AI Brainstorming: Better Ideas for Strategic Goals

It’s time to think differently about how to achieve your strategic goals for 2026. You may have completed a formal process that defined your 2026 goals. And you may be managing goals that were defined by leaders above you. Achieving your strategic goals is not about the annual planning exercise and how much say you had in the matter. It is about alignment, communication and discipline.

AI generated image

 In my work with print and mail operations, I often ask leaders and managers to pause and take a hard look in the mirror to assess their teams by asking the following.

•  What are our real strengths?

• Where are we falling short?

• What results have we produced over the last 24 months?

• What have we not considered?

 Getting honest answers takes time, and a willingness to examine root causes—not just symptoms. A strong assessment includes both internal reflection and external perspective. A traditional SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis remains valuable, especially when informed by outside research, customer feedback, competitive and economic considerations that directly affect your vertical market and your organization.  

 The challenge begins when senior leaders define strategic goals and middle managers are expected to translate those goals into executable programs, projects, and daily decisions. Managers often struggle to achieve new goals within the daily context of limited time, constrained resources, and competing priorities. This is where AI can play a useful role.

 Reflection Is the Pause Button

Senior leaders define direction. Managers make strategy real. Projects rarely unfold exactly as planned. Decisions are made spontaneously. Some work brilliantly; others introduce unintended consequences. The assessment phase—the pause button—is when managers should be asking:

• What did we do well?

• What can we learn?

• How can we be better?

• Do we need new skills, tools, or technologies?

 These questions require clear, honest answers to drive meaningful change and operational efficiency. Alignment across the team is essential. Strategy only works when everyone understands how their team and individual roles contribute to enterprise goals. AI does not replace critical thinking. It supports it.

 Brainstorm Better Ideas with AI

 AI can assist in turning high-level goals into operational projects. Enterprise goals are often broad with good intention. Examples are:

• Improve service levels

• Reduce costs

• Increase reliability

• Mitigate risk

• Modernize operations

 AI helps managers translate those goals into strategies and tasks. Use an approved to LLM chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude, Co-Pilot) and use a talk to text function (often a microphone icon in the chat window) to describe your goal, your production environment, operational challenges and ask it to brainstorm potential areas for change to support each of your goals.

 A structured prompt example is, I am a [title/role] managing a team of [number of staff]. We provide, [describe your functional services, i.e., data processing, print and mailing services for customer communications, etc.,] our goal is to [describe one goal at a time, i.e., improve service levels for [describe types of jobs]. Our operational challenges include [describe two current situations, i.e., we have manual touchpoints in [describe these steps] and we have tenured staff that rely on institutional knowledge for [describe specific important jobs]. Ask the chatbot, what other context or information it needs to suggest potential ideas and approaches to achieve your goal?

 The chatbot may ask you to provide more context or it may begin suggesting ideas that align with your goal. The answers may surprise you with new suggestions you have not considered. Ask it to explain further how to implement the suggested changes. The chatbot may also suggest ideas that you have already tried. If this is the case, tell the chatbot what you already tried and the corresponding result. It can then probe deeper and suggest additional ideas. The more context you provide the better the responses it will provide. Use the suggestions to further develop a strategy for implementing changes aligned with your larger goal. Repeat the process and fine tune the prompt as you have a dialog with the chatbot.

 Structured Brainstorming—No Blank Pages

Many managers know something needs to change but struggle to structure ideation. AI provides a repeatable brainstorming framework. Managers can explain by typing or using voice to text to create a prompt that describes the context of their operation. Include descriptions of your workflow, preferred tools, and current state, and then ask AI to generate improvement ideas across:

• Workflow and automation processes

• Staffing and training

• Measurement and visibility

• Rework and reprinting

• Technology considerations

 I recommend asking about each area one at a time to generate detailed AI suggestions. This brainstorming approach broadens thinking, reduces reliance on familiar fixes, and helps teams explore new options. By brainstorming new ideas, managers and teams can then prioritize and define a path forward. AI does not replace leadership judgment. AI is a thinking partner. One that helps managers reflect, structure ideas, test assumptions, and connect daily decisions to strategic goals. Strategic planning succeeds or fails in execution. Middle managers sit at that critical intersection between good intent and positive results. Used thoughtfully, AI gives operations managers something they rarely have enough of – time to think, structure to explore, and confidence to contribute strategically.

That is not hype. That is leveraging a tool to provide a practical advantage.