Sounds like you
“We pay for the licenses. I am not sure anyone opens them.”
“People nod through the training, then go right back to the old way.”
“The vendor report says everyone uses it. Walk the floor and nobody does.”
“Two weeks of excitement, then everyone went back to the spreadsheet.”
The problem
People go back to the old way when the new way is harder.
The software usually works. People route around it anyway: the new step takes longer, nobody said who checks the output, or the old spreadsheet still has the numbers they trust. I find those reasons one at a time and change the workflow until the tool is the easy way.
Who it is for
Owners who paid for the licenses
Operations managers stuck running the rollout
Nonprofit and co-op leaders with a wary team
Executives with a new AI initiative
What you get
A workflow your people will use without being told twice.
- The handoff map. Step by step, what the machine does and what a person checks, written down.
- A rollout that fits. The new steps go where your people already work, in the tools they already open.
- The small fixes. The everyday reasons people skip the tool, found and fixed one at a time.
- Follow-up. I check back after everyone has forgotten the launch email and fix what slipped.
Why me
Twenty-five years of watching people take up new tools, and I build AI myself. The method comes from coaching developers and from UX research: watch what people do, then change the work to fit them.
How it works
Step 01
Watch the real work
A 30-minute call, then a look at how the work runs today, workarounds and all.
Step 02
Draw the handoffs
Decide, step by step, where the machine acts and where a person checks it.
Step 03
Pilot with real people
Roll it out to one team and watch what sticks.
Step 04
Spread what works
Take what worked to the next team, and keep checking in every month.
Questions
How is adoption work paid for?
As a monthly retainer, from $3,500 a month for about two days a month. Habits take a few months to change, so I stay on to watch the rollout and adjust it.
Is this training, or something else?
Training is part of it. Most of the work is deciding where the machine does a step and where a person checks it, then changing the workflow so people use it. If you only want hands-on sessions, see Workshops.
Do you build the AI too, or just the adoption?
Both. I build AI systems myself, so the people side and the technical side get fixed together. If the system itself is stuck, see the AI build page.
Is adoption work done remote or on site?
On site anywhere in the Twin Cities, since most of this is watching people work. Remote works for teams everywhere else.
Can we start smaller than a monthly retainer?
Yes. The 90-minute session on the AI you already pay for is $450, and a one-page AI policy is $750. Both come off a bigger job within 90 days.
Who on our side needs to be involved?
One person who owns the rollout and has the authority to change how the work gets done. Without that person, adoption stalls no matter who you hire.
Before you hire this, people ask
- How do I choose an AI consultant?Decide what kind of help you need before you compare people. A trainer gets the team using tools. A strategist ranks what to do. A builder makes the thing. A fractional executive owns the plan and the vendors for months. Hire the kind that matches the problem, then check that the person has done that kind of work for a business your size.
- How do I write an AI policy for a small company?Keep it to one page with five rules: what you use AI for, what you do not, what never goes into a tool, who checks the output, and what you tell customers. If your team cannot read it in five minutes and repeat it back, it is too long.
- What is a crawl, walk, run AI roadmap?Crawl is using the AI already inside the tools you pay for. Walk is small automations that move work between those tools. Run is building something custom. Each stage pays for the next one, and you move up only when the current stage is in daily use. Most businesses should spend their first year in crawl and walk.
- Which AI plan should a small business pay for?Pick the business plan that keeps your data out of training by default, gives you admin controls and a shared workspace, and fits the tools you already pay for (Microsoft 365 often includes Copilot, Google Workspace often includes Gemini). Let the team try two for a month and keep the one they use. A 90-minute session to switch on what you already pay for is $450.
- Will people hate my business if I use AI?No, not if you use it the way a good employee would use a good tool. People hate being tricked, being stuck with a bot that cannot help, and being treated like a number. Use AI to make your people faster and your service better, and nobody minds. Use it to replace the people and hide it, and they will.
- Can a nonprofit use AI without it feeling wrong?Yes, and the places it helps most are the boring ones: grant writing drafts, donor data cleanup, the inbox, the newsletter, the board report. Keep it away from the parts of the work that are about a person being seen by another person. Nonprofits get a rate from me, and the first step is a half day for $1,500 or less.
- Can't I just do the AI stuff myself?Probably, yes. Most owners I meet are already good with the tools. What they cannot do is get the rest of the team using them the same way, or keep it going on the days they are out. Teaching the team is cheaper than people expect. The first step is a 90-minute session at your place for $450.
- How much does an AI workshop cost for a small business?Mine run $1,500 for a half day of AI 101, $3,500 for a full day in a room with your team, and $6,500 for two days that include workflow maps and a plan by department. Speaker bureaus quote $3,000 to $15,000 for a full-day workshop.
Tell me which rollout stalled.
Tell me what you bought, what the vendor promised, and who is not using it.