Advisory: a decision tested before the money is committed
We give leadership a senior practitioner's view on AI, architecture and risk before the commitment is made, and we write the reasoning down.
Who this is for
Executives, board members and their direct reports facing a decision on strategy, architecture or risk, who want it tested by people who have had to live with the outcome.
In brief
Advisory gives executives and boards a senior counterpart who tests an AI, architecture or risk decision before money is committed. The choice remains yours. We read the evidence first, say where we disagree, and write down the choice, its owner and what would reopen it. Delivery is a separate scope.
- It suits
- The executive who owns a decision, and the leaders whose functions it touches.
- You bring
- The proposal, the evidence you hold and the people who will live with the outcome.
- You receive
- A pre-read, challenge in the room, and a written decision with its owner.
- It ends
- At the advice. Carrying the work out is a separate scope, written afterward.
On this page
Why a decision comes back to the table
Decisions are reopened for ordinary reasons. The assumption underneath was never written down. The adviser gained from the answer. The person who would live with the result was not in the room. Or conditions changed and nobody was given the job of noticing.
Advisory closes those gaps one at a time. We read the evidence before the meeting, say plainly where we disagree, and write the decision down with its owner and the conditions that would reopen it.
| The question in front of you | Where it goes | What is written down | Who sits in |
|---|---|---|---|
| What should we fund first, and what should we leave alone? | AI Strategy | The choices in order, what was deferred and why, and an owner for each funded item | The CEO, the CIO and the heads of the functions that will change |
| Can our systems carry what we are planning? | Architecture advisory | A reading of the system as built, what each initiative demands of it, and options with their trade-offs | The CTO, the lead architect and the head of operations |
| Who answers when an AI system gets it wrong? | AI Governance and Risk | The AI in use, an accountable owner for each system, and controls tied to the work | General counsel's office, risk, and the system owners |
| I need someone to think with who gains nothing from the answer | Executive Advisory | A running log of decisions, reasoning, owners and the conditions to reopen them | The CEO or a board member, with others as the topic needs |
How the services lean on each other
The architecture read usually comes before strategy, because a strategy that funds what the system cannot carry is a wish list. Governance belongs ahead of launch: controls added to a live system get argued over, while controls designed with it are simply part of it. Executive Advisory can sit around any of the others, and it is the usual home for a decision that has no name yet.
A decision that was not written down will be made again, usually by someone with less information.
One decision, from request to record
- 01
The request
The executive who owns the decision names it in a sentence, the date it must be made and what is already committed. If it has been announced, we say advisory cannot test it.
- 02
The pre-read
We read the proposal, the vendor material and your own data, then send back a brief of what we have seen, what is missing and what we would ask.
- 03
The session
A working meeting with the owner and the leaders the decision touches. We test the assumptions, ask what can be reversed, and state where we disagree.
- 04
The record
The choice, the reasoning, any dissent, the owner and the conditions that would reopen it, written up and sent to everyone who was in the room.
- 05
The checkpoint
We return when a condition changes, or on the date the record names, to check whether the assumptions still hold.
When advisory is the right form of help
It fits when
- The decision is yours to make and the money is not yet committed.
- The people who will live with the outcome can be in the room.
- A proposal, a vendor or an existing adviser has an interest in the answer that you cannot discount.
Look elsewhere when
- The decision is made and you want it endorsed. Advice that only agrees is not worth buying.
- You need the work done and not judged. Consulting carries it out.
- You need a legal opinion. We work alongside your counsel and do not replace them.
What you give up is the comfort of a quick yes. Testing a decision takes senior time, and sometimes the finding is that the decision is not ready.
A pattern we are called into
A hotel group, a guest assistant and a board date
The chief executive of a hospitality group holds a vendor's proposal for an assistant that answers guest messages. The board meets soon. The CIO supports it. The head of operations has doubts and has not voiced them.
- Request. The chief executive names the decision: fund the assistant or not, before the board meets.
- Pre-read. We read the proposal, then the booking and property systems as they run, and find guest records held in places that disagree.
- Session. The head of operations says what had been left unsaid: the assistant would answer from a record that is wrong for part of the estate.
- Record. Fund the single guest record first, defer the assistant, name the owner, and reopen when the booking system reads that record.
- Checkpoint. The proposal returns once the record exists, with a new question attached: who answers when the assistant gets a booking wrong.
Where it endsThe board funds a smaller first step with its reason on file, and the vendor's proposal is judged again on facts, not on a demonstration.
Questions
What do buyers ask about advisory?
How is advisory different from consulting?
Advisory gives you a judgment before you commit, and the decision stays with you. Consulting carries the work out. They can be bought separately, and when both are used, the written scope keeps them apart so that advice stays distinct from delivery.
Can we start with a single session?
Yes. An advisory relationship can begin with one decision and one session. The scope can stay that small or grow into a standing rhythm if decisions keep coming, and in either case what we advise is written down.
Who attends from our side?
The executive who owns the decision, and the leaders whose functions it touches. Advice reaches its owner directly with nothing filtered on the way, and the written record goes to the same people.
Will you work with our existing advisers?
Yes. We read what they have written, ask for what is missing and say where we agree or differ, with reasons. Your decision benefits from more than one view, and the record shows how each was weighed.
Which decision should be tested before it is made?
Describe what you are weighing in a few lines. A senior practitioner replies with a suggested first conversation.