Framework · Ambition levels
OAR
OAR is a three-level read on AI ambition: Optimize is the same process made faster, Amplify is structural change to how the work is organized, and Reinvent is rebuilding the function from first principles. Most teams describe their work in Reinvent language while operating at Optimize. That gap is where the return disappears.
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What it is
OAR is the aiming tool. It does not tell you to reinvent everything. It tells you to be honest about which level each initiative is on, and to stop reporting Optimize work as transformation.
The audit is one question per initiative: did this change the process, or speed up the existing one.
The three levels
O
Optimize
Same process, made faster. Better sequences, faster call summaries, quicker routing. Real value and the right starting point for a low-maturity team. It is not transformation, and it should not be reported as transformation.
A
Amplify
Structural change. Team composition moves, workflow ownership moves, and the inputs to pipeline change rather than the throughput. The economics look different at the end of the quarter.
R
Reinvent
Rebuild the function from first principles. A process that needed ten people needs two and an AI layer. This is where the small group of companies generating value at scale operate.
The visuals
Figure
The three OAR levels
One question per initiative: did this change the process, or speed up the existing one?
Figure
The OAR audit
Run it per initiative. Most honest audits find the majority of spend sitting at Optimize.
- 1InventoryIs every AI initiative placed on a level with evidence?
- 2TargetHave we named one function where Reinvent is high leverage?
- 3ProofIs there an economic proof point defined before the build?
- 4LanguageDoes what we tell the board match the level we are on?
Score: ___ / 4
Figure
The OAR matrix
Two axes. Change velocity is how fast the organization has to move to absorb it. Strategic impact is how much of the number it can touch. The three levels sit on a diagonal, and most portfolios cluster in the bottom left.
1Optimize
Same process, less time. Call summaries, CRM logging, follow-up drafting, lead-to-account matching, onboarding FAQ assistants.
Time saved · Data hygiene · Cycle speed
2Amplify
The structure changes. Coaching agents that surface skill gaps, pipeline inspection that flags missing qualification data, health scores that trigger intervention before renewal.
Win rate · Forecast accuracy · Churn reduction
3Reinvent
The function is rebuilt. Agent-led territory orchestration, forecast copilots reading live CRM and external signal, org-wide reporting layers that synthesize sales, marketing, and success.
Revenue model · Coverage per rep · GTM architecture
Figure
What each level looks like by seat
The same initiative reads differently depending on who owns it. Place the initiative on the level, then check the seat that has to live with it.
Sales
Optimize: auto call summaries and CRM logging.
Reinvent: agent-led territory orchestration, with a human owning the commitment.
RevOps
Optimize: lead-to-account matching and routing.
Reinvent: a forecast copilot reading live CRM, notes, and external signal.
Enablement
Optimize: an onboarding assistant for FAQs and process.
Reinvent: learning paths curated per rep by role and observed performance.
Customer success
Optimize: post-meeting follow-up drafting.
Reinvent: predictive health and NPS models that trigger named intervention.
What you get out of it
Run the OAR audit and every AI initiative in the portfolio carries an honest level. You stop paying Reinvent prices for Optimize work, and you pick the one function where a Reinvent bet is both possible and high leverage.
- An inventory where each initiative is labeled Optimize, Amplify, or Reinvent by evidence, not by ambition.
- One named Reinvent target instead of a portfolio of speed improvements.
- Language to the board that matches the work being done.
The mistakes it prevents
- Reinvent language, Optimize work
- The delta between the language and the reality is where reported return disappears.
- Reinventing everything at once
- Reinvent is a bet, not a policy. One function, chosen for leverage and exposure, is the working limit.
- Treating Optimize as failure
- For a low-maturity team, Optimize is the correct first level. The failure is staying there while claiming otherwise.
- No economic proof point
- A level without a stated economic result is a label, not a decision.
How it is used here
OAR sets the target that SLING sequences toward. Every teardown in the Report places the deployment on a level before it scores the result.
You can either do what you've done in the past, better, faster, easier, cheaper with AI. Or the new world is thinking about first principles.
Jonathan Kvarfordt, Adventures in Revenue podcast
Most organizations are optimizing where they should be reinventing.
The Revenue AI Report, the OAR Matrix and the AI value gap
Terms used here are defined in the glossary and explained in plain language in the AI and Revenue Dictionary.
Apply it with a skill
Each skill turns this framework into a job you can finish. Copy the quick prompt for one task, or download the SKILL.md file, a reusable set of instructions for an AI assistant, for repeatable work.
All skills and prompts →Common questions
- What does OAR stand for?
- Optimize, Amplify, Reinvent. Three levels of AI ambition, used to label each initiative honestly before spend is defended.
- Is Optimize a bad level to be on?
- No. For a team with low data and process maturity, Optimize is the correct starting level. The problem is describing Optimize work in Reinvent language, which sets an expectation the results cannot meet.
- How does OAR relate to SLING?
- OAR is the target. SLING is the sequencing rule for getting there without breaking production systems.
Cite this framework
Kvarfordt, Jonathan. "OAR." The Revenue AI Report. https://www.therevenueaireport.com/frameworks/oar
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