One stalled investment. A decision brief in 10 business days.

An AI or data investment was approved, funded and staffed, and the result has not arrived. The Situation Assessment finds what is actually blocking it, who holds the decision that would move it, and what to do next.

The investment it is for

• The model or platform is built, and the business is not using it the way the business case assumed.
• The sponsor is asking why the result has not arrived, and the answers so far are about the technology.
• A decision on the investment is coming: expand it, fix it or stop it. Nobody can yet say which.

For public, private and PE-backed manufacturers and CPG companies. One investment per assessment.

What to bring

• The business case, or whatever approved the spend.
• Time with the sponsor, the business owner, the people who use the output, and the technical lead.
• Access to the output and to the decisions it is meant to feed, such as plans, orders or approvals, for a recent period.

What the decision brief contains

1. The investment. What was approved, and what it was meant to change.
2. Where it stands. What is built, and what the business actually does with it.
3. What was reviewed. The interviews, records and documents behind every finding.
4. The actual constraint, named plainly.
5. Who holds the decision that would move it.
6. The options, each with its cost and risk, including stopping.
7. The recommended mandate: the owner, the operating rules, the measures, and a 60-day review.

Read a sample decision brief, written for a composite manufacturer.

Turnaround and fee

What happens next

The brief is yours to act on, with or without me. Some leadership teams run the mandate themselves. Some ask me to lead it as their fractional Chief Data and AI Officer. Some decide to stop the investment, and the brief gives them the basis to do it cleanly.