An image of the strategic workforce planning cycle

Build. Buy. Borrow. Bot

Leadership| Strategy| Talent Management
July 08, 2026•1 min read

Build. Buy. Borrow. Bot.

The classicly updated strategic workforce planning framework.

🛠️ Build: upskilling and reskilling of existing talent. I'm a huge fan.
💰 Buy: hire new talent for a role. There are many benefits.
🤝 Borrow: many meanings, including stretch assignments, rotations, but also bringing in experienced partners. I obviously love this one.
🤖 Bot: outsource to AI. I obviously love this one too.

Almost every day I see companies creating a new AI strategy/enablement/transformation role. It's a Buy play, with perhaps an internal mobility Build option.

And I don't recommend it in this moment. Here's why.

Read almost any business article on AI and you'll see a version of "org strategy isn't aligned." It shows up as:
✔️ We aren't seeing results as expected
✔️ Our AI costs (token burn) is higher than anticipated
✔️ Employees don't know the strategy/don't trust its execution/are using shadow AI

Whether you are hiring an AI strategy lead, a AI transformation analyst, an AI architect, or something else, that person is going to have a long road to success, and that's after typical 90-day onboarding and culture assimilation. And it assumes the role is leveled at a strategic, decision-making level, and the majority I am seeing are not.

This is the moment to Borrow from strategic partnerships. Get your strategy in order. Build or rebuild trust among your employees. Achieve early success. And then bring someone in to carry forward that success.

At Talent Rewire we can help you reset your roadmap, including upskilling and reskilling plans. We will create a success plan for your AI Lead and ensure they are ready to execute on it. And meanwhile we will help you rally your entire organization around a unified AI implementation.

When you're ready, we're here to help.

Kristi Broom
Kristi Broom|LinkedIn logo icon
Kristi works with CEOs and executive teams who are under pressure to move on AI but don’t yet have a clear, confident path forward. Her approach is distinctive: she starts with people, building alignment, reducing fear, and identifying exactly where AI will drive value in a given business. With 25+ years leading transformation across organizations of all sizes, she understands what it takes to make change stick. Whether you’re at the “we need an AI strategy” stage or the “we started but we don’t know where to go next” stage, she’s someone worth talking to. Reach her at [email protected] or visit talentrewire.ai to learn more.
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