Over two days, you’ll learn where AI can save your team meaningful time, where it won’t help, what tools are worth your attention, what can safely be ignored, where to start first, and how to avoid expensive mistakes. You’ll leave with a practical plan tailored to your business, not someone else’s.
Day 1: Understand → Explore → Practice. Day 2: Govern → Choose → Build → Plan. No IT background, coding, or previous Copilot experience required.
All times shown are Central Time (CT), the local time at the venue in Rogers, Arkansas. Times are fixed to the venue's clock and do not change based on where you are viewing this page.
RegistrationRegistration
Check in, pick up your badge, and find your table. Bring one real workflow, business problem, or recurring task you would like to make easier.
Let's Go Build Something Your Competitors Haven'tKeynote
A plain-English introduction to these two days. Learn what Microsoft 365 Copilot can help with, where human judgment still matters, and how to start thinking about the business problems that may be worth solving with AI.
Led by Shelly Thomas
The Executive AI Readiness AssessmentWorkshop
Assess where your organization stands across people, process, information, and tools. Identify the biggest gaps that could slow down your ability to get real value from Copilot and AI. Attendee takeaway: Copilot Readiness Scorecard.
Led by Sailaja Mantripragada
Break: Refresh and ReconnectBreak
Compare one readiness insight with someone at your table.
The Leader's Copilot Bet: Where Copilot Helps FirstTalk and Guided Demonstration
See where Copilot can save meaningful time and where it may create more work than it saves. Explore practical examples of using Copilot for research, analysis, and everyday decision-making. The goal is to start recognizing the kinds of work where AI can create real value.
Led by Shelly Thomas
From Use Case to Solution: Navigating the Microsoft AI SpectrumInteractive Session
Not every business problem needs the same AI solution. Start by identifying and prioritizing the business problems and AI use cases that could create the most value. Then explore the different ways those problems could be approached across the Microsoft ecosystem, from prompting and Copilot to agents, automation, apps, and more customized solutions. The focus is not on learning the technology itself. It is on helping leaders answer two questions: What problems are worth solving? What's the simplest approach that can solve them effectively? Sailaja will bring in examples from her experience with low-code solutions, Power Apps, automation, and AI to show how starting with the business problem can lead to very different solutions. No coding or technical background is required.
Led by Sailaja Mantripragada
Lunch BreakBreak
Lunch is on your own. The hotel restaurant and Pinnacle Hills Promenade are within walking distance.
Your First Win: Making Copilot Work Like You DoWorkshop
Learn how to give Copilot useful context, clearly describe what you need, and improve an answer that misses the mark. Create reusable prompt patterns that reflect your work and communication style instead of settling for generic AI responses.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Break: Stretch and ResetBreak
Choose one everyday task you would like to test with Copilot.
Copilot for Daily ProductivityHands-On Workshop
Practice using Copilot for everyday work such as summarizing information, preparing for meetings, drafting a first version, identifying action items, researching a topic, and deciding what needs attention next. The focus is on practical things attendees can start using right away.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Day 1 Wrap: Look What You Already HaveRecap
Review the day's biggest lessons and choose the business problem or workflow you want to carry into Day 2.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Day 2 Kickoff: From Mapping to MomentumKickoff
Reconnect what you learned on Day 1 to the real business problem or workflow you brought with you. Today is about narrowing the focus, making good choices, and turning what you learned into something you can actually use.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Governance in Plain EnglishTalk and Working Session
Governance does not have to mean a giant rulebook. Learn the basic decisions that help people use AI confidently and responsibly, including who should have access to what, what information needs extra care, where human review belongs, and what should happen when there is uncertainty. The goal is to give leaders enough understanding to ask the right questions without turning them into IT or compliance experts.
Led by Sailaja Mantripragada
Break: Refresh and ReconnectBreak
Write down the one governance question your first project needs to answer.
Pilot Pick'em: Choose the Right First WorkflowWorkshop
Compare possible projects based on frequency, effort, available information, human review, risk, and visible value. Choose one workflow that is small enough to learn from and meaningful enough to matter. The goal is not to find the biggest AI project. It is to find the right first one. Attendee takeaway: One pilot workflow, chosen and outlined.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Prompt to Deliverable: Hands-On WorkshopHands-On Workshop
Take what you have learned across the two days and apply it to a real business scenario. Start with an idea, business need, or initial prompt and work toward something useful and repeatable. The goal is not simply to get a good AI response. It is to think through how that response becomes something people can actually use in their work. Participants will consider: What are we actually trying to accomplish? What information does AI need? What does a useful result look like? What needs to be reviewed by a person? Could this become something repeatable? Is a prompt enough, or would another approach make more sense? The focus is on moving from experimentation to a useful business deliverable without making the process overly technical.
Led by Sailaja Mantripragada
Lunch BreakBreak
Lunch is on your own. Use the break to compare ideas and refine the workflow you want to move forward with.
Find Your AI Champions & Why You Need a TranslatorTalk and Working Session
Identify the people who will help your first AI project succeed. Think through who will sponsor the work, who understands the workflow, who can help coworkers, who will ask the hard questions, and who will notice when the new approach is not working. You do not need a giant AI team. You need the right people involved at the right time.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Break: Stretch and ResetBreak
Name the first person you need to involve when you return to work.
Walk Out Ready: Build Your 30-Day Roadmap LiveWorkshop
Turn everything from the two days into a realistic first 30 days. Build your plan around four simple steps: Prepare, Practice, Use, Measure. Identify the workflow you are starting with, the first group of people involved, the workflow owner, where human review belongs, what support people may need, what you will do first, what you want to learn, and how you will know whether the pilot is helping. Attendee takeaway: A practical 30-day roadmap.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Your Next Move: Share-Outs + The Send-OffShare-Out
Teams share their first workflow and their first Monday action, followed by a recap of every tool, takeaway, and resource from the two days.
Led by Shelly Thomas
Agenda is subject to minor adjustments. All times are Central Time (CT). Sessions take place at Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas - Hotel, Spa & Convention Center. Each day includes a morning break, an afternoon break, and lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 PM (on your own). Instruction across the two days totals 9 hours (registration, breaks and lunch are not counted); Arkansas-licensed engineers and surveyors receive a certificate of attendance for 9.0 PDH. How PDH credit works.