I’m usually the first person to dive into new technology. When everyone was talking about virtual
training taking over, I was already testing WebEx virtual classrooms (different than the meeting
software) years before COVID hit. By the time we had to go remote, we were running effective
virtual training within two weeks because I’d been practicing for years.
But when my VP said “AI is going to be important for us” in 2023, I felt something I rarely feel:
fear.
Not just concern – actual fear that this might replace what I do. So I did what anyone would do
when scared of something new: I called a friend. Shout out to Christy, who spent 15 minutes
showing me what she was doing with AI. That conversation changed everything.
Going Deep on AI
From there, I went deep. YouTube videos, training sessions, articles, testing everything. By the
end of 2023, when AI exploded everywhere, I was ready to dive in completely. I spent 2024 using
AI in every possible way, trying to understand what worked and what didn’t.
The Turning Point
But here’s the turning point: talking with my VP about organizational implementation, I learned
something crucial. He said, “No one has a real plan yet because it’s so new – this is taking us in a
brand new direction that no one has ever been.”
💡That’s when the lightbulb went on.
This isn’t actually brand new. This is organizational change management. People are people – they’re always the same. The technology changes, but human behavior patterns don’t.
Once I realized that implementing AI at scale was just change management (which I’ve done
over and over), everything became clearer. And honestly? Working with AI taught me that while
it’s an incredible tool that makes me more effective, I bring 30 years of actual practice –
classroom training, 80-hour two-week intensives, and real facilitation experience. AI can streamline
my ideas and remind me of things I’ve tried before, but it can’t replace the expertise that comes
from decades of actually doing this work.
The Pilot Purgatory Problem
The statistics back this up (as of mid 2025) – while 78% of organizations use AI in at least one function, only 1-2% have comprehensive adoption strategies. Most are stuck in pilot purgatory.
So I did what I always do – I started with the people.
The questions I asked:
- How do they actually work?
- What are their real barriers?
- What would make AI feel useful instead of overwhelming?
What We Built
The result? We built an ecosystem that achieved 100% curriculum completion and 25%
voluntary participation in advanced training across our 165-person organization.
But here’s what I’m most proud of: we created a system where people learn better prompting while contributing to a company-specific AI library. Teaching while doing. Building skills while
solving real problems.
The secret wasn’t the technology – it was understanding that AI adoption is fundamentally about
Michelle Deshotels
organizational behavior change.
What actually drives adoption?
- You have to meet people where they are
- Give them tools that immediately make their work easier
- Create momentum through peer influence
The Challenge Most Companies Face
I see so many companies struggling with this exact challenge right now. They’ve invested in AI tools but can’t get past random individual usage to systematic organizational capability.
If your company is wrestling with moving AI adoption beyond pilots and experiments, I’d love to connect. Sometimes the solution isn’t more sophisticated AI – it’s a better understanding of how humans actually adopt new ways of working.
Conclusion
Fear isn’t a bad starting point. It pushed me to learn, to test, to understand—not just the technology, but how people actually use it. And that’s the lesson: AI adoption isn’t a technology problem. It’s a people problem.
The organizations that figure this out won’t be the ones with the most sophisticated AI tools. They’ll be the ones who understand that successful adoption looks a lot like any other organizational change: start with the people, meet them where they are, and build systems that make the new way of working easier than the old way.
That’s not revolutionary. That’s just good change management.
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