Compare All SAI Programs — $89 Diagnostic, FDC, CAS, and CAE
Schneider Axiom Institute
Compare All SAI Programs
$89 Diagnostic · FDC · CAS · CAE
Which SAI Option Is Right for You?
Each SAI diagnostic and credential option is built around the same principle:
Before you decide what problem to address or what action to take, identify what is governing the result.
What changes is the level and type of diagnostic capability you need next.
You may need an immediate diagnostic finding. You may want to develop diagnostic capability for the business you own or lead. You may want to apply the Discipline professionally with client organizations. Or you may need advanced diagnostic capability at executive and enterprise scale.
The question is where and how you need to apply the SAI Business Constraint Discipline™.
Start Here
Which Statement Sounds Most Like You?
"I need to understand what appears to be governing the business right now."
$89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™
"I own or lead a business and want to develop the diagnostic capability myself."
FDC — Foundational Diagnostic Credential™
"I advise, consult, coach, or work professionally with client organizations."
CAS — Certified Axiom Strategist™
"I am a senior executive—or an experienced advisor or consultant whose role and scope involve complex enterprise, executive leadership, multi-division, governance, institutional, or board-level application."
CAE — Certified Axiom Executive™
Before You Compare: One Critical Distinction
FDC, CAS, and CAE Are Not a Credential-Prerequisite Ladder.
Completion of the $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™ is the common prerequisite for all three credential programs.
FDC is not required before CAS.
FDC is not required before CAE.
CAS is not required before CAE.
The curricula, however, are cumulative.
FDC — 9 Modules
CAS — 12 Modules
Includes the complete 9-module FDC curriculum plus three professional advisory-application modules.
CAE — 20 Modules
Includes the complete FDC and CAS curricula plus eight CAE-exclusive executive and enterprise modules.
NOTE: THE CREDENTIALS DO NOT HAVE TO BE EARNED IN SEQUENCE.
FDC is not required before CAS or CAE, and CAS is not required before CAE.
Also Note: CAE additionally requires application and acceptance before enrollment.
All Four Options at a Glance
Immediate Diagnostic Clarity
$89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™
For: Business owners & leaders seeking diagnostic clarity
Purpose: Identify what appears to be governing the business now
You Receive: Individualized written diagnostic finding
Application: Your current business situation
Time/Structure: 81 questions · Approximately 30 minutes
Price: $89
Prerequisite: None
Best Choice When: “I need to understand what appears to deserve attention first.”
Internal Business Application
FDC — Foundational Diagnostic Credential™
For: Business owners & leaders
Purpose: Develop diagnostic capability inside the business you own or lead
Application: Your own organization
Curriculum: 9 modules
Competency: Assessment required
Price: $697
Prerequisite: $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™
Best Choice When: “I want to develop the capability to apply the Discipline in my own business.”
Professional Client Application
CAS — Certified Axiom Strategist™
For: Advisors · Consultants · Coaches · Practitioners
Purpose: Develop professional diagnostic capability for client organizations
Application: Outside client organizations
Curriculum: 12 modules — includes complete FDC curriculum
Competency: Assessment required
Price: $1,997
Prerequisite: $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™ — FDC credential not required
Best Choice When: “I want to apply the Discipline professionally with clients.”
Advanced Executive and Enterprise Application
CAE — Certified Axiom Executive™
For: Senior executives and experienced advisors or consultants operating at advanced executive and enterprise scale
Purpose: Develop advanced executive and enterprise diagnostic capability
Application: Enterprise · Multi-division · Governance · Institutional · Board environments
Curriculum: 20 modules — includes FDC and CAS curricula
Competency: Executive capstone
Price: $4,997 after acceptance
Prerequisite: $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™ before application
Application Required: Yes
Best Choice When: “I need advanced diagnostic capability in complex executive and enterprise environments.”
Compact Comparison Matrix
*After acceptance.
One Discipline. Different Application Contexts.
Program Detail
$89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™
When You Need Diagnostic Clarity About the Business Now
$89 · 81 Targeted Questions · Approximately 30 Minutes · 2,200+ Word Written Finding · Delivered Within 72 Hours
The Business Constraint Diagnostic™ evaluates your responses collectively across all Seven Classes of Business Constraint™:
Market · Operational · Financial · Organizational · Strategic · Leadership · Credibility
The pattern of evidence is used to identify the probable governing constraint class and the structural condition within that class that appears to warrant attention first.
Your individualized written finding explains:
- What the evidence indicates is governing performance
- Why the condition appears to be limiting performance
- Where it appears to be operating
- How it may relate to the problems you can see
- Why previous improvement efforts may have missed it
- What corrective direction warrants attention
The Diagnostic does not replace the work required to resolve the constraint. It helps establish where that work should begin.
The Diagnostic is also a complete standalone product. You are not required to purchase a credential, course, consulting engagement, membership, or other SAI product afterward.
Guarantee
If your written finding does not identify a clear, actionable governing constraint, your $89 will be refunded.
