AI strategy consulting
AI strategy that delivers real ROI
We go beyond deploying AI: we teach your people to fish. 100+ implementations taught us the secret. The technology matters far less than empowering your people to achieve 10× results.
- People first, tech second
- 10× scoped experiments
- Durable capabilities
- 100+ implementations
Real results
10× results across industries
When you empower the right people, the results speak for themselves.
Recruiting & TA
35-40%
faster hiring cycles
AI-powered candidate screening and assessment process
Read case studyProfessional Services
7 days → 24 hours
proposal turnaround
AI-powered proposal generation and customization
Manufacturing
50%
faster RFQ turnaround
AI-powered document assembly and quoting automation
Learn moreIndustrial Services
$186K
annual savings
HR and operations efficiency through targeted AI wins
Read case studyLegal
$1-4M
risk mitigated
Contract review automation and risk identification
Financial Services
70%
reduced attrition
Better candidate matching and onboarding experience
- 100+
- AI Implementations
- 10x
- Typical Improvement
- 1-5%
- Find Champions
- 100%
- People First
The problem
Why most AI strategy fails
The biggest misconception? That AI consulting is about technology. It's actually about people.
What doesn't work
Technology-first approach
- Deploy expensive tools nobody uses
- 12-month roadmaps that never execute
- Complex infrastructure before any wins
- IT projects divorced from business value
- People left wondering 'what's in it for me?'
What we do
People-first approach
- Find champions who embrace AI naturally
- Give them 10× wins that drive momentum
- Watch success spread organically to peers
- Infrastructure emerges from proven wins
- Build durable capability, not dependency
Services
Our AI consulting services
From strategy to implementation, choose the right engagement for your journey.
01 / Service
Most popularQuick Win in a Box
Value-based, outcome-based engagement targeting transformative business goals, roughly 8 to 12 weeks.
- Priced as a share of the outcome's value
- 50% on activation, 50% on verified success
- Working software and a trained internal owner
02 / Service
Groundwork
Paid discovery that finds the right outcome before we commit to it, billed hourly under a hard monthly cap scaled to your organization.
- Scoped opportunities with projected value
- Verified data-access map
- Internal alignment on ownership
03 / Service
Capital Markets Partnership
AI transformation partnership for VC and PE funds. Bespoke, equity-bearing engagements that embed GSD operators alongside fund operating partners.
- Two engagement modes
- ARLOS operating system access
- Outcomes retained by fund & portfolio
Your AI strategy consultant
Christian Ulstrup
A practitioner who's been building with AI for over a decade, hands-on rather than advising from the sidelines.
Christian Ulstrup
Founder, GSD at Work
MIT Sloan MBA · Former MIT AI Co-Chair
I've been applying AI in production for over a decade, long before the current wave. As co-inventor on a medical imaging AI patent and former lead at Arterys (acquired by Tempus AI), I've seen what works and what doesn't when organizations try to adopt AI.
I've served as an ARPA-H AI Advisor, where I helped the U.S. government's health research agency navigate AI implementation. I've worked with organizations from Red Bull to industrial services companies, and I was one of the first practitioners to apply generative AI in production workloads.
The origin story
How we got here first
When I was running OKR cycles for a client, I started pitching spinoff projects that used generative AI. While everyone else was still figuring out what ChatGPT was, we were already deploying it in production.
That head start, combined with a decade of prior AI experience, taught me something crucial: AI success comes from finding the right people and giving them superpowers, far more than from the technology.
Featured in
100+ AI implementations and counting
Our approach
How we work
People-first AI implementation designed around verified results and the value they create.
01 / Step
Free Discovery
Unlike firms charging $10K for assessments, we start with a free strategy call. We believe in earning trust before asking for investment.
02 / Step
Sniper-Shot Precision
We use AI to analyze your operations and identify the highest-leverage opportunities, the 20% of changes that will drive 80% of results.
03 / Step
Outcome-Based
Discovery is billed hourly under a hard monthly cap scaled to your organization. Once we scope an outcome, the price is a share of its value, so you only pay in full when the result is real.
04 / Step
DIY or Accelerate
After assessment, you can implement yourself with our guidance, or accelerate with our hands-on support. Either way, you build capability.
How we price
We do the groundwork, then we underwrite the outcome
We start with Groundwork, paid discovery billed hourly under a hard monthly cap scaled to your organization, to find the right outcome and what it is worth. Then a Quick Win in a Box is priced as a share of that outcome's expected value, with 50% on activation and 50% on verified success. No multi-engagement bundles, and no hourly billing once an outcome is underway.
The comparison
How GSD compares to big consulting
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about AI strategy consulting.
What's the biggest misconception about AI consulting?
That it's primarily about technology. It's actually about people. Only 1-5% of staff naturally embrace AI tools. Our job is to find those champions, give them 10x wins that are impossible to ignore, and let that success spread organically. We teach people to fish. The technology follows.
What makes your approach different?
We're people-first, not technology-first. We find the individuals in your organization who have the right mindset and tacit knowledge, then empower them with AI capabilities that expand the scope of their responsibility. They become the champions who set the pace for their peers. Infrastructure emerges from those wins.
What ROI can I expect from AI?
Our clients typically see 10x improvements on targeted tasks. Real examples: 35-40% faster hiring cycles, 7-day proposal turnaround becoming 24 hours, 8-hour analysis becoming 8 seconds. The key is tightly-scoped experiments that deliver results you can't ignore.
How long does AI implementation take?
A Quick Win in a Box runs roughly 8 to 12 weeks with verified success criteria, after Groundwork finds the right outcome. Broader organizational change unfolds over 6-12 months. We recommend starting with rigorous 10x experiments. Prove value in conditions of uncertainty, then scale investment where there's signal.
Who is this a good fit for?
Organizations that want durable AI capability their team owns, quick wins that prove ROI before scaling, and champions empowered to lead transformation. We're not the right fit if you want PowerPoint strategies without implementation, technology deployed without people buy-in, or consultants to ‘do AI’ for you.
How do I get started?
Book a free strategy call. We'll discuss your challenges, identify who your potential AI champions are, spot quick-win opportunities, and recommend the right engagement path for building durable AI capability in your organization.
Or explore our latest AI insights →Your AI strategy
Ready to build your AI strategy?
Take our free assessment to discover where AI can deliver the biggest impact for your organization, then let's talk about making it happen.