# The Diagnostic > Half a day with Nicolai Thomson on your own work: a first brief built on your real sources, a written map of where your week goes, and a costed proposal for Transform. US$3,450 credited in full if you continue within sixty days. Canonical page: https://nicolai-ai.vercel.app/diagnostic Pricing currency: USD. Programme prices for visitors outside the United Kingdom or where location is unavailable. The first conversation is a free half-hour everywhere. This is a text version of the public page, generated from its HTML. Programme scope, availability and terms are agreed before booking. ![](/assets/understand-hero.webp) The Diagnostic · Start here # Your first Monday brief, built on your own work. The Diagnostic is where I suggest you start. We spend half a day together on your actual board pack, inbox and meeting notes, not on sample data, and you leave with a brief that runs, a written picture of where your week goes, and a costed proposal for making it permanent. Whether you go further is entirely your decision. The Diagnostic is complete on its own. [Start with a conversation](https://nicolai-ai.vercel.app/diagnostic#conversation) US$3,450Credited against Transform - Half a day with me, at your office or on video - A first brief built on your own sources - The full fee credited against Transform within sixty days [Explore The Diagnostic](https://nicolai-ai.vercel.app/diagnostic#outcomes) Half a day · your office or a video call For leaders who want to see it work on their own information before they commit to anything larger.The Diagnostic, the outcome ## What you leave with. ### A brief that runs on your information We agree a small set of sources before the day, the ones you find yourself chasing every week, and build the first brief on those. By the time we stop for lunch it’s reading your real material and telling you what changed. ### A written picture of where your week goes Five working days before we meet, you keep a light log. Five minutes a day; I’ll send you the format. On the day I read it back to you: which hours a system can take, which it can’t, and what that’s worth to you over a year. ### A decision you can make calmly You leave with a scoped, costed proposal for Transform, valid for sixty days. If it’s right, the full Diagnostic fee comes off. If it isn’t, you keep everything we built and we part on good terms. Most of the value is in knowing either way. How it usually goes ## The shape of a half-day. Nine o’clock, coffee, and your log open on the table. We pick the three sources that cause the most chasing. By ten the first one is connected and I’m showing you what the brief sees. By half past eleven it’s running on all three and you’re reading a summary of your own week that you didn’t write. The last half-hour is the read-back: where the hours go, what a system takes, what I’d build next and what it would cost. You’ll have the proposal in writing before I leave. Every half-day is shaped around your own sources. This is the usual rhythm. The Diagnostic, in practice+ ### Your first brief. What changed since Friday What needs your attention this week Where the time went last month Your experience, your judgement Nicolai Thomson ## I’ve run the company. I’ve been the CTO. I’ve carried the sales number. That’s why the systems I build get used: I know what Monday morning feels like from your chair. My recent work includes second brains and AI chief-of-staff systems, UKOPRA’s operating platform and financial AI, on top of twenty years as a founder, seller and operator. I build one thing well: a system that knows what you know, your notes, your decisions and your conversations, and brings the right piece back when you need it. [Mentor, Oxford Agentic Bootcamp](https://oxfordagentic.com/) [Meet Nicolai](https://nicolai-ai.vercel.app/about) How we work togetherBefore, on the day, and the fortnight after ### Before we meet Three short private videos, about twenty minutes in total, so we don’t spend our half-day on the basics. You keep the five-day log. ### The half-day In the UK I come to you; it helps to see how information actually moves around your business. Elsewhere, or if you’d simply rather, we do it on a video call. You’re at the keyboard. I’m beside you. ### The fortnight after Message me on WhatsApp as the brief meets real life. Then decide, with no pressure from me. The Diagnostic, your investment ## Half a day. A brief that works. A clear next step. For leaders who want to see it work on their own information before they commit to anything larger. Prices exclude VAT where applicable. Any tool costs are agreed before the day. Reasonable travel and incidental expenses are added to the invoice. US$3,450 Credited against Transform - Three private briefing videos before the day - Half a day with me, at your office (UK) or on video - A first brief built on your own sources - A written map of where your week goes and what a system can take - A scoped, costed proposal for Transform - Two weeks of WhatsApp afterwards - The full fee credited against Transform if you proceed within sixty days [Start with a conversation](https://nicolai-ai.vercel.app/diagnostic#conversation) A conversation with Nicolai ## Start with a conversation. Tell me a little about your situation in the short brief below. It takes about three minutes and only I read it. If it looks like a fit, you’ll get a link to book a free half-hour with me. If it doesn’t, I’ll say so plainly and point you somewhere more useful. 30 minutes with Nicolai ### A half-hour, in confidence. Where most conversations begin. Share your brief first so I have the context before we speak. You’ll then be able to choose a time on Cal.com. A free half-hour. No card details, no obligation. Already spoken with me?[Book a time directly](https://cal.com/withnicolai/30min) Before you decide ## A little clarity. ### Do I have to continue to Transform? No. The Diagnostic stands on its own and you keep everything we build. If you do go further within sixty days, the full fee comes off Transform. Most people need time to think, and that’s exactly how it should be. ### Who sees my information? Only me. We agree the sources before the day. I’ll sign your NDA before I see anything, or you can use mine. I don’t name clients unless they ask me to. ### Do I need to be technical? No. You need to know your own business and be honest about where the time goes. I handle the rest, and you’ll understand every piece of it by the end of the day. ### What if my information is a mess? It usually is. That’s rather the point. A brief that copes with your real mess is worth ten that work on tidy sample data. ### Can I skip straight to Transform? Yes, if you already know what you need. My advice is half a day first: you’ll commit to six months knowing exactly what the brief looks like on your own information. ![](/assets/transform-hero.webp) What could come next Transform ## If you want to make it permanent. Transform takes the brief we built and makes it part of how you lead: six months, four visits, your team brought in when you’re ready, and a proper handover at the end. What you’ve already paid for the Diagnostic comes off the price. [Explore Transform · US$11,500 + travel](https://nicolai-ai.vercel.app/transform)