Three Weeks. Three Operational Fixes. One Honest Answer About AI.
Most AI consulting starts with a tool. We start with your operations. The Initial Assessment is a three-week diagnostic that identifies the three operational pains where AI would actually deliver — with a measurable target attached to each.
Why Most AI Engagements Start in the Wrong Place
The default in AI consulting goes like this: a vendor demos a tool, leadership gets interested, a proposal arrives, a contract gets signed. Six weeks later, the tool is technically deployed and functionally invisible — sitting in a SaaS subscription line and nowhere else.
The tool was usually fine. The order of operations was wrong.
Tools don’t fail because they’re bad tools. They fail because nobody mapped the operation before recommending them. By the time the implementation starts, the strategic question — does AI actually fit here, and where — has already been skipped.
The Initial Assessment is built to answer that question before any tool is selected, any contract is signed, or any team is asked to change how they work.
What the Assessment Delivers
Three weeks of operational diagnosis, structured around the TPG methodology. By the end, you have three artifacts:
- A documented operational map. Not the org chart. The actual flow of work through your business — where it enters, who touches it, where it slows down, what gets redone. The map most companies don’t have until something forces them to build it.
- A ranked pain inventory. The three to five operational pains that actually matter, ranked by measurable cost. The pain that deserves a fix first, second, and third — with hours per week or dollars per month attached to each.
- Three AI-fit recommendations with success metrics. For the top pains, an honest assessment of whether AI is the right answer. For the ones where it is, a specific recommendation with a defined success metric — hours recovered, error rate reduction, cycle time improvement — that can be defended to your leadership team.
What’s Included
- Operational interviews with 5–8 members of your team (leadership and operators)
- On-site or remote process observation across the highest-volume workflows
- Documented operational map (written, not slide deck)
- Ranked pain inventory with measurable cost attached to each pain
- Three AI-fit recommendations with proposed success metrics
- Final assessment delivered as a written report — usable independent of any further engagement with TPG
- One 60-minute presentation walkthrough with your leadership team
How the Three Weeks Run
Week 1 — Operational Mapping
We interview your team and walk the work. The goal of Week 1 is to understand how your business actually runs — at the level of what an operator does between 9:00 and 9:15 on a Tuesday.
Week 2 — Pain Identification & Ranking
We surface the operational pains, attach measurable cost to each, and force-rank them. The ranking is grounded in data — hours, dollars, error rates — not opinions.
Week 3 — AI-Fit Assessment & Recommendations
For the top three to five pains, we assess whether AI is the right answer or whether a process fix should come first. The AI-fit recommendations are paired with specific success metrics. The full report and leadership presentation land at the end of Week 3.
Who the Assessment Is For
The Initial Assessment is built for businesses that:
- Have $500K–$20M in annual revenue and a real operation with multiple processes worth examining
- Have been pitched AI by vendors or consultants and want a structured second opinion before committing
- Are willing to slow down for three weeks of diagnosis before spending six to twelve weeks on implementation
- Want a deliverable they can use independently — not a teaser designed to sell the next engagement
Operations-intensive businesses see the fastest results: distribution, construction, field services, utilities, professional services, and government contracting are the strongest fits. If your team spends more time on administrative work than on the work that drives revenue, the Assessment will probably surface something worth fixing.
What Comes After the Assessment
Most clients use the Initial Assessment as the entry point to a larger engagement, but the Assessment is built to stand on its own. At the end of Week 3, you have three choices:
- Run the recommendations yourself. The report is written to be usable by your internal team. If you have the operational capacity to execute, you don’t need us.
- Move into Level 1 Implementation. TPG implements the top recommendation as a measured pilot — typically six to twelve weeks, with a 90-day ROI commitment. Learn about AI Implementation →
- Move into a Fractional CAIO retainer. Ongoing strategic counsel as AI integration compounds across the business. Learn about the Fractional CAIO →
No pressure to move forward. The Assessment is a complete deliverable. The next steps exist for clients who want a partner through implementation rather than a report and a calendar reminder.
Investment
Initial Assessments are fixed-fee engagements starting at $2,500, scoped to your business size and operational complexity. Three weeks, fixed price, defined deliverables. No surprise fees and no hourly billing.
Ready to Get an Honest Read on Your Operation?
Start with a 30-minute strategy session. No demo. No pitch. Just a conversation about how your business runs and whether the Initial Assessment is the right next step.
For inquiries: stephen.parker@parkergroup.us