Program Detail
FDC — Foundational Diagnostic Credential™
When You Want Diagnostic Capability Inside the Business You Own or Lead
$697 · 9 Modules · Self-Paced · Electronic Delivery
The FDC is designed for business owners and leaders who want to develop the capability to apply the SAI Business Constraint Discipline™ inside the organization they own or lead.
The $89 Diagnostic addresses an immediate question: What should my business address first? The FDC develops the capability to continue applying the Discipline as the organization changes and new constraints emerge.
Internal Business Application
Develop the capability to determine what appears to be the governing constraint inside the business you own or lead, establish what deserves priority, and apply the Discipline to its resolution.
The FDC is not the SAI credential designed for professional diagnostic application with outside client organizations.
FDC Includes
- 9 Structured Electronic Learning Modules
- Supporting Video Resources
- Business Diagnostic Templates
- Complete 21-Volume SAI eBizBooks Digital Library
- Complete 8-Volume SAI Compendium Series Digital Library
- 160+ White Papers
- Lifetime Access to Included Program Materials
- Competency Assessment
- Personal Review by Lawrence M. Schneider or a Senior SAI Executive
- Public SAI Credential Registry Listing Upon Successful Credentialing
$697 · One-Time Enrollment
Prerequisite: Completion of the $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™
FDC enrollment is non-refundable.
Program Detail
CAS — Certified Axiom Strategist™
When Diagnostic Capability Becomes Part of Your Professional Work
$1,997 · 12 Modules · Self-Paced · Electronic Delivery
CAS is designed for Advisors · Consultants · Coaches · Practitioners who want to apply the SAI Business Constraint Discipline™ professionally with client organizations.
The 12-module curriculum contains the complete 9-module FDC foundation plus three professional advisory-application modules.
Your existing expertise may already tell you how to improve marketing, finance, operations, leadership, strategy, organizational structure, or another business condition. CAS adds the diagnostic capability to determine:
What should be addressed first?
And develops the professional capability to evaluate the evidence, determine what appears to be the governing constraint, establish what deserves priority, and organize the response with client organizations.
Certification requires demonstrated professional diagnostic capability — not course completion alone.
CAS Includes
- 12 Structured Electronic Learning Modules
- Complete 9-Module FDC Foundation
- Three Professional Advisory-Application Modules
- Supporting Video Resources
- Professional Client Templates and Applied Advisory Resources
- Complete 8-Volume SAI Compendium Series — Electronic Editions
- 160+ SAI White Papers — Electronic Library
- Complete 21-Volume SAI eBizBooks Series — Electronic Editions
- Lifetime Access to Included Program Materials
- CAS Competency Assessment
- Personal Review by Lawrence M. Schneider or a Senior SAI Executive
- Public SAI Credential Registry Listing Upon Certification
- Eligibility for Consideration for Inclusion in the SAI Practitioner Referral Network Upon Successful Certification
$1,997 · One-Time Enrollment
Prerequisite: Completion of the $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™
FDC is not required.
CAS enrollment is non-refundable.
Referral Network Precision
Certification establishes eligibility for consideration for inclusion in the SAI Practitioner Referral Network.
It does not guarantee inclusion in a particular search, introductions, engagements, clients, revenue, or professional income.
Program Detail
CAE — Certified Axiom Executive™
When the Scale Becomes Enterprise
20 Modules · Application Required · $4,997 Enrollment After Acceptance
CAE is the advanced executive and enterprise application of the SAI Business Constraint Discipline™. It is designed for senior executives and experienced advisors or consultants whose role and scope involve:
Complex Enterprises · Executive Leadership Teams · Multi-Division Organizations · Governance · Institutions · Boards and Board-Facing Responsibilities
9 FDC + 3 CAS + 8 CAE = 20 Modules
CAE is not simply a longer CAS. The scale, evidence environment, organizational complexity, governance implications, and executive responsibility change.
CAE develops advanced capability to evaluate complex enterprise evidence, determine what appears to be the governing constraint, establish what deserves priority, and organize the enterprise response.
The scale changes. The diagnostic responsibility does not.
Certification requires successful completion of an enterprise-level executive capstone demonstrating executive diagnostic capability.
CAE Includes
- 20 Structured Electronic Learning Modules
- Complete FDC Diagnostic Foundation
- Complete CAS Curriculum Foundation
- 8 CAE-Exclusive Executive & Enterprise Modules
- Supporting Video Resources
- Executive & Enterprise Digital Resources
- Complete 8-Volume SAI Compendium Series — Electronic Editions
- 160+ SAI White Papers — Electronic Library
- Complete 21-Volume SAI eBizBooks Series — Electronic Editions
- Lifetime Access to Included Program Materials
- Executive Capstone
- Personal Capstone Review by Lawrence M. Schneider or a Senior SAI Executive
- Public SAI Credential Registry Listing Upon Certification
$4,997 One-Time Enrollment After Acceptance
$89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™ Required Before Application
Application Required · Acceptance Required Before Enrollment
FDC and CAS credentials are not prerequisites.
CAE enrollment is non-refundable.
Lifetime Access
Lifetime access applies to the included CAE program materials provided as part of enrollment.
