Are your AI licenses sitting unused? Ready to build AI champions inside your organization? Book a free discovery call with Modern Workery 👉 https://modernworkery.com/book

Most organizations budget for AI licenses. Very few budget for the people who make those licenses worth it. In this episode, Adam and Chevelle make the case for AI champion programs, starting with a lesson from youth football about learning from people who have actually done it. They get into why AI is the hardest rollout Chevelle has seen in 20 years of change management, how to spot the naturally curious people already in your organization, and the two questions every employee asks about AI. They also cover why executives can chart the course but can't answer the how, why so many champion programs stall after launch, and how to make being a champion something people actually want to do. Plus a detour into the best corporate swag they've ever received.

0:00 Welcome and a late night with a new AI tool
1:00 What youth football teaches us about AI adoption
3:00 Why we lean on people we trust
3:50 Why AI is the hardest rollout yet
4:30 Finding AI talent when experts are purple unicorns
5:00 The curious people already in your organization
6:00 Scaling from your cubicle mate to 50 people
7:00 How to spot your champions
8:00 Look in every corner, not just leadership
8:45 Adam's early Copilot experience and generic training
10:00 Corporate jargon detox
10:45 The two questions every employee asks about AI
11:45 Teach them to fish
12:50 The adoption gap and the problem of scale
14:15 Why leaders can't be your only champions
15:15 How the work really gets done vs the SOP
16:45 Why organizations rarely budget for champion programs
18:20 Where to start, and why not to over-engineer it
19:30 Launching is easy, sustaining is hard
20:45 Why champion programs stall
21:45 Keeping champions current as AI keeps changing
22:15 Protect your champions' time and make it easy
23:45 Recognition, certificates, and what champions get in return
25:45 Swag people actually want
28:00 Reward your champions

ABOUT MODERN WORKERY
Modern Workery is a Metro Detroit-based AI adoption and strategy firm and official Microsoft Partner. We help small and midsize businesses roll out AI tools like Microsoft Copilot in a way their people actually use, through strategy, training, and ongoing support.

🌐 Website
https://modernworkery.com

💼 Modern Workery on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-workery/

MEET THE HOSTS
Chevelle Bedra, Founder and Principal AI Strategist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chevellebedra/

Adam Espinosa, Co-Founder and VP of Development and Client Growth
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamespinosa2019/

LISTEN ON
🎧 Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id6798381232

🎧 Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/03421I71FQOF81FjIdaacB

🎧 Amazon Music
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/629d33cb-6b17-43bd-8fd5-cf1d3f60a1f7

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