Non-billable hours on targeted tasks
The baseline the roadmap aims to reduce.
Consulting and professional services firms · AI readiness assessment and roadmap
Find where AI pays back inside your consulting firm before you buy anything
Consulting firm leaders hear the same question from clients, staff and their own partners: what is the firm doing with AI? Some consultants already use AI tools daily, others refuse, and the firm has no shared view of where AI genuinely saves time versus where it adds risk to client work. Buying a firmwide license without that view usually leads to low adoption.
How it often works today
- Individual consultants use a mix of AI tools on personal accounts, with no shared practices and unclear handling of client information.
- Partners disagree about whether AI is a threat, an opportunity or a distraction, so firmwide decisions keep getting postponed.
- Vendors pitch AI features in the CRM, PSA and Microsoft 365, and the firm cannot tell which are worth paying for.
- Clients ask in RFPs and MSAs how the firm uses AI, and answers are improvised by whichever partner is responding.
We would assess the firm's own operations, from business development and proposals to delivery, knowledge reuse and billing, and identify where AI and automation would save meaningful time. Each opportunity is ranked by payback, risk and effort. The result is a short roadmap with one or two pilots you can start immediately.
The improved workflow
Map where time goes
Interview partners, managers and consultants and review time data to find the recurring tasks that consume non-billable or low-value hours.
Assess data and constraints
Review client contract terms on AI, data sensitivity by practice area, current tools and licenses, and the firm's appetite for risk.
Rank opportunities by payback
Score each candidate workflow on hours saved, revenue impact, risk, effort and readiness, with illustrative business cases using your own rates.
Agree a roadmap and first pilot
Choose one or two pilots with clear baselines and success measures, plus policy and training steps, sequenced over the next six to twelve months.
How we deliver this: AI automation for small business or fractional CTO leadership, scoped in writing and run over 90 days. See pricing or the sample scope.
What we would measure
Pilot adoption by consultants
A roadmap matters only if people use what it recommends.
Payback period of first pilot
Tests the business case against real results.
Where people stay in control
- Partners make the final decisions on priorities, budget and which tools are approved for client work.
- Assessment interviews and time data are handled confidentially and reported in aggregate, not used to evaluate individual consultants.
- Any recommendation involving client data is checked against contract terms and reviewed by counsel where obligations are unclear.
Example
Two pilots, one deliberately deferred
For example, in an illustrative case a 50-person consulting firm assesses twelve candidate workflows. Proposal drafting and weekly status reports rank highest on payback with manageable risk. AI-assisted analysis of client financial data ranks high on value but is deferred because several key client MSAs restrict AI use. The roadmap starts with a proposal pilot in one practice, an AI usage policy within 30 days, and a review of client contract language before revisiting the analysis use case.
Tools typically involved
What the first 30 days look like
In the first 30 days we would interview partners and a sample of consultants, review time data and current tools, check key client contracts for AI terms, and produce a ranked opportunity list. You would agree the first pilot by the end of the month.
Common questions
We advise clients on AI. Isn't this something we should do ourselves?
Many firms could, but internal operations rarely get the same attention as client work. An outside lead brings a structured process and accountability without pulling billable consultants off engagements. Some firms also find it useful to experience the assessment from the client side.
What does the roadmap actually include?
A ranked list of opportunities with estimated time savings, risks and effort, a recommended first pilot with baseline and success measures, policy and training needs, and a sequenced plan for the following quarters. It is short and practical, written for partners to make decisions from.
Will the roadmap recommend buying firmwide AI licenses?
Only if the evidence supports it. Often the better first step is a targeted pilot with a small group, or using AI features already included in tools you pay for. We would recommend broad licenses once a pilot shows real adoption and value.
The business case
Does it pay for itself?
Illustrative defaults for a consulting firm. Replace them with your numbers.
What this workflow costs today
a month in staff time, before any lost sales
Monthly fee + assumed tools +
Break-even: new clients a month (at first-year value)
Or: staff hours recovered and redeployed
Break-even additional revenue
Value of +1 point of win rate
First 90 days, service fee
Worth a closer lookTest the assumptions
Illustration only, not a forecast or guarantee. Recovered staff time becomes a cash saving only if spending actually declines or the time goes into paid work. Tool costs are an assumption; we replace every number here with yours before recommending a scope.
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AI readiness assessment and roadmap: full guide
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Terms used here
Next step
Bring one expensive workflow. Leave with a clear next step.
In 30 minutes we look at one recurring workflow, what it costs you today and whether there is a credible case to improve it. If there is not, we will say so.
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30 minutes with Phil or Martin. No technical brief, no pitch deck. Phil or Martin replies personally, usually within one business day.