The AI Business Case
The honest case for AI in your business, built in two weeks.
A fixed-scope diagnostic for the owner or executive weighing AI. I spend two weeks on your business, your competitors, and your goals, then build the case across three lenses: where AI cuts cost, where it earns new revenue, and whether it fits your security and brand. You receive a written memo that says where to move, where to wait, and where to leave AI alone, then a 90-minute readout to challenge it. One person does the work, and signs every page.
Nearly 15 years at McKinsey and Deloitte, advising Fortune 50 clients. Now independent.
cost, revenue, and fit, each with a clear verdict and the numbers behind it
Inputs
Notional. What I draw on shifts with your industry and the specifics of your business.
What I draw on to build the case across all three lenses. Notional, confirmed with you on the scoping call.
Your numbers and your busiest workflows
The P&L and the handful of workflows that eat the most hours, so cost savings get sized in dollars, not adjectives.
Your current AI inventory
Every AI tool, pilot, and subscription already in the building, what it costs, and who actually uses it. Most teams find line items here they forgot they were paying for.
The competitive picture
Who you compete with and where you win or lose, so the case reflects where AI is moving in your market, not AI in the abstract.
Your goals and your hard lines
The revenue and margin targets you are chasing, plus the data, security, and brand lines you will not cross. The fit lens is built from these.
The people who run the work
Short conversations with the two or three people closest to the workflows in question, because the real friction never shows up in a deck.
Outputs
Notional. The exact deliverables vary by industry and your business needs.
A memo in plain English that makes the case across three lenses, every figure built from your own numbers.
The market and competitor read
A read on where AI is moving in your market, what your direct competitors are spending on it, and whether that spending has produced anything. The case is built against the competitive picture, not in a vacuum.
Where AI saves money
The workflows where AI returns hours and dollars, ranked by payback, each with a build-or-buy call and named vendors.
Where AI earns revenue
The places AI can open new revenue or defend the revenue you have, sized against the goals you brought to the table.
Whether it fits your security and brand
An honest read on the data, security, and brand risk of each move, and what to leave human. Often the most valuable section.
The verdict and 90-day sequence
A clear go, wait, or leave-it on every move, then a step-by-step plan your team can run, with expected costs in dollars.
A slice of the output
Notional. Built to show the shape of the ranked list, not a real client.
“Three vendors were quoting us on the same problem. The memo told us one of the three was actually solving a workflow we did not have, the other two were solving the wrong thing first, and the real problem was upstream of all of them. We saved the cost of the engagement eight times over by not signing the wrong contract.”
CEO, Specialty manufacturing, $28M revenue
Illustrative. Composite of recent mid-market engagements, not a single named client.
Where I look
Your operation, your numbers, your competitive set, and the goals you are actually trying to hit. I weigh where AI saves money, where it could earn it, and whether it fits your security and brand before a dollar is spent. The mid-market pattern is consistent: a few vendor pilots that have not graduated, a board asking what the AI line item will produce, and real opportunities sitting one lens away from obvious. The case finds your version and prices it.
What usually comes next
How it begins
The first conversation is free.
We start with a 30-minute scoping call at no charge. If the case will not pay for itself in your business, you will hear it from me on that call, before you commit a dollar. You are invoiced only when you sign the agreement.
Questions, answered
- What does it cost, and when do I pay?
- It starts at $7,500. The scope is standardized, so that is what most engagements cost. A larger or more complex operation can move the number. We agree the figure at signing, after the scoping call, and you are invoiced then, never before.
- How long does it take?
- Two weeks from the day your documents arrive to the memo. The readout follows within three business days, and you keep two weeks of email access after it.
- What if the answer is that we should not invest in AI yet?
- Then that is what the memo will say, with the reasons in plain English. The most valuable outcome is sometimes a clear no on a move three vendors are pushing. You will leave knowing where AI fits later, and what has to be true first.
- Who actually does the work?
- I do. One person reads your numbers, weighs every move across the three lenses, writes the memo, and signs every page. No associates, no account team.
The person you pay is the person who reads your numbers and writes the memo.
Ryan King · RLK Consulting
Get the honest case for AI in your business.
Two weeks, a fixed scope, and a clear case across cost, revenue, and fit. It starts with a free 30-minute call.
Book a scoping call →From $7,500 · invoiced on signing