“Are We Ready to Adopt AI?”

AI is no longer optional — it’s essential for competitiveness. But most organizations stall not because the tools fail, but because their people aren’t ready. In fact, up to 90% of AI projects fail due to people factors: misalignment, resistance, or lack of preparation.

That’s where this workshop comes in.

Sponsored by UW Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute, change readiness experts Mel Starkweather and Joe Plasterer will help you uncover the hidden barriers that keep teams from adopting AI — and the specific steps you can take to overcome them.

In this hands-on session, you will:

• Discover how change-ready teams make AI adoption faster, smoother, and more cost-effective.
• Learn practical tools: defining success, building and validating a vision, assessing readiness, planning communication and engagement, and reinforcing adoption over time.
• Work through case studies and exercises with peers to design solutions you can take back to your organization.

This workshop isn’t about technology — it’s about change readiness. Organizations with embedded open-source change skills have a faster time to adoption, increased engagement and increased intent to stay. Join us to learn how to prepare your workforce, lower the risks of AI adoption, and unlock faster ROI.

• Understand the cultural issues that can make change hard, and ideas for improving those. Attendees will leave being able to identify cultural challenges that impeded change readiness.
• Apply Change Readiness Practices to AI Projects - Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to prepare their teams for AI adoption: Define Success -> Build the Vision -> Assess Readiness -> Plan Communication -> Reinforce & Sustain
• Recognize the Role of Readiness in AI Success- Participants will understand why most stalled AI initiatives fail due to people issues (resistance, lack of alignment, burnout) rather than technology — and how change-ready teams reduce these risks.
• Apply Change Readiness Practices to AI Projects - Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to prepare their teams for AI adoption, including building engagement, reducing resistance, and aligning leadership support — so rollout feels less like disruption and more like progress.
• Accelerate Adoption and Capture ROI Faster - Leaders will see how fostering change-ready behaviors (adaptability, communication, continuous learning) shortens adoption cycles, increases confidence in new technology, and helps manufacturers realize the value of AI investments sooner.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

UWM Main Campus, Golda Meir Library East Wing, ROOM E190, 2311 East Hartford Avenue, Milwaukee, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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