Making AI Real: What to Build, What to Avoid, and How to Start

Making AI Real: What to Build, What to Avoid, and How to Start

Thurs, Sept 18th | 4-5:30pm | The Club Room at the Minneapolis Club

This session, co-presented by VILAS AI and 20x20 Solutions, is part two of a four-part AI Fluency series at the Minneapolis Club. In this installment, we focus on moving beyond early experimentation into the harder—but more rewarding—work of making AI a sustainable, secure, and scalable part of your business.

Whether your CEO is asking for “an AI roadmap” or you are the CEO who knows you need one, this session will translate ambition into next steps—without losing the vision that got you started.

Led by experienced consultants and technologists who’ve launched everything from bare metal infrastructure to billion-user products, this talk draws on real-world examples of what it takes to operationalize AI inside organizations. We don’t represent any specific tools or platforms—we’re here to inform, not prescribe.

You’ll learn how to:

• Identify AI opportunities across the business

• Prioritize capabilities based on real value

• Navigate the challenges of integrating new tools into legacy teams, systems, and processes

We’ll also explore the human side of operational change:

• What team structures, roles, and workflows need to evolve?

• What kind of education is needed at different levels of the org chart?

• How do you balance experimentation with accountability—and progress with compliance?

We’ll walk through practical frameworks for:

• Operational readiness

• Governance and data hygiene

• Security, risk, and change management

Throughout, we’ll share patterns, playbooks, and examples of what “good” looks like—from early pilots to fully embedded AI capabilities.

Every organization’s path looks different. The goal is to take the next step with clarity.

Ticket Price Includes a drink and light apps.