It does not mean automatic lifetime access to every future SAI publication, program, course, or resource unless specifically identified as included.
CAE Admission Is Different
FDC and CAS do not require an application. CAE does.
The CAE admission sequence is:
Diagnostic → Application → SAI Review → Acceptance → Enrollment
- Diagnostic Complete the required $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™ before applying.
- Application Submit the CAE application describing your role, responsibilities, experience, and intended application.
- SAI Review SAI evaluates whether CAE is appropriate for the applicant's scope and intended application.
- Acceptance If accepted, receive acceptance notification and enrollment instructions.
- Enrollment Complete the $4,997 CAE enrollment after acceptance. Program access follows completed enrollment.
$4,997 is CAE enrollment after acceptance.
It is not an application fee.
One Discipline Across All Three Credentials
FDC, CAS, and CAE differ in application context and depth. They do not use different diagnostic disciplines. Each develops the capability to identify and resolve the governing constraint through the same formal four-action sequence:
Identify
Determine what the available evidence indicates is the probable governing constraint.
Prioritize
Establish that it deserves attention before other real but secondary problems.
Resolve
Address the governing constraint in the appropriate sequence.
Confirm
Establish that the resolution holds over time — then reassess what is governing performance next.
The application changes. The Discipline does not.
Included Digital Resources
All three credential programs use electronic course delivery and include substantial SAI digital reference libraries.
FDC
- 21-Volume SAI eBizBooks Digital Library
- 8-Volume SAI Compendium Series Digital Library
- 160+ SAI White Papers
CAS
- 8-Volume SAI Compendium Series Digital Library
- 160+ SAI White Papers
- 21-Volume SAI eBizBooks Digital Library
CAE
- 8-Volume SAI Compendium Series Digital Library
- 160+ SAI White Papers
- 21-Volume SAI eBizBooks Digital Library
All included Compendiums, eBizBooks, and White Papers are furnished electronically.
Hardcover or printed editions are not included. The Compendiums, eBizBooks, and White Papers may be illustrated using book or publication covers for visual presentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™ required before FDC, CAS, or CAE?
Yes. It is the common prerequisite for all three credential programs. For CAE, it must be completed before application.
Do I need FDC before CAS?
No. CAS contains the complete FDC curriculum, but the FDC credential is not a prerequisite.
Do I need FDC or CAS before CAE?
No. CAE contains both curriculum foundations, but neither credential is required before applying.
Why are there 9, 12, and 20 modules?
FDC = 9
CAS = 9 FDC + 3 CAS = 12
CAE = 9 FDC + 3 CAS + 8 CAE = 20
I own a business and also advise clients. Should I choose FDC or CAS?
If you intend to apply the Discipline professionally with client organizations, CAS is the program designed for that application. It includes the complete FDC curriculum and adds the professional client-application layer.
I am an experienced advisor or consultant working with C-suite executives and boards. Should I choose CAS or CAE?
CAS is designed around professional diagnostic application with client organizations. CAE should be evaluated when your role and experience involve advanced enterprise, executive leadership, multi-division, governance, institutional, or board-level application. CAE is application-based.
When do I pay the $4,997 for CAE?
After acceptance. The $4,997 is the CAE enrollment fee after acceptance. It is not an application fee.
Does completing the curriculum automatically earn FDC, CAS, or CAE?
No. FDC and CAS require demonstrated competency through their respective assessments. CAE requires demonstrated executive diagnostic capability through the executive capstone.
Who reviews the competency assessment or capstone?
Lawrence M. Schneider or a Senior SAI Executive. The credential or certification is issued only after the applicable competency requirement has been successfully completed and reviewed.
Does CAS guarantee SAI Practitioner Referral Network referrals?
No. Successful CAS certification establishes eligibility for consideration for inclusion in the SAI Practitioner Referral Network. It does not guarantee introductions, engagements, clients, revenue, or professional income.
Does lifetime access include every future SAI product?
No. Lifetime access applies to the included program materials associated with the applicable enrollment. It does not automatically include every future SAI publication, program, course, or resource unless specifically stated.
Are FDC, CAS, and CAE refundable?
No. FDC, CAS, and CAE enrollments are non-refundable. The separate money-back guarantee applies only to the $89 Business Constraint Diagnostic™: If your written finding does not identify a clear, actionable governing constraint, your $89 will be refunded.
Are the Compendiums, eBizBooks, and White Papers printed books?
No. Included Compendiums, eBizBooks, and White Papers are furnished electronically.
Four Choices. One Question.
Where and how do you need to apply the Discipline?
I need diagnostic clarity about the business now.
$89 Diagnostic · $89
I need diagnostic capability inside the business I own or lead.
FDC · $697
I need professional diagnostic capability with client organizations.
CAS · $1,997
I need advanced diagnostic capability in complex executive and enterprise environments.
CAE · $4,997 after acceptance
Still Not Sure Which Fits?
If your responsibilities cross application contexts — or you are deciding between CAS and CAE — the question is not which credential sounds more advanced.
It is where and how you intend to apply the capability.
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