Start with the systems.
Look directly at the knowledge work, bottlenecks, and processes inside the business. A website is not required.
Start the AI conversationThe thesis
The tools already work. Almost nobody has set them up.
Two independent 2025 studies say the same thing: adoption is everywhere, results are not. The gap is implementation.
95%
of organizations piloting generative AI saw zero measurable return to the P&L.
MIT / Project NANDA — State of AI in Business, 202521%
88% of companies now use AI, yet only 21% have redesigned a single workflow around it.
McKinsey — State of AI, November 2025Piloting a tool is not the same as re-engineering the work. That second step is the entire job.
Start with the actual need
Two good ways to begin.
Neither is required for the other.
Fix the public front door.
$1,500An optional, standalone first engagement when the current website needs work.
Get a free website readWebsite quality does not determine whether a company can begin an AI Assessment or Install.
One implementation path
Start with the website or start with the systems.
Either route can lead to the same measured implementation process when there is a real opportunity. Neither depends on the other.
DirectSystems conversation
orOptionalWebsite engagement
- Measure$2,500 Assessment
- BuildStandard Install
- ContinueCadence
The Standard Install
Four parts. Installed, not advised.
Not a deck of recommendations — a working setup that stays after we leave.
Repo
Brain
A markdown git repository that holds how your company actually works — your standards, your data, your context. The agents read it before they act.
Executable
Skills
Plain, in-repo instructions any agent can run: quoting, BOM validation, overnight document work. Vendor-neutral by design — swap the AI, the brain stays.
Named people
Champions
Your operators, trained in the room and handoff-tested. The system survives after the consultant leaves because someone inside owns it.
Monthly
Cadence
A measurement review and an owner one-pager every month. What got faster, what it saved, what runs next — in hours and dollars.
How to work together
Four ways in, one methodology.
Start with a free 30 minutes. The rest is priced against what it saves.
| Engagement | Price | Commitment | What you leave with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free intro | Free | 30 minutes | A straight answer on whether AI can actually move a number in your operation |
| Opportunity Assessment | $2,500 | Half to full day on site | Process inventory with baselines |
| The Standard Install | Scoped in the assessment | 30–45 days, then a monthly cadence | The Standard Install: brain, champions, first skill built with your operators in the room |
| The Applied AI Cohort | $5k / company | 6 weeks · 8–10 companies per run | Two seats per company — a leader and a champion |
Latest video
AI Is Going to Create More Jobs, Not Fewer
AI is going to create more jobs, not fewer. I think it will bring us into a golden age by lowering the cost of building, taking on more of the repetitive grind, and giving human ambition more places to go.
From the Richardson Applied AI channel · no hype, no mystery
Who’s behind it
Second-generation operations consulting — applied to the information side.
Holden Richardson builds production AI systems inside real companies. The discipline is inherited: his father re-engineered the physical operation on manufacturing floors. Richardson Applied AI re-engineers how the knowledge work flows.