What's your Moon?

Too many people start with ChatGPT. I start with the Moon. Six honest questions about how your business or team uses AI. You get your Moon type, an Orbit Score from 0 to 100, and three next steps written for your answers.

Find your Moon ↓ What's a Moon?

6 questions · about 2 minutes · free

What is a Moon in AI strategy?

The Moon framework, created by Elliott Storms, says every AI project needs a Moon before it needs a tool: its Mission, Outcome, Objective and North Star. Staying in Orbit means every prompt serves that Moon; anything else gets cut.

MMission
Why you're using AI at all, in one sentence the whole team can repeat.
OOutcome
What's different when it works. A finished state you'd recognize, not "faster, generally."
OObjective
The number that proves it: a baseline, a target and a date you actually check.
NNorth Star
The principle that settles yes or no on every shiny new idea.

What does "Stay in Orbit" mean?

Keep a human involved, stay aligned with your mission, and use AI with intention instead of chasing shiny tricks. If AI starts creating random things, you've left orbit. If every prompt supports your mission, you're in orbit. The quiz checks your Moon, then two orbit habits: who signs off on AI output before it ships, and how disciplined your tool stack is.

Find your Moon. Stay in Orbit. Fuel wisely. Launch confidently.

Find your Moon.

01 · MissionWhy is your team using AI right now?Pick the answer that's closest to true, not the one you'd put in a board deck.
02 · OutcomePicture AI working perfectly six months from now. What's different?
03 · ObjectiveHow would you know AI is working?
04 · North StarA new AI idea shows up. How do you decide yes or no?
05 · Human in the loopWhat happens before AI output reaches a customer, a decision or the books?
06 · Tool sprawlHow many AI tools is your team paying for, and does anyone know?

What are the five Moon types?

Every team lands in one of five places. Your type comes from the shape of your answers, not just the total, so two teams with the same Orbit Score can get different Moons. Each one lines up with one of the four hard parts I work on.

orbit score: under 35

Drifting Satellite

Plenty of motion. No Moon yet.

The tell: AI shows up in pockets, mostly because someone got curious, and nobody can say what it's for.

You're up there, technically. But nothing is pulling you anywhere, so every new tool nudges you a little further off course. The good news: a Drifting Satellite has the most to gain from one clear sentence.

  1. Find your Moon in 30 minutes. Sit down with whoever signs the checks and agree on one sentence: why you're using AI, and for whom.
  2. Time one annoying workflow this week. The one everybody complains about. That number is your baseline and your first launch.
  3. Freeze new AI sign-ups for 30 days. Point what you already pay for at the Moon you just named.

Closest hard part: AI adoption & enablement →

orbit score: usually 35 to 65, with heavy tool sprawl

Comet Chaser

Bright, fast, and burning fuel on shiny tricks.

The tell: a new AI tool lands in the group chat every week, and the card statement has more logins than the team has people.

You have energy and curiosity, which is the hard part. What's missing is a filter. Without a North Star, every shiny trick looks like progress, and the tool stack grows faster than the results.

  1. Run a one-hour tool audit. Every AI subscription, its owner, its job and its last login. Cancel the orphans this month.
  2. Write your North Star and make it the gate. A new tool gets a trial only if it moves that one line.
  3. Go deep on one tool, not wide on ten. Name the person who checks its output before it leaves the building.

Closest hard part: AI rescue & dig-out →

orbit score: usually 45 to 75

On the Launchpad

The Moon is named. The engines aren't lit.

The tell: everyone agrees on what AI should do, and nobody can show you the number that says it's working.

You did the part most teams skip: you know why you're using AI. Now the Moon needs a flight plan. Without a baseline and a human sign-off, a good idea either stalls on the pad or launches with no way to prove it landed.

  1. Turn your outcome into one objective. A baseline, a target and a date, written where the team will see it.
  2. Decide who signs off before AI output ships. One line, one owner per workflow. That's what lets you launch confidently.
  3. Ship one small, real use in the next 30 days. Review it against the number, then decide: keep, change or cut.

Closest hard part: Implementation & delivery →

orbit score: usually 40 to 80

Low Orbit

You're in orbit. It's a little wobbly.

The tell: AI is working in a few places, but the rules live in people's heads and the results live in anecdotes.

You've launched, and some of it pays off. Low Orbit is where most capable teams sit: real use, informal guardrails, and a Moon that gets fuzzier the further you get from the person who started it. A few habits lift you into a stable orbit.

  1. Write down the review habit you already have. Who checks what, before it reaches a customer, a decision or the books.
  2. Put your one AI number on a monthly review. If it isn't moving after two check-ins, change the use or cut it.
  3. Leave it better. Retire one stale prompt, tool or automation every month, and name an owner for what's left.

Closest hard part: AI governance & guardrails →

orbit score: 80 and up, with no weak link

Mission Control

Named, measured, owned. You're steering.

The tell: you can say why you use AI, show the number, and name who approved the last output.

This is the orbit everyone else is aiming for. Your Moon is clear, your guardrails are real, and you say no more often than yes. The risk now is drift by success: new people, new tools and new pressure that slowly pull you off course.

  1. Publish your Moon. One page your whole team, and every new hire, can read in two minutes.
  2. Hold a quarterly "retire the stale" review. Prompts, tools and automations that no longer serve the Moon get cut.
  3. Pick your next Moon. The second workflow worth steering by, with its own baseline and its own owner.

What keeps you here: Leave It Better →

How do you strengthen each part of your Moon?

Your result leads with the fix for your weakest part. Here are all six.

MMission
Write your Moon in one sentence. "We use AI so that [who] gets [what], measured by [number]." If the team can't repeat it a week later, it isn't done yet.
OOutcome
Describe one finished workflow, six months out. Who does what, how long it takes, and what the customer notices. Put it at the top of every AI project doc.
OObjective
Capture a baseline before you touch a tool. Today's hours, errors or response time. Set one target and one check-in date. No baseline, no launch.
NNorth Star
Pick the principle that settles yes or no. For example, "customers get faster, plainer answers." Run the next three AI requests through it and count your no's.
○Human in the loop
Name a human owner for every AI output that leaves the building. Write the sign-off rule in one line and keep a simple log of who approved what.
▲Tool discipline
List every AI tool and seat you pay for. Give each one an owner and a job. Cut anything with no owner, or no logins, within 30 days. Fuel wisely.

Want a second set of eyes
on your Moon?

People don't need another AI expert. They need someone who helps them navigate AI without spinning off into space. Tell me what you're steering by and I'll tell you what I'd do next.

Elliott Storms
linkedinElliott Storms emailewheapes@gmail.com