--- title: Your team just proposed an AI initiative author: Giacomo Balli published: 2026-08-04 url: https://BigBalli.com/blog/your-team-just-proposed-an-ai-initiative tags: AI, Product, Leadership, Operations, Data --- # Your team just proposed an AI initiative *By Giacomo Balli* | *Published: August 4, 2026* Your team just proposed an AI initiative. These are the questions I would ask before approving the budget, in the order I would ask them. ## Which workflow does this change, and what does that workflow cost us today, per month, in people and delay? What is the cheapest thing that would get half the benefit? A $20 a month tool, a rule in the existing system, a process change. Why is that not enough? Where does the data come from, who owns it, and is it clean enough that the output can be trusted without a person checking every result? If a person checks every result, what did we save? What happens when it is wrong? Who catches it, how quickly, and what does one bad output cost a customer? ## Who owns this in month four, when the consultants are gone? What does the vendor or the team get paid if the answer is yes, and what would they say if it were their money? ## Which number on which report will look different in six months, and who signs their name under it? Most proposals answer the first question well and go quiet at the third. That is fine. It means the proposal is not ready, which is a cheaper thing to learn now than after the statement of work is signed. [Discuss on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7503153946904068096) ## Questions this answers **Which workflow does this change, and what does that workflow cost us today, per month, in people and delay?** What is the cheapest thing that would get half the benefit? A $20 a month tool, a rule in the existing system, a process change. Why is that not enough? Where does the data come from, who owns it, and is it clean enough that the output can be trusted without a person checking every result? If a person checks every result, what did we save? **Who owns this in month four, when the consultants are gone?** What does the vendor or the team get paid if the answer is yes, and what would they say if it were their money? **Which number on which report will look different in six months, and who signs their name under it?** Most proposals answer the first question well and go quiet at the third. That is fine. It means the proposal is not ready, which is a cheaper thing to learn now than after the statement of work is signed. Discuss on LinkedIn --- **Tags:** AI, Product, Leadership, Operations, Data --- *View the [HTML version](https://BigBalli.com/blog/your-team-just-proposed-an-ai-initiative) of this post.*