Vector Leader™ partners with AI to set direction and magnitude of value. They use AI in their own thinking and decisions, lead adoption that sticks across the business and redesign the operating model so transformation scales. With Regenvita's value-capture models and the R-VEOF, first wins become the way the organisation operates, results are tracked with shared dashboards, and the board can see why the numbers move.

This requires fundamental adjustments to leadership mindsets. Adjustments that transform strategy from a rigid planning exercise into a more creative, problem-solving discipline where AI amplifies human logic and influence.

Vector Leaders view strategy not as a long planning document but as an integrated set of choices that positions the organisation to win. Strategy becomes a problem-solving technique, — the tool used to make painful problems disappear by making different choices than historical ones. With AI as their partner, Vector Leaders are able to focus like a laser on the problem to be solved, using AI to rapidly test multiple solution paths simultaneously.

Vector Leaders recognise that objective data is useful for analysing the past but is not a critical input for determining future strategy. The future is rarely identical to the past. Strategy is ultimately about competing logics, not competing data.

Vector Leaders use AI to apply the What Would Have to be True (WWHTBT) question at scale, unravelling the implicit logic behind intuition or strategic direction. AI helps surface the myth of objectivity. The data itself may be objective, but its collection and use are subjective, creating only a "tiny island of objectivity in an ocean of subjectivity." 1

Strategy must be fundamentally centred on customers, recognising that leaders do not control customers. The task of strategy is to make choices that together compel desired customer action, such as buying enough of the offering at sufficiently high prices to earn attractive returns.

Vector Leaders use AI to model customer responses, predict reactions to strategic moves, and identify the combinations of choices most likely to compel desired actions. This isn't about manipulating data; it's about understanding the logic of customer behaviour at a scale challenging for human cognition alone.

Strategy requires distinctiveness, which demands imagining what could be (possibilities), not merely analysing what is or what has been. Vector Leaders generate creative possibilities by searching along three vectors with AI assistance:

Vector Leaders adjust their mindset away from longing for the "perfect situation" and instead treat problematic environments, say legacy organisations with low strategic literacy or limited data, as wonderful opportunities to add enormous value. Success is often achieved by leading a turnaround of a dreadful situation, and AI accelerates this process by rapidly diagnosing systemic issues and generating intervention options.

A critical step to overcoming inertia is to explicitly reverse-engineer the status quo and compare it directly to alternative strategic possibilities. Vector Leaders use AI to:

This places the status quo and innovative ideas on equal footing for assessment, making the delusional comfort of inaction visible and measurable.

When proposing innovation, Vector Leaders go on the offensive rather than trying to defend new ideas using the flawed analytical premises of the status quo. They use AI to challenge the logic of the status quo's future forecasts, exposing assumptions and building compelling counter-narratives based on alternative logics.

Vector Leaders recognise strategic entropy, the dissipation of concentrated, organised energy over time, as a nearly universal business problem. They practice eternal vigilance through AI-powered monitoring systems that question any broadening of the business (more offerings, customers, or vertical integration).

AI helps Vector Leaders ensure that broadening the Where-to-Play only happens if it strengthens the How-to-Win, maintaining strategic focus while identifying genuine opportunities for value-creating expansion.

To create superior strategies, Vector Leaders must be influenceable. That means having "strong convictions, loosely held." They test their convictions against both human logic and AI-generated alternatives to strengthen final conclusions. AI serves as an always-available challenger, preventing the stifled dialogue and innovation that comes from uninfluenceable leadership.

Strategy capability is not innate; it is achieved through practice and determination. Vector Leaders cultivate a growth mindset by using AI as a learning accelerator, - identifying patterns faster, learning from more scenarios, and building strategic intuition through exposure to AI-analysed cases from across industries and time periods.

Vector Leaders define their job as solving the most important problems and focus on outputs. While technocratic CEOs focus on managing people and auditing processes, Vector Leaders use AI to handle process monitoring while they focus on creating a portrait, - an integrated set of choices that powerfully connect.

AI helps identify which problems are most important, tracks progress on outputs rather than activities, and ensures all initiatives connect to strategic objectives rather than existing as unconnected "pixels."

This may be one of the most underestimated drivers of net positive effects of partnering with AI. Culture change happens at the retail level, meaning through interpersonal interactions. When Vector Leaders visibly use AI in their thinking and decisions, it becomes the organisational standard. Every interaction where a Vector Leader shares an AI-enhanced insight or demonstrates AI-augmented decision-making reinforces the new culture.

This isn't about mandating AI use; it's about demonstrating its value through visible, successful application in high-stakes decisions.

Vector Leaders shift from needing "buy-in" (badgering people to accept a pre-made conclusion) to generating internal commitment. The ones who need to agree with a strategy conclusion participates in generating that conclusion, using AI as a shared tool for exploration rather than a black box that produces answers.

When teams use AI together to explore possibilities, test assumptions, and build strategic logic, they own both the process and the outcome.

Vector Leaders invest in mental preparation (imagination) augmented by AI scenario planning to create a solid foundation for bold strategy choices. Once a compelling strategy choice is made, it must be vigorously enforced including AI monitoring implementation and flagging when adjustments are needed.

Vector Leaders remain willing to adjust strategy purposefully when the competitive environment changes or implementation reveals flaws, using AI as an early warning system that detects shifts before they become crises.