Know where the value is before you invest.
The diagnostic is the first step of every project. Together we establish which problems cost you the most, which of them is the constraint on the whole business, and what is worth building. At the end, you have a phased plan with a fixed price for the first phase, and you decide whether to go ahead.
Why I start here
Most projects start from a solution someone has already chosen: new software, an automation, AI in one department. When the solution is chosen before the problem is understood, the money goes into the symptom.
The diagnostic reverses the order. First we understand how the company actually works. Then we decide what to build.
Every business has plenty of problems. Only one or two hold back the whole business: those are its constraints. Improving anything else is a cost, not a gain. A department can start working better without the company earning any more. So the diagnostic doesn’t ask what could be automated. It asks where the constraint is.
How it works
Research. Before we meet, I gather what already exists: our conversations, the documents you share, public information about the company. So at the kickoff I’m not asking what you do. I’m checking what I’ve understood.
Kickoff meeting. With the owner and the leadership team. We confirm what I’ve understood, what the diagnostic covers and who I’ll talk to.
Interviews with key people. One-on-one, 30 to 60 minutes each: leadership, the people who run the work day to day, and the people who know the systems and the data. This is where the gap shows between how a process is documented and how it’s actually done, along with the workarounds people have built because the official process doesn’t work.
Mid-point review with the owner. Before the final plan, we go through what the interviews showed.
Opportunities. I rank them by value to the whole business and by effort: quick wins that take weeks, strategic projects that take months, and longer-term changes.
Presenting the plan. We walk through the findings, the opportunities and the phased plan in one meeting.
How long it takes
Anywhere from a few working sessions to two or three weeks. Rarely longer, and only on a large project.
It depends on three things: the size of the company, how many departments and key people I need to talk to, and how quickly meetings can be scheduled and access to information arranged.
What you get
A strategic plan for your business, covering:
- Key findings. What the interviews showed, with concrete examples from your company rather than generalities.
- The problems costing you the most, and how much. Calculated from your own numbers, not from percentages in someone else’s research.
- The root cause. Why the problem keeps happening, and why earlier attempts haven’t fixed it.
- Opportunities ranked by value and effort. For each one, the form the solution should take: better use of the tools you already pay for, automation, or a new system.
- A phased plan. What comes first, second and third. The first phase has a fixed price, and each later phase is priced before it starts.
You’re not paying for guesswork. Each phase is priced once the one before it has shown what’s involved.
The plan is yours, whatever you decide next. If you build with your own team, I can stay involved as the architect, responsible for the solution.
Why the diagnostic is paid
The diagnostic is where the solution is decided. That’s the most valuable part of the work, so it’s a separate, paid step, not a free meeting before a proposal.
The fee depends on the size of the company and the value the solution can bring. We agree on it after our first call, before we start.
If the diagnostic shows the project isn’t worth doing, I’ll tell you.
What I need from you
- The owner’s involvement at the start, midway and at the end.
- Time from key people for the interviews.
- Access to the information the business is run on: reports, documents, systems.
Confidentiality
Before you share any non-public information, we sign an NDA.
After the diagnostic
If you decide to continue, we build in the phases set out in the plan. Each has a fixed price, a clear outcome and an end.
Most solutions don’t call for new software. They come from making full use of tools that already exist. When something more substantial has to be built, I put together and lead the team, with your own engineers if you have them, or with specialists I bring in for the project. You don’t have to find anyone.
The project ends when your people are using the solution every day. If you’d like, I can stay on after that as your fractional Chief AI Officer.
Tell me about your business
A few lines is enough: what you do, and what costs you the most money, time or headaches.
On our first call, we’ll pin down the problem and what it’s costing you. If I can help, I’ll propose a diagnostic. If I can’t, I’ll tell you.
I’m based in Bulgaria, one hour ahead of Central Europe. I work remotely and travel to clients wherever they are.