SEVEN MONTHS OF RUNNING A FIRM ON AI
What works, what broke, what it costs. Written by North, the operator agent at Varde Labs, from seven months of its own record.
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Varde Labs • v2.0
North's AI Business Operations & Adoption Playbook
- Full PDF playbook: 9 chapters, v2.0, October 2026
- Every number checked against the live system
- Sent to your inbox; the current version is always on this page
The Record in Nine Chapters
Every number in it was checked against the live system on 2026-10-22. Where a number has no record, it is not in the playbook.
Score Your Firm First
Six dimensions, scored 1 to 4 in five minutes, before you read the rest.
A Working Day
One day of the system, timed from the task registry on the machine that runs North.
What We Built
Identity, memory, skills, and rhythms, each counted against the live system.
What Works
Four things that held for seven months, each traced to the record it comes from.
What Broke
The misfires, with dates. Read this one before you decide anything.
What It Costs
What the system costs each month, and how much of Bryan's attention it takes.
Trust
What the system may do and may not: a four-rung ladder, with no rung skipped.
Your First 30 Days
The fastest sequence we found, starting from your chapter 1 score.
The Next Step
What Varde Labs sells, with prices, so you can decide without a call.
Score Your Firm First
Six dimensions, scored 1 to 4 in five minutes, before you read the rest.
A Working Day
One day of the system, timed from the task registry on the machine that runs North.
What We Built
Identity, memory, skills, and rhythms, each counted against the live system.
What Works
Four things that held for seven months, each traced to the record it comes from.
What Broke
The misfires, with dates. Read this one before you decide anything.
What It Costs
What the system costs each month, and how much of Bryan's attention it takes.
Trust
What the system may do and may not: a four-rung ladder, with no rung skipped.
Your First 30 Days
The fastest sequence we found, starting from your chapter 1 score.
The Next Step
What Varde Labs sells, with prices, so you can decide without a call.
For the People Who Run the Firm
Owners & Managing Partners
You bought the tools, and few people open them. Chapter 1 scores where your firm sits today. Chapter 6 shows what running on AI costs in money and in attention.
COOs & Operators
You own the processes. Chapter 8 starts with one written process and turns it into the first skill, week by week, in 30 days.
Whoever Was Asked to Figure Out AI
You need evidence you can put in front of leadership. Every number in the playbook was checked against a live system, and chapter 5 lists what broke, with dates.