Start here
Curious what AI could improve in your business?
Start with a free 15-minute Zoom conversation. Tell me where work is getting stuck, what takes too much time, or simply what you are curious about improving.
There is no obligation and submitting this form does not commit you to paid work. If there looks to be a good fit, we arrange the introductory Zoom conversation. Focused advisory and mapping work is billed at €500 per hour. The full fixed-scope Phase 1 AI Assessment is €3,000.
A simple first step
15 minutes. Free. No commitment.
The first conversation is about understanding your situation and deciding whether Dormouse Consulting is the right fit — not selling you technology you do not need.
From there, you can choose a focused 60-minute Workflow Decision Map for one workflow, or proceed to the full Phase 1 AI Assessment when broader strategic clarity is needed.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
From enquiry to clarity.
1 · Send your request.
Share a little about your business and what you would like to improve.
2 · I review it personally.
If there appears to be a useful fit, I contact you to arrange the free 15-minute Zoom introduction.
3 · We decide together.
If there is a clear reason to continue, we agree the next piece of work before any paid engagement begins.
4 · Paid work is €500/hour.
You know the expected scope and hours before we proceed.
THE DORMOUSE PRINCIPLE
Understand first. Build second.
I start with your business as it is today: your people, processes, systems and information. AI and automation only enter the picture where they can create genuine value.
Golden rule: never automate an undefined conversation or decision.
If an agent may act or decide for the business, the assessment also clarifies the outcome, workflow, context, decisions, authority, actions, exceptions, evaluation and accountability.
What we examine: readiness, constraints, capabilities, risks, leadership alignment and the practical conditions for implementation.
Four Levels of Readiness
Company: strategy and operating environment. Department: functional dependencies and constraints. Team: workflows, collaboration and adoption. Individual: confidence, capability and responsibility.
We evaluate one AI initiative across all four levels and identify the weakest readiness gap that could prevent success.
Why the planning comes first: powerful technology cannot compensate for an undefined process. Agentic failures usually begin with premature building, unclear decisions and missing accountability.
No AI for the sake of AI.
THE DORMOUSE OPPORTUNITY FIT CHECK
Is this work genuinely suited to an AI agent?
Before assessing organisational readiness, we test the proposed initiative itself. A strong agentic opportunity should meet seven conditions:
01 · Meaningful outcome
The work produces a result worth improving.
02 · Repeating workflow
The work follows a recurring, understandable pattern.
03 · Sufficient context
The agent can access the knowledge needed to act well.
04 · Bounded decisions
Decision rights and limits can be made explicit.
05 · Available actions
The system has safe, practical actions it can perform.
06 · Manageable risk
Failures, exceptions and escalation paths can be controlled.
07 · Measurable performance
Quality, value and failure can be evaluated objectively.
Not every opportunity needs an agent. If a critical condition is missing, the right answer may be to clarify the workflow, improve the foundations or use a simpler form of automation first.
AGENTIC READINESS DIMENSIONS
Readiness is a system, not a collection of scores.
This module examines eight interconnected dimensions. A major weakness in any one can prevent successful deployment—even when every other area appears strong.
Direction
Leadership — alignment and visible support.
Culture — openness to change and AI adoption.
Change Capacity — ability to absorb and sustain transformation.
Foundations
Technology — suitable tools and infrastructure.
Data — clean, organised and accessible information.
Governance — oversight, boundaries and control.
Execution
Skills — capability to work with agentic systems.
Processes — workflows defined well enough to augment or automate.
Delegation readiness — how much decision-making authority the organisation is genuinely ready to transfer.
Delegation Readiness
How much bounded authority is the organisation ready to transfer?
Excitement about AI does not necessarily mean readiness. Delegation readiness establishes a clear boundary between human authority and agent authority by answering five questions:
- Which decisions may be delegated?
- Which decisions still require human approval?
- Which actions may the system perform?
- What must always remain human?
- What evidence would increase trust?
The system gathers information, analyses it and offers recommendations. A person still decides and acts.
The system prepares an email, proposal, plan or response. A person decides whether it will be used.
The system prepares a consequential action, but a named person must approve it before execution.
For proven lower-risk work, the system acts within explicit limits and promptly informs the responsible person.
The output: a step-by-step delegation path that matches current readiness, identifies the evidence needed to progress and prevents the organisation from jumping ahead.
FROM ASSESSMENT TO EXECUTABLE STRATEGY
A real AI roadmap defines more than technology.
More than half of responsible implementation happens before building begins. The roadmap balances opportunity with risk and defines seven outputs required to move from ideas to accountable execution.
1 · Operating model
How work will function with people and agents.
2 · Responsibilities
Who decides, approves, acts and remains accountable.
3 · Capabilities
The skills, systems, data and partners required.
4 · Governance
Boundaries, oversight, risk tolerance and escalation.
5 · Investment
Funding, resources, priorities and implementation logic.
6 · Adoption
How teams will learn, adapt and sustain the change.
7 · Measurement
Success criteria, evaluation and evidence for progressing.
Executive support is not the same as ownership.
Every initiative needs a named sponsor, clear decision rights, agreed risk tolerance, investment logic and measurable success criteria.
Who owns this initiative—and has the authority to move it forward?
The destination is an organisation that is intelligent, adaptive, scalable, human-led and AI-powered.
Request an AI Assessment
Tell me a little about your business.
Complete the form below. I’ll review your request personally and contact you about the appropriate next step.
Dormouse Consulting
We make AI work for your business.
Business-first AI consulting, workflow design, implementation and training. No AI for the sake of AI — just the right technology in the right places.
Start a conversation
Curious what AI could improve in your business? Start with a free 15-minute Zoom introduction.
