What's the difference between training and implementation?

Training is about getting people fluent in the tools. Implementation is about deciding what to use them for in your business. Most engagements need both eventually. Training is the right starting point if your team is curious and you want them experimenting; implementation is right if you need a plan before anyone trains on anything.

Will this work for a team that's resistant to AI?

Most resistance isn't to AI itself. It's to another tool rollout that doesn't get supported. We design training around use cases that save real time before asking anyone to change a workflow. Adoption follows utility.

Half-day, full-day, or multi-session: how do we pick?

Half-day works for awareness and enthusiasm. Full-day works for a single team that needs to be operating with AI by next week. Multi-session is what we recommend for any team that needs the change to stick. Half-day workshops feel like value but rarely change practice.

AI training your team will actually apply on Monday.

A keynote and a generic "intro to ChatGPT" workshop get forgotten by Friday. Structured training with practice between sessions and peer accountability changes how people work. That's the standard for these engagements.

What this is

Hands-on AI training for small business teams. Built around the specific work your team does, not generic prompts. A bookkeeper, a marketing lead, and a customer service rep need different examples and different success criteria. We design around that.

Training formats

Half-day workshop (3 hours)

Best for awareness and early enthusiasm. Foundational session: what AI is and isn't, anatomy of a good prompt, walkthrough of 3-5 use cases relevant to your team, time to try things. Good for kicking off interest. Will not change long-term behavior on its own.

Full-day workshop (6 hours)

Same content as half-day plus extended hands-on time, scenario work, and a build-your-own-prompt-library session. Best when your team needs to be operating with AI by next week and a single day is the only window you have.

Multi-session program (4-6 weeks)

The format that actually changes practice. 4-6 sessions of 60-90 minutes, weekly or biweekly. Practice assignments between sessions. Peer share-out at the end where team members teach each other what worked. This is what drove the 86% adoption results.

Who attends

Full company (most common for businesses under 30 people)
Department teams (sales, marketing, operations, customer service)
Leadership cohorts (owners, managers, directors)
Specific role groups (founders' assistants, bookkeepers, account managers)

What gets covered

Customized to your team and tools, but a typical multi-session arc:

Session 1. What AI is, what it isn't, and what's reasonable to expect. Anatomy of a good prompt.
Session 2. Writing and communication workflows. Email, proposals, customer responses, internal docs.
Session 3. Research and analysis workflows. Summarizing documents, market research, competitive analysis.
Session 4. Workflow automation basics. Where AI saves real time vs. where it's a distraction.
Session 5. Department-specific deep dive (varies by team).
Session 6. Peer share-out. What worked, what didn't, what becomes part of standard practice.

What you get

Custom curriculum mapped to your team's roles and tools
Live sessions delivered in person or remote
Recordings and slide decks distributed after each session
Practice assignments (20-30 minutes each, between sessions)
Shared prompt library organized by role
Pre/post survey data showing skill and confidence gains
End-of-engagement debrief with leadership

The proof

As a building principal, Dane drove daily AI adoption across the full staff from 0% awareness to 86% in 15 months. The structured training design behind that result is the foundation of every Palmetto Group AI training engagement. Western Reserve, 2023-2025