AI Lunch & Learn
A free series from Real IT Solutions
Real IT’s monthly educational series for West Michigan business leaders — practical AI sessions run by the team that builds this stuff for clients every day. No sales pitch, just useful work you can take back to your office. Each session is built around one practical win you can put to work the same week — fewer manual hours, faster decisions, or a process that finally runs itself.
- Free, virtual sessions — monthly
- Hands-on AI Build & Brew workshops in between
- Grown into a standing community — West Michigan AI Navigators
- Real-world use cases that cut manual work and save hours each week
- Practical guidance on where AI moves the needle for cost and growth
What Is the Lunch & Learn Series?
The Program
Monthly, Real IT’s Donald McArthur (Chief AI Officer) hosts a free, hour-long working session on a practical AI topic. Join from anywhere, leave with something you can use that afternoon.
No national webinar mill. Every session is hosted live by the same West Michigan team that already handles networks, backups, and help desks for businesses like yours — not a traveling consultant who’s never set foot in your office.
Why it matters: the team running the session is the same team that can help you put any of it into practice.
Topics aren’t picked because they’re trending. They’re pulled straight from the questions West Michigan businesses are already asking — the kind you’ve probably wondered about yourself. If a session doesn’t answer a real question, it doesn’t make the calendar.
Why it matters: you walk away with something you can use that afternoon, not just more to read later.
Donald, our Chief AI Officer, built CRAFTED, Hand It Off or Hold On, and the Five Hidden Costs of AI Adoption — frameworks he already uses with clients every day. You’re getting the real tools, not a repackaged slide deck.
Why it matters: if a framework clicks for your business, it’s already proven — and ready to apply through Real IT’s AI Business Optimization services.
Sources: ASE Michigan AI Survey · U.S. Census Bureau · NVIDIA Healthcare AI Report
The Lunch & Learn Series Helps Your Business Stay Ahead of AI Adoption.
Register for the Upcoming Lunch & Learn
Tuesday, November 10th
AI Prompt Engineering
The CRAFTED Framework
Real IT Solutions
Register to Attend This Event:
What You’ll Walk Away With
In This Session — Prompt Engineering & the CRAFTED Framework
The CRAFTED Framework
Context, Role, Audience, Format, Tone, Explain, Deliverable — the seven-part checklist Donald runs through before typing a single prompt.
Why “Clean This Up” Fails
How a confident-sounding, quietly-wrong AI answer slips into a client email or report — and the one instruction that flags it before it ships.
Hands-On Practice
Build a real CRAFTED prompt live, around a document your team actually writes every week — not a generic example.
A Toolkit You Keep
Leave with a reference card and starter prompt library you can put to work that same afternoon.
Donald McArthur
Chief AI Officer, Real IT Solutions25+ years in IT, spent now on one problem: AI your business can actually trust. Donald built the CRAFTED Framework, leads Real IT’s AI governance and Copilot enablement work, and holds seven Anthropic AI certifications — practical and secure, with zero hype.
Upcoming Sessions
Mark Your Calendar
| Date | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 DAY: Tuesday 10 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
Prompt Engineering & the CRAFTED FrameworkMost AI output problems come down to a bad prompt, not a bad tool. Donald walks through his original 7-part CRAFTED framework and sends you home with a reference card and starter prompt library you can use that afternoon. | Register |
| December 2026 DAY: Tuesday 1 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
AI for CPA Firms & Financial ServicesCPA firms face a sharper version of the AI challenge: high stakes for error, mandatory confidentiality, and staff stretched thin during peak season. We’ll apply the Hand It Off or Hold On framework directly to your practice — from reconciliations you can safely delegate to judgment calls that stay with your people. | Register |
| January 2027 DAY: Tuesday 5 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
AI Strategy, Roadmap, Change Management & ROIA tool without a strategy is just another subscription nobody uses in six months. We’ll build the roadmap, change plan, and ROI case your leadership team can actually approve — and the five hidden costs to watch for along the way. | Register |
| February 2027 DAY: Tuesday 2 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
Data Readiness for AIAI doesn’t fix a data problem, it magnifies it. Learn the exact groundwork — clean records, documented workflows, clear ownership — Real IT lays before any AI tool goes live. | Register |
| March 2027 DAY: Tuesday 2 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
AI Governance, Policy & Shadow AI RiskThere’s a good chance someone on your team is already feeding client data into a free AI tool with zero policy in place. We’ll show you how to audit that shadow AI use and put a governance policy your team will actually follow. | Register |
| April 2027 DAY: Tuesday 6 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
Microsoft Copilot Enablement & ImplementationIf you’re already running Microsoft 365, Copilot is the most credible AI path available — and there are four specific reasons it beats every other tool on the market. See what a real department-by-department rollout looks like. | Register |
| May 2027 DAY: Tuesday 4 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
AI Workflow Automation & ImplementationBefore you automate anything, you need to know what should actually be handed off to AI versus what stays with your people. We’ll map your team’s tasks with the Hand It Off or Hold On framework and show you what real automation looks like. | Register |
| June 2027 DAY: Tuesday 1 TIME: 12:00 PM EST |
AI for ManufacturingFrom production scheduling and quality documentation to supplier correspondence and predictive maintenance, West Michigan manufacturers have real AI use cases waiting on the floor and in the office. We’ll walk through what’s actually working for OEM suppliers, machine shops, and food processors. | Register |
AI Build & Brew
Creating Confidence in AI
Get hands-on with AI, build something useful, experiment, and talk AI with people figuring it out right alongside you. Whether you use AI every day or you’re still skeptical, there’s a place for you at the table.
Monday, November 9 · 5:30–7:30 PM
Klusterer Bravhaus — 642 Bridge St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Join West Michigan AI Navigators
The Lunch & Learn series grew a standing LinkedIn community where people keep the conversation going between sessions. It’s free, it’s optional, and it’s a nice way to stay in the loop.
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AI Readiness Assessment
Are You Actually Ready For AI?
Every AI initiative starts in a different place.
Real IT Solutions’ free, five-dimension diagnostic tells you exactly where your
business stands before you spend a dollar on tools, training, or a workshop.
Frequently Asked Questions
For West Michigan Businesses Exploring AI
Q: Is there a cost to attend?
A: No — Lunch & Learn sessions are free, and so is the AI Navigators community.
Q: Do I need to be a Real IT client?
A: No — anyone in West Michigan business is welcome.
Q: Can I watch a session if I miss it?
A: Yes — most sessions are recorded and will be added to the archive soon.
Q: What is AI Build & Brew?
A: A smaller, hands-on companion workshop held between Lunch & Learn sessions. Details coming soon.