# Readiness Categories and the Key Map

Six categories, each scored 0 to 10 by the executive. The list is PRIORITIZED: Literacy is most important, then Data, then Cyber, then Compliance, then Change Management, then Strategy. The order is the teaching. An organization fixes readiness top-down: a brilliant strategy scored 9 is worthless sitting on a workforce whose literacy is a 2.

## The categories, in priority order

| Priority | Category | What 0 looks like | What 10 looks like | Score prompt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **Literacy** | Leadership and workforce cannot describe what AI does or where it fails; no training exists. | Every function has hands-on AI fluency; leaders can evaluate vendor claims themselves; training is continuous. | How capable are your people, top to bottom, of using and judging AI today? |
| 2 | **Data** | Data is siloed, dirty, undocumented, or inaccessible; nobody owns it. | Governed, documented, accessible data with clear ownership; proprietary datasets identified and usable. | If a model needed your data tomorrow, how ready is it? |
| 3 | **Cyber** | No AI-specific security posture; credentials, prompts, and data flow to tools ungoverned. | AI usage is inside the security perimeter: access controls, model/tool vetting, monitoring, incident playbooks. | How protected is the organization as AI enters the workflow? |
| 4 | **Compliance** | No view of which regulations touch AI use; legal reviews are ad hoc vetoes. | Clear map of applicable regimes (sector rules, privacy, EU AI Act where relevant) with a working approval path. | How confidently can you say an AI use is allowed? |
| 5 | **Change Management** | Change lands by memo; the last transformation program left scar tissue; adoption is hoped for, not managed. | Named change leadership, communication rhythm, incentive alignment, and adoption measurement per rollout. | How well does this organization actually absorb new ways of working? |
| 6 | **Strategy** | AI activity is scattered pilots with no connection to enterprise strategy or budget. | A written, funded, board-endorsed AI strategy with owners, milestones, and kill criteria. | How coherent is the AI strategy on paper and in budget today? |

## Scoring discipline

- Ask for the number AND the evidence: "a 6 because..." Scores without evidence drift up 2 points. If the evidence doesn't support the number, say so and propose your own; the executive decides.
- Anchor: 0-3 means the category can sink initiatives on its own; 4-6 means workable with active investment; 7-10 means an enabler others can build on.
- Score all six in one pass, then read the shape back.

## The Key Map

The Strategic Outlook renders the six scores as the readiness key map: categories in fixed priority order (never re-sorted by score), each with its rank, score bar (0-10), and an **attention index** = (10 - score) x priority weight, where weights run 6 (Literacy) down to 1 (Strategy). The attention index makes the prioritization visible: a Literacy gap of 4 points outweighs a Strategy gap of 8.

Reading the map with the executive:
- The FIRST low bar from the top is the binding constraint. Name it. The playbook's first moves must attack it.
- High scores below a low score are trapped value: a 9 in Strategy above a 3 in Literacy means the strategy cannot be executed by the people who have it.
- Re-score quarterly. The map is the transformation's scoreboard, not a one-time diagnostic.