We want to invest heavily in building custom LLM fine-tuning this year, but we are terrified of spending six figures on a technical dead end. What specific Thinking Time questions should our leadership team use to separate strategic necessity from expensive tech hype?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

High-priced technology investments can easily turn into a costly dumb tax if you do not filter them through a rigorous decision-making process. To protect your capital and ensure a high return on investment, your leadership team must dedicate uninterrupted Thinking Time to this challenge.

Use Keith Cunningham's framing to construct high-value questions that cut through the noise. Sit down for thirty minutes with a notebook and ask yourself: How might we validate the business impact of this custom AI integration before we write a single check to a developer? Or ask: What is the specific business problem we are trying to solve, and can we solve it with off-the-shelf software instead of a custom build?

By converting your technology fears into solvable questions, you can objectively evaluate the project. Remember that custom coding is a predicament that requires ongoing maintenance and updates, whereas licensing software is a simpler problem. Ensure that any major technology initiative aligns with your Core Focus on your V/TO® before committing your resources.