external changes.&nbsp;Want to see what Quantive StrategyAI can do for your business? <a href="https://quantive.tourial.com/tp/Quantive-StrategyAI-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Check out the quick tour here</a>.&nbsp;<hr>Quantive empowers modern organizations to turn their ambitions into reality through strategic agility. It's where strategy, teams, and data come together to drive effective decision-making, streamline execution, and maximize performance.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As your company navigates today’s competitive landscape, you need an Always-On Strategy to continuously bridge the gap between current and desired business outcomes. Quantive brings together the technology, expertise, and passion to transform your strategy and playbooks from a static formulation to a feedback-driven engine for growth.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether you’re a fast-growing scale-up, a mid-market business looking to conquer, or a large enterprise looking for innovation, Quantive keeps you ahead – every step of the way. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.quantive.com/">www.quantive.com</a>.&nbsp;

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