Pilot Workshop by VANDAM: Design one AI pilot with your leadership team in a day

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# Pilot Workshop by VANDAM: Design one AI pilot with your leadership team in a day

> One day with the CEO, CFO, head of HR and your legal lead. We start from a result you want to move, pick the workflow closest to it, mark every step to eliminate, automate or delegate, check what is ready and agree when the pilot goes on or

URL: https://vandam.ai/pilot-workshop  
Contact: hendrik@vibelab.be

# Design your first AI pilot in one day with your leadership team.

One day with the CEO, CFO, head of HR and your legal lead. We start from a result you want to move, pick the workflow closest to it, mark every step to eliminate, automate or delegate, check what is ready and agree when the pilot goes on or stops. You leave with a one-page pilot card the team can start on the week after.

[Discuss the project](mailto:hendrik@vibelab.be?subject=VANDAM%20/%20Pilot%20Workshop)

**$4,800** one day

## Many companies start AI pilots. Far fewer carry them into production.

- **42%**
  of companies abandoned most of their AI initiatives before production, up from 17% a year earlier. [S&P Global](https://www.ciodive.com/news/AI-project-fail-data-SPGlobal/742590/) survey of more than 1,000 respondents in North America and Europe, 2025.
- **46%**
  of AI proofs of concept were scrapped before they reached production at the average company, in the same survey.
- **63%**
  of finance organizations said AI implementation was slower than expected in 2025. [Gartner](https://cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/05/28/gartner-says-cfos-must-stop-mistaking-finance-ai-deployment-for-value-creation/184094) survey of 204 finance leaders, March 2026.

> Before deciding what work/product to transform, you need to decide the outcome.
>
> Alex Lieberman, Co-founder, Tenex, September 2026, [Source](https://x.com/businessbarista/status/2101659025788031152)

Bring whoever has to sign off, so the pilot is decided in the room.

## Most pilots start from a tool someone saw in a demo. Yours starts from a number you want to move.

A pilot usually begins with a tool. Nobody writes down which result it should move, who owns that result or what would make the company stop, and a few months later it is still running without anyone able to say whether it worked. Many companies start pilots and far fewer carry them into production, as our [notes on why pilots stall](https://vandam.ai/notes/why-pilots-stall) lay out.

The workshop runs the other way around. The leadership team agrees on one outcome in a plain form: improve this measure from this baseline to this target by this date. Then we take the workflow closest to it, draw it as it runs today and mark every step. E means eliminate it, A means an agent automates it, D means delegate it to the person who should own it.

> During the workshop, we asked every exec to write out one of their/their teams key processes step by step and place an E (eliminate), A (automate), or D (delegate) next to each step.
>
> Alex Lieberman, Co-founder, Tenex, April 2026, [Source](https://x.com/businessbarista/status/2047488697885413391)

Finance, HR and legal sit at the table for the steps that touch money, people and risk, so their questions get answered on the day and come back as conditions on the pilot. The day ends with a readiness check across eight areas and the rules for going on or stopping. Once the pilot runs, an [AI Opportunity Map](https://vandam.ai/ai-opportunity-map) ranks what comes next, and a [Company Redesign](https://vandam.ai/company-redesign) takes on the whole company.

## How the day runs.

1. Morning: the outcome and the workflow: We agree one outcome with a baseline, a target and a date, list the workflows close to it and pick the one that would move it most. Then we draw that workflow as it runs today, step by step, with who does each step and how long it takes.
2. Early afternoon: mark every step: Each step gets a letter: E for the steps that can go, A for the ones an agent can take, D for the ones that belong with someone else. The new process is drawn next to the old one, with the time each step should take.
3. Late afternoon: readiness and the card: We rate eight areas from value at stake to legal controls, decide what has to be fixed first and write the criteria to go on or stop. The pilot card is signed off before everyone leaves.

## Designed in a day. Built when you are ready.

Some teams run the pilot themselves from the card. Others ask us to build it and to review the results with them against the go and stop criteria, on the dates written on the card.

- Pilot build: The agent and connections for the marked process, built on your stack.
- Go or stop review: A session at each decision date, against the criteria on the card.
- Measure tracking: The measure followed from its baseline, so the result is clear on the day.
- Next workflow: When the pilot passes, the next workflow designed the same way.

[Ask about building the pilot](mailto:hendrik@vibelab.be?subject=VANDAM%20/%20Pilot%20Workshop%20care)

## What you receive.

- Pilot card: One page with the outcome, owner, scope, measure and go/stop rules.
- Marked process: The workflow today and redesigned, every step marked.
- Readiness check: Eight areas rated, with what to fix before the pilot starts.

$4,800

one day

An indication from past projects. The final price can move a little with the size and complexity of your company, and we agree it in writing before we start.

For leadership teams at 20–500 person companies. Useful when AI is on the agenda and nobody has picked the first thing to try.

[hendrik@vibelab.be](mailto:hendrik@vibelab.be?subject=VANDAM%20/%20Pilot%20Workshop)

## Where the workshop leads. Each next step has its own service.

### Floor Plan

Comes before the day: the workflows to choose from, already drawn with their hours.

**$6,400**

### Agent-Ready Audit

Checks the data and systems the pilot depends on before it starts.

**$9,600**

### Team Harness

Rolls out the tools to the pilot team, with the rules agreed on the day.

**$12,800**

### Eval Suite

Measures the pilot against the go and stop criteria on your own cases.

### AI Opportunity Map

Once the pilot runs: what to start next, ranked on the same terms.

## Before you ask.

### Who needs to be in the room?

The CEO, the CFO, the head of HR and whoever covers legal, plus the owner of the workflow if that is someone else. Up to eight people works well.

### Do we need to prepare anything?

A short call the week before to agree two or three candidate outcomes. A baseline number for each makes the morning go faster.

### What if we pick the wrong pilot?

The stop criteria are written so a wrong pick shows early. The card says what has to be true by which date, and what happens if it is not.

### How does this relate to the AI Opportunity Map?

The workshop designs one pilot in one day. The map looks across the whole company and ranks where to start. Once the pilot runs, the map shows what comes after it.