AI Portfolio Arbitration
What to launch, scale or stop. Up to 50 candidate use cases or running initiatives, scored on impact, feasibility and risk, then decided. For the chief AI officer, the CFO, the COO or an operating partner whose portfolio has outgrown intuition.
PRICE
€10,000
DELIVERY
2–4 weeks
REVIEW
Signed by a partner
§ 01 · The problem
"We have fifteen AI initiatives. Three are working. Nobody can name them on the spot."
Two years into the AI cycle, most enterprises have accumulated a portfolio nobody designed. Initiatives sprouted in business units, in IT, in innovation labs. Some shipped. Many didn't. Few were killed cleanly. Budget keeps flowing to projects whose original sponsors have moved on, while the three that actually move the needle starve for capacity.
AI Portfolio Arbitration starts from either side: a list of candidate use cases to launch, or a portfolio already running. Every item is scored on impact, feasibility and risk, then given one of five decisions. Capital and capacity move toward what compounds.
§ 02 · What you get
A portfolio reset, fully documented.
Six deliverables that turn a sprawling AI program into a focused investment portfolio. Built to be defensible in Comex and durable through the next planning cycle.
DELIVERABLE 01
Portfolio inventory
Every AI initiative and candidate use case mapped: shipped, in pilot, in roadmap, proposed. Sponsor, budget, stage, intent, measurable outcomes. The picture nobody has today.
DELIVERABLE 02
Impact, feasibility and risk scorecard
Each item scored on impact, feasibility and risk — strategic fit, value delivered or expected, adoption, technical health, sponsorship. The objective basis for the hard conversations.
DELIVERABLE 03
Commit / Scale / Pivot / Wait / Stop matrix
Every item given one of five decisions — commit, scale, pivot, wait, stop — with explicit rationale. The matrix your executive committee signs off on, and the cover to act on it.
DELIVERABLE 04
Reallocation plan
Capital and capacity flow from stopped initiatives toward those being scaled. Quarterly schedule. Headcount transitions. The redeployment math, not just the slide that says "we'll free up resources."
DELIVERABLE 05
Stakeholder communication plan
How to announce a stop without losing the people behind it. Sequencing, talk tracks, alternative landings for displaced team members. The change management nobody plans for — and the reason most portfolio resets fail in execution.
DELIVERABLE 06
Governance ritual upgrade
Quarterly portfolio review template. Stage-gate criteria. Sunset triggers. The operating cadence that prevents the next portfolio drift — so this engagement isn't repeated in 18 months.
§ 03 · Process & timeline
Two to four weeks. Four sessions. A decision the executive committee signs.
From inventory to executive sign-off, timed to the planning cycle that sets next year's allocations.
WEEK 1
Inventory & data gathering
90-min kickoff with executive sponsor. Cross-BU inventory: portfolio managers, IT leadership, business sponsors. We surface shadow initiatives and zombies — the full map nobody had.
WEEKS 1–2
Scoring & preliminary classification
Each item scored on impact, feasibility and risk. Initial commit / scale / pivot / wait / stop placement. Sponsor interviews to test the political feasibility of each call. First-pass matrix circulated for confidential review.
WEEK 2
Calibration session
Half-day session with executive sponsor and 2-3 trusted leaders. Challenge every preliminary call. Surface political constraints. Calibrate the optimization against organizational reality — without diluting the strategic edit.
WEEKS 2–3
Reallocation & communication
Reallocation plan finalized: capital flows, headcount transitions, sequencing. Stakeholder communication plan structured. Governance ritual designed. All six deliverables consolidated.
WEEKS 3–4
Comex readout & handover
90-min Comex readout. Q&A and pushback handled live. Final deliverables packaged. First quarterly review meeting calendared.
§ 04 · Frequently asked
Six honest answers to common questions.
How many initiatives is this engagement designed for?
Up to 50 items — candidate use cases, running initiatives, or both. Above 50, we scope an extended engagement: the method holds, but the inventory phase doubles.
How do you handle politically sensitive stops?
Directly. We surface them in the calibration session, never in writing first. The executive sponsor decides which stops they want third-party cover on — and which they want to handle privately. The stakeholder communication plan addresses talk tracks, alternative landings for displaced teams, and sequencing.
Do you replace our internal portfolio function?
No — we install the discipline they'll then operate. The governance ritual (quarterly reviews, stage-gate criteria, sunset triggers) is designed for your internal PMO or AI office to run. We don't create a dependency; we close the gap that existed before us.
What if our scoring data is uneven across initiatives?
It always is — initiatives in pilot have rich data, others have thin claims. We surface the data quality explicitly in the scorecard. Decisions on data-light initiatives are flagged for accelerated re-review. Transparency beats false precision.
Does it cover new use cases, or only running initiatives?
Both. Before launch, it ranks candidate use cases and names those to fund this quarter. Once launched, it edits the running portfolio. Most clients do both at once: clear the deck, then fill the freed envelope.
Can the optimization survive a CEO change mid-execution?
If the new CEO inherits a documented optimization with sponsor sign-off and governance install, yes — typically. If the engagement is championed by one executive without broader Comex buy-in, no. We design for Comex sign-off precisely because it survives leadership transitions.
§ Ready when you are
Concentrate capital on what compounds.
€10,000, two to four weeks, signed by a partner. The portfolio edit that stops what drains the budget and funds what compounds.