Methodology
A proprietary scoring system for identifying where AI creates the most measurable business leverage — and what it should never touch.
Why This Exists
AI investments based on what vendors pitch, not on where the business actually needs leverage.
Without structured evaluation, the most persuasive stakeholder picks the project — not the highest-value one.
Nobody asks where AI should not go. Bad investments don't get caught until after money is spent.
Systems get built. Nobody uses them. Zero leverage delivered.
The Leverage Index replaces instinct with structured, scored prioritization — before a dollar is invested.
The Scoring System
Click a dimension to see what it measures, why it matters, and how it's scored.
How Scoring Works
This is how the Leverage Index evaluates a single AI opportunity across all six dimensions.
Sample Opportunity
The Tier System
Tier label first, score second. Clients think in tiers. Scores rank within tiers.
Highest leverage. Proceed to Architecture immediately. Maximum 3 concurrent.
These opportunities are close to Tier 1 — typically one dimension improvement away. We begin active preparation (data cleanup, stakeholder alignment, integration pre-work) so they’re ready to build as soon as Tier 1 systems are underway.
Strong opportunities that need more development before they’re ready. They might require better data infrastructure, stronger executive sponsorship, or a prerequisite system to be built first. They stay in the active pipeline and are re-scored as conditions evolve.
Potential exists but conditions aren't right. Re-score in 6 months as business context evolves.
AI is not the right solution. A simpler approach delivers better results. This is disciplined prioritization.
These opportunities never enter the scoring process. They hit one of six hard stops: no usable data exists, regulatory prohibition applies, the problem is better solved without AI, there's no executive sponsor, target users have explicitly rejected the concept, or the underlying system is being replaced. Disqualified items are documented with rationale and can be re-evaluated if conditions change.
The Four Phases
Most clients enter at Phases 01 + 02: the 30-Day AI Opportunity Assessment.
Audit workflows, data flows, decision points, and bottlenecks. Identify every AI intervention point.
Score every opportunity across 6 dimensions. Assign tiers. Identify disqualifications. Produce the Leverage Index Scorecard.
Technical blueprints, integration maps, governance frameworks, adoption plans, phased deployment roadmaps.
Build, deploy, train, measure, optimize. Production-ready systems with governance and KPI baselines.
The Leverage Index in Practice
Reduce patient no-shows with AI-driven scheduling. But: data was fragmented across 12 facilities, integration required 4 months of pre-work, and the ROI was ~$400K/year. The system couldn't be built fast or cheaply enough to justify the investment now.
Automate patient follow-up, appointment reminders, insurance pre-authorization, and referral coordination. Data was clean and centralized. Deployed in 6 weeks. Recaptured 1,800 admin hours per month. ROI: $900K+/year. And it created the data layer that makes scheduling viable later.
The insight: Build communications first. It delivers 2x the ROI in one-third the time — and creates the patient data infrastructure that makes the scheduling optimizer dramatically more effective when it's eventually built. Without the Leverage Index, this client would have spent 7 months on the wrong project.
See What Your Leverage Index Would Reveal
The full Leverage Index evaluates your actual workflows, data, stakeholders, and strategic priorities. In 30 days, you receive a scored map of 10–25 real opportunities — and a clear report on what AI should never touch.
Complimentary scoping call · 30-day fixed engagement · No obligation