Silverline Advisory Group—an 18-person CFO/valuation boutique in Denver—invited our AI discovery agent “Dave” to map how work really gets done: proposals, onboarding, reporting, and internal knowledge handoffs. Over a focused sprint, Dave conducted 18 confidential, 10–15 minute interviews across partners, analysts, client services, marketing/proposals, and IT/compliance. The goal wasn’t to judge performance—it was to turn repetitive, manual effort into structured, measurable improvements that protect Silverline’s white-glove experience.
The Discovery Method: Short Interviews → Decisions You Can Use
Dave’s process is simple and fast:
- Brief interviews using a consistent set of questions about roles, responsibilities, dependencies, and friction.
- Synthesis into a plain-English briefing and a consulting-style AI Organizational Discovery Report with a sequenced roadmap and KPIs.
At Silverline, three truths emerged: repetition at scale (partners and analysts rebuilding similar materials), fragmented knowledge (valuable IP trapped in email and local folders), and selective AI readiness (a core of early adopters already experimenting).
What We Found (and Why It Matters)
From the interviews, five high-leverage opportunities stood out:
- Proposal creation: Partners manually rewrite proposals; no central content library.
- Client onboarding: Duplicate data entry across CRM, QuickBooks, and SharePoint slows starts.
- Report drafting: Analysts rebuild narrative sections from Excel outputs.
- Knowledge capture: Prior valuations, case language, and memos sit in silos.
- Workflow fragmentation: Tools work—but not together.
Employee sentiment was encouraging but nuanced: 45% enthusiastic if tone is preserved, 22% already using AI, with others neutral or concerned about sounding generic. The takeaway: efficiency must not flatten the “Silverline voice.”
The Collateral You Receive
Every Dave engagement produces practical assets you can deploy immediately:
- AI Discovery Briefing that narrates “how we work today” in the team’s own words.
- AI Organizational Discovery Report that quantifies bottlenecks, identifies champions, and sequences pilots with KPIs.
- Champion Map—Silverline’s included a proposal lead, a senior analyst, the operations lead, and a partner—to sponsor pilots and train peers.
- Before/After KPI targets tied to proposal turnaround, onboarding time, search time, and report delivery.
The 12-Month Roadmap (Built for Boutique Firms)
Q1 – Foundation (Months 0–3):
Form the Silverline AI Guild; define tone guardrails; inventory proposal/report assets; host “AI for Advisory Services.” Milestone: governance + data audit complete.
Q2 – Pilot (Months 4–6):
Launch AI-Assisted Proposal Generator (pre-approved text blocks, case studies, disclaimers) and Report-Drafting Assistant on 2 client accounts. Target: 50–70% faster proposal and report prep with partner review in the loop.
Q3 – Integration (Months 7–9):
Roll out a Smart Client-Onboarding Portal (conversational intake, document checks) and begin an AI Compliance Checker to verify required language. Milestone: cross-department workflow unified.
Q4 – Scale & Refinement (Months 10–12):
Train staff firm-wide, expand an AI Knowledge Base (indexed prior valuations/templates), and publish time-saved metrics. Target: ~20% productivity gain without sacrificing tone.
Expected Results (What Good Looks Like)
- Proposal turnaround: 60–70% faster RFP responses via a curated content library and assembly assistant.
- Onboarding time: ~50% faster through guided intake and auto-validated data.
- Internal search time: ~40% reduction by indexing prior work and templates.
- Compliance coverage: Automated checks ensure disclaimers and required language are never missed.
All outputs remain human-reviewed to protect quality, confidentiality, and the Silverline voice.
Why “Dave” Works for Advisory Firms
Silverline didn’t need “new tools” so much as connected workflows and tone governance. Dave translates interviews into a handful of low-risk, high-signal pilots that free partners and analysts from repetitive assembly work—so more time is spent on client strategy, not formatting. The firm’s boutique positioning is preserved because the voice is trained, guarded, and reviewed at every step.
Download the full deliverable: Silverline Advisory Group - Organizational Discovery Report
