Most AI projects stall because the wrong first project was chosen. A single payback number fixes that.
The hardest part of an AI programme is not the technology. It is choosing what to build first. Pick the wrong workflow and the programme stalls before it shows value.
We score every candidate the same way: hours saved or revenue recovered per month, divided by the cost to build it. The workflow with the best ratio goes first. If a candidate has no number, it does not get built.
This does two things. It keeps the first project small and certain enough to prove value quickly. And it changes the incentive, because a team paid to ship is rewarded for the shortest path to a working system, not for more analysis.
It also means we will sometimes tell you the answer is an off-the-shelf tool and no engagement at all. That honesty is the point.
Governance is not a policy document. It is the controls that let a board approve AI without taking on risk it cannot see.
Simple automation is right more often than people think. The line is whether a step needs judgement.
