Most writing on AI in operations is one of two things: a strategy deck dressed up as a thought-piece, or a tactical walkthrough of someone else’s tool stack. Both miss the middle.
The middle is where the actual decisions happen — which workflow to pick, when to wait, what eval discipline looks like in practice, whether to hire or embed. We’ve been asked these questions on every audit call we’ve run. This guide is the long-form answer, sequenced as a read.
Each chapter ends with a decision. Read them in order if you’re early. Skip ahead if you’ve already shipped. The reading-path block below tells you where to start.
Pick your starting chapter.
Read in order. Chapter I (readiness) tells you whether to keep reading.
Start hereSkip to chapter III (POC ship-cycle), then back to chapter II (prioritization) to confirm.
Start hereStart at chapter IV (eval discipline) and chapter V (capacity model) — the rest is foundation you've already laid.
Start hereRun the 90-second diagnostic first.
Ten questions tell you which engagement shape fits and which two chapters are most relevant for your situation. The result links straight to the right reads.
Run the diagnosticFive reads. Each one a decision.
Sequenced as a learning path. The reading-path block above tells you where to enter if you’ve already done some of the foundation work.
When the reading is done. Two next steps.
Run the diagnostic to see which engagement shape matches your situation, or describe a workflow and we’ll write back with a verdict on this page.