AI Opportunity Workshop · Fixed fee · $2,500
You don’t need more AI ideas. You need the one worth doing first.
You’ve seen the demos. Your software vendors have added an AI button to everything. Somebody on your leadership team has a list of ideas. What you don’t have is a decision: which one, who owns it, and what it’s worth.
Start with the goals you’re already chasing this year, like on-time delivery, quote turnaround, margin or hiring. In one 3-hour session, we work back to the AI use cases that move them, score each one, and scope the first one tightly enough to build.
The problem
Lots of pilots, few results.
- 2%of U.S. mid-market companies have operationalized generative AI at scale, even though 94% already use it.1
- 53%of U.S. and Canadian mid-market firms with moderate or limited pilot success blamed data quality; 47% blamed integration.2
- 73%of mid-market manufacturers are still testing AI. None report full deployment.3
The usual cause isn’t the technology
Teams pick a tool before they’ve picked a problem, and nobody owns the result. Even large enterprises struggle here. CB Insights puts it plainly: AI agents “are delivering value, but measuring it is the hard part.”4
Start from the goal, not the tool
I start with the initiative your leadership team is already committed to, then work back through the result you want, the process behind it, and the data it depends on. AI comes last, and sometimes the answer is a spreadsheet fix or a setting in software you already own.
That’s also where CB Insights expects enterprise attention to go next: workflow redesign and “lower-risk use cases where ROI is easier to prove.”5
What you get
- 01
Ranked map of your top 10 AI use cases
Each one tied to a company initiative and scored on value, effort and risk.
- 02
90-day plan
Owners, sequence and the decision points that matter.
- 03
One use case fully scoped
An ROI estimate, the data it needs, who owns it, how you’ll measure success, and a build-vs-buy recommendation.
Typical use cases for operations-heavy companies
| Area | Example |
|---|---|
| Sales and quoting | Pulling specs out of RFQs and drafting quotes from past jobs |
| Customer service | Order-status replies drafted from ERP data |
| Operations | Shift reports and downtime summaries written automatically |
| Quality | Searching corrective-action history and supplier certificates |
| Back office | AP invoice intake, matching against purchase orders, routing for approval |
| Knowledge | An internal Q&A over SOPs, work instructions and spec sheets |
How it works
How the time is spent.
Who should attend: the owner or GM, whoever runs operations, and one or two people who do the work you want to improve. Six people maximum.
- 01
Survey
Each attendee fills in a 15-minute survey: the initiatives your company is pursuing this year, and where time and money leak. I read it all before we meet.
- 02
Hour 1
We start with your initiatives and walk the workflows behind them, mapping possible use cases to each one.
- 03
Hour 2
We score every candidate on value, effort and risk, and drop the weak ones out loud.
- 04
Hour 3
We pick the first use case and scope it together: inputs, owner, success measure.
- 05
Readout
Within 5 business days, a 45-minute walkthrough of the written plan.
Why Ennis Studio
I build and run production software, mostly with AI-assisted pipelines, so I know what’s practical to build, what it costs to keep running, and when buying beats building.
That includes a Certificate Transparency API, a monitoring product and two research and editorial sites, plus years of enterprise technology integration work. I’m based in Grand Rapids and take no affiliate fees or vendor commissions, so the recommendation follows your numbers, not a reseller’s margin.
A good fit if
- You lead a 50–500 person company and AI matters to you, but you don’t have a shortlist or a plan.
- You already pay for tools like Microsoft 365, an ERP or a CRM, and want to know what they can already do.
- You want one funded, owned first project, not a strategy deck.
Not a good fit if
- You already have a scoped project and need hands on keyboards. Look at AI Build Day instead.
- You need a deck for a board meeting.
$2,500 fixed fee
No hourly billing and no surprise invoices. Sign an Implementation Sprint or Fractional AI Advisor engagement within 60 days and the full workshop fee is credited toward it.
Card or ACH via Stripe · Invoice on request · 4 slots per month
Questions
We already use ChatGPT or Copilot. Is this still useful?
Yes. We start from what you already pay for and look for the gaps, so you don’t buy a second tool that does the same job.
Our data is a mess. Is that a dealbreaker?
No. It’s one of the things we score. Sometimes the best first project is the one that needs the least cleanup.
Do you need access to our systems?
Not for the workshop. A list of the tools you use and a follow-up conversation with one process owner is enough.
What happens after?
Most teams build the scoped use case themselves, book an AI Build Day, or start an Implementation Sprint.
What about security and staff policy?
If you have no written AI policy yet, consider pairing this with the Safe AI Adoption Workshop. Many companies do the safety work first.
Free · 5 minutes
Not sure where you stand?
The AI Readiness Scorecard: 12 questions, about 5 minutes. You get a score across strategy, data, security and execution, plus three next steps for your weakest area.
Pick the first AI project with confidence.
Book a free 30-minute fit call. Answer three questions first so the call is useful, then pick a time on my calendar.
Sources
- Kaufman Rossin, “94% of mid-market companies use generative AI — but few have what it takes to scale,” May 14, 2026 (100 U.S. decision-makers, $5M to under $1B revenue). kaufmanrossin.com
- RSM Middle Market AI Survey 2026 (1,030 U.S. and Canadian respondents). rsmus.com
- MarketScale, July 21, 2026, on Kaufman Rossin’s manufacturing findings. marketscale.com
- CB Insights, “Tech Trends 2026,” January 15, 2026. cbinsights.com
- CB Insights, “The Future of the Enterprise AI Buildout,” March 2026. cbinsights.com