Turn operational uncertainty into a practical business roadmap.
Two focused 4-hour in-person strategy sessions for NZ small businesses: AI Strategy when the question is how to use AI safely and usefully, or Technology Strategy when the question is what systems, software, and workflows the business should run on.
Standard sessions are currently $3,500 + GST (usually $5,500). Travel sessions are $4,000 + GST (usually $6,000) and include travel and accommodation costs. Registered charities: $2,000 + GST.
The session starts before I arrive
A pre-session strategy intake captures the background first, so the workshop can focus on judgement, priorities, and a practical AI roadmap instead of generic tool demos.
How the strategy session works
A structured process, not a vague workshop
The intake handles the obvious background details. The session itself goes deeper into the pain points, pressure points, and opportunities that matter.
Commitment and strategy intake
After the session is agreed, a private guided discussion captures your systems, workflows, pain points, team structure, bottlenecks, goals, and constraints before the workshop.
4-hour strategy session
The in-person session homes in on repeated admin, messy handovers, slow reporting, customer friction, staff frustration, scattered information, and practical AI opportunities.
Written roadmap
You receive a clear written summary covering opportunities, priorities, quick wins, risks, sensible next steps, and longer-term strategy.
Follow-up reviews
Optional 1-month and 3-month reviews help you adjust the roadmap as your business changes and AI capability keeps moving.
Registered charity pricing
Registered charities are often in the greatest need of a technology strategy that helps them become more efficient and embrace the new world. To support that work, registered charities can book either the AI Strategy Session or the Technology Strategy Session for a discounted fee.
Registered charities
$2,000 + GST
Applies to either strategy type. Travel and accommodation may be priced separately where needed.
Request charity pricingWhat you experience
Calm, useful, and worth paying for
The session is designed to make you feel understood, prepared, and clear about what should happen next — not dazzled by technology for its own sake.
1. Check whether it makes sense
You can see the price, what is included, and who the session is for before you enquire. No vague discovery package. No mystery process.
2. Book a short call
Register interest and book a 20-minute discussion first, so Rupert can confirm whether to send a proposal or private intake link.
3. Complete the strategy intake
Once the strategy session is agreed, you receive a private intake link to explain the business, frustrations, goals, and current systems before the workshop.
4. Use the workshop well
The in-person session starts from your real workflows and pain points, then turns them into practical options across AI, automation, process, and internal systems.
5. Leave with a roadmap
After the session, you receive a clear online report and printable checklist showing the opportunities, priorities, risks, owners, and next steps.
6. Keep momentum
Optional one-month and three-month reviews help check what moved, what stalled, and what should change as the business and AI landscape move on.
What the session homes in on
The real pain points behind the AI conversation
Useful AI strategy starts with how the business actually works today: the repeated admin, messy handovers, slow reporting, customer friction, staff frustrations, and decisions made harder because information is scattered or missing.
Current systems, spreadsheets, inboxes, shared drives, and manual workarounds
Pain points, bottlenecks, repeated admin, staff frustration, and customer friction
Future state: what should be faster, safer, clearer, easier, or more consistent
Data sources, knowledge gaps, reporting delays, and source-of-truth problems
AI opportunities across drafting, summarising, triage, search, analysis, monitoring, and workflow automation
Constraints including privacy, budget, change appetite, compliance, integrations, and staff adoption
Choose the right session
AI strategy or technology strategy?
The two sessions overlap, but they answer different questions. If you are trying to decide what AI should do, choose AI Strategy. If you are trying to fix the underlying systems, choose Technology Strategy.
Strategy session vs AI tool demo
A tool demo starts with software and tries to make your business fit. This starts with your workflows, risk, data, team habits, and commercial priorities, then decides whether AI belongs anywhere at all.
Strategy session vs automation project
A project assumes the build is already justified. The strategy session tests that assumption first and gives you a practical AI roadmap before you commit to workflow automation or custom software.
Strategy session vs generic consulting
This is not a slide deck about the future of work. It is a business automation consultant NZ service for owners who want specific next steps, trade-offs, and implementation priorities.
