The situation
AI is everywhere. Knowing where it fits in your business can be challenging.
Do either of these sound like your situation?
- You or someone on your team is already using one of the AI chat tools, but it doesn't quite do what you want, or you think you need something totally different.
- There's a specific process in your business, like the quoting, the invoices, the inbox, or the reports nobody wants to write, that feels like it should be automatable, but you're unsure where to start.
What helps
Someone who will sit down with you and your work and show you plainly what's possible and what isn't. That's what the Reality Check does.
What you get
What you leave with
-
Forty-five minutes on one real process
The one that takes up your week. Your steps, your tools, your constraints. Most of the time is spent on your work.
-
A look at how I work
Live, on your problem, so you can judge whether I'm someone you'd want to work with before you spend anything.
-
A straight answer
Worth automating, not worth it, or not yet. And why, in plain terms, so you can judge it yourself.
-
A short follow-up email
What we found, in a few lines you can forward. If there's work worth doing, what it would take and what it would cost, in writing.
The forty-five minutes
How the forty-five minutes are spent
| Minutes | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0–5 | Introductions, and what you want out of the call. I also tell you roughly what paid work with me costs, so nothing at the end is a surprise. |
| 5–15 | You walk me through the process: what happens, who does it, and where the time goes, before I say anything about AI. |
| 15–35 | We work on it together, live. I try a piece of it with AI, on an example shaped like yours, and we see what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and what it would cost each time it runs. |
| 35–45 | The answer and the next step, including when the next step is “nothing yet”. Then anything you want to ask me. |
If you can, bring the person who does the work. They know the details that matter most.
Fit
Who this is for
This is for you if
- You run or manage something and have a specific recurring process in mind.
- You've tried the AI chat tools and they don't quite do what you need.
- You want a straight answer before you spend anything.
This is not for you if
- You already know exactly what you want built. That's a different conversation. Tell me what you have in mind
- You're looking for a general AI strategy for the whole organization. Forty-five minutes isn't enough for that.
Who you'll be talking to
I'm Dillon McClendon, a mechanical engineer turned software engineer. I spent six and a half years automating a manufacturing plant floor, the last two of them as a software developer, and I've built software applications full time ever since. More about me
Before you book
Questions
What's the catch?
It's how I find the work worth doing. If the process is worth building, the usual next step is the Guided Build: your people build it with me in six weeks, at a fixed price, or you don't pay. Or, if you'd rather, I build it for you. I tell you roughly what either costs in the first five minutes, not the last. If it isn't worth building, I'll say so, and you'll still leave knowing more than you came in with. About the Guided Build
Do I need to know anything beforehand?
No. Bring the process, not an idea about AI.
Is it in person or remote?
Remote, by video. In person is possible if you are nearby.
Who should be there?
You, and if you can, the person who actually does the process. They know the details that matter most.
What if the answer is that AI can't help us?
Then I'll tell you so, which is worth knowing before you spend anything.
Do you sign an NDA?
Yes, gladly, or you can use mine. Everything discussed is confidential by default and nothing gets described publicly without your written yes.
What happens to our data?
Nothing leaves the call unless you send it to me. If later work needs your data, you'll get a written description of exactly what goes where before anything moves.
Book the forty-five minutes
Free. Forty-five minutes on one process, and a straight answer about whether it's worth automating.
Or write to me directly at dillon@dillonmcclendon.com