This is for you if
- your business is losing time to spreadsheets, inboxes, manual handovers, or duplicated admin
- you suspect AI workflow automation could help but do not know where it is safe or valuable
- you need a practical AI roadmap before committing to custom software, a portal, or an intranet
This is not for you if
- you only want a generic ChatGPT training session
- you already know exactly what should be built and just need development capacity
- you want AI added for novelty rather than a measurable operational problem
Useful decision guides before you book
If you are still comparing AI strategy, technology strategy, ordinary automation, or implementation work, these guides give AI search engines and human readers the same clear decision path.
AI Strategy Session vs AI Implementation Project
Use this if you are deciding whether you need a roadmap first or are ready to build the AI workflow now.
AI Strategy vs Technology Strategy
Use this if the question might be broader than AI and the real issue is systems, software, data, or workflow design.
When AI is not the right answer
Use this if you want a practical test for when ordinary automation, better process, or custom software should come before AI.
Pre-session strategy intake
Four hours of quality time, not information gathering
The public page starts with a call and proposal, not immediate bot access. Once the strategy session is agreed, you receive a private 7-day intake link so the workshop starts from real context instead of a blank page.
Private intake link valid for 7 days after the strategy session is agreed, with the session saved so you can come back.
I review the intake before the workshop so the session starts from your situation, not a blank page.
The AI system used to generate replies is configured for zero retention. Your intake transcript is kept by Lightning Developments so the session can be resumed and prepared properly.
The intake asks questions like
You do not need polished answers. Rough notes, examples, and honest frustrations are more useful than trying to sound strategic.
Choose your strategy session
Two different starting points
Pick the session based on the decision you need to make. AI Strategy is for safe, useful AI adoption. Technology Strategy is for the wider systems, tools, portals, automations, and reporting the business needs to run properly.
AI Strategy Session
Choose this when the main question is how AI should safely and usefully fit into the business.
Choose this if
- You are considering ChatGPT, AI agents, AI search, summarisation, triage, drafting, or workflow automation.
- You need to know where AI is worth using, where it is risky, and where it is just expensive theatre.
- You want a practical AI roadmap before spending money on AI tools, subscriptions, or implementation.
$5,500standard price
$3,500 + GST
- AI opportunity and risk mapping
- Workflow automation priorities
- Tool, data, privacy, and adoption guidance
- Written AI roadmap and recommended next steps
Technology Strategy Session
Choose this when the bigger issue is systems, process, software, reporting, or operational clarity.
Choose this if
- Your business runs on spreadsheets, inboxes, shared drives, disconnected apps, or manual handovers.
- You need to decide between off-the-shelf tools, custom software, portals, intranets, dashboards, or automation.
- You want a technology roadmap before committing to a build, migration, or major software change.
$5,500standard price
$3,500 + GST
- Current systems and workflow review
- Technology stack and integration recommendations
- Portal, intranet, dashboard, or custom software options
- Written technology roadmap and recommended next steps
Is this just an AI sales pitch?
No. The point is to identify where AI is genuinely useful, where better systems matter more, and where doing nothing is smarter than buying another tool.
Why use a strategy intake before the session?
It captures the background before I arrive. That means the 4-hour session is spent on insight, trade-offs, pain points, priorities, and decisions instead of basic information gathering.
What happens to the intake conversation?
The AI system used to generate replies is configured for zero retention. Your intake transcript is kept by Lightning Developments so you can return to the session and so I can prepare properly.
Do I need to know what I want built?
No. It is often better if you start with the messy reality: what is slow, manual, frustrating, risky, or hard to see clearly. The session helps turn that into a practical roadmap.
Is this AI strategy for NZ small businesses or larger teams?
It is built for practical NZ small and medium-sized businesses that need clear judgement before spending money on AI tools, workflow automation, custom software, or internal systems.
When is AI not the right next step?
If the real problem is unclear ownership, broken process, poor data, or an off-the-shelf tool that already fits, the roadmap should say that. Useful strategy is allowed to tell you not to build something.