Greater Cleveland Partnership · Our AI Commitment

We don't just guide members.
We're doing it too.

GCP cannot credibly help members adopt AI if we are not adopting it ourselves.

We are actively using AI across our own operations — in research, communications, member services, and program development. This playbook is one output of that work. The partner portal is another. The AI Summit, the monthly roundtables, and the small-business cohort are how we are building the regional ecosystem alongside you.

Internal adoption
We use AI in our own work
Research, communications, member engagement, and program development. We test the tools so we can speak to them honestly.
Regional programming
We build the infrastructure
The AI Summit, monthly roundtables, small-business cohort, and civic series are GCP-led. We are the convener and the connector.
Member resources
We built the partner portal
The GCP AI Partner Portal helps members find reviewed local AI partners by stage, industry, and need. Inclusion is for awareness and is not an endorsement by GCP.
This playbook
We share what we learn
This guide reflects three years of direct observation working with member organizations across Northeast Ohio. We update it as we learn more.
Greater Cleveland Partnership

Partner-to-Partner
AI Playbook

A practical guide for helping your members navigate AI with confidence.

Built for chambers, partner organizations, and business support teams who want to help members take a clear next step without needing to become AI experts.

Understand the local context Set simple guardrails Start better conversations Share the right resources

About 25 minutes. Built to use and revisit.

Greater Cleveland Partnership · AI Playbook

Choose your
organization type.

This helps tailor the examples, next steps, and recommended level of effort.

🌱
Smaller org1–2 staff, under 200 members · share events, start conversations
Mid-size org3–10 staff, 200–1,000 members · build roundtables, facilitate peer learning
🏛️
Larger org10+ staff, 1,000+ members · set the regional standard

Not sure? Pick the closest fit — the playbook adapts.

What you'll get
01Understand
02Guardrails
03Readiness
04Shape
05Action
06Follow up

About 25 minutes. Built to use and revisit.

Here's what's inside.

6 steps. About 25 minutes. Start now and come back anytime.

Your progress
About GCP
Understand
Guardrails
Readiness
Shape
Action
Follow up
🌱Smaller org
03Step 3 of 6
🌱 Smaller org

Identify where your members are.

Most members are earlier in their AI journey than you think — and most organizations are figuring this out in real time too. Knowing their stage changes what you say, what you share, and when you just listen.

The three stages
1
Exploring — we know AI exists
Paying attention but have not tried anything yet.
Your roleNormalize. Share an event. Say a guardrail. That is enough.
2
Preparing — we are experimenting
Have a real use case and building a plan.
Your roleConnect them to peers doing the same thing.
3
Implementing — AI is part of how we work
Deploying at scale.
Your roleRefer them to the GCP AI Partner Portal. This is a referral moment — make the handoff.
Many frameworks. Same three places.

Your members may already be working with a framework — from their consultant, industry group, or their own research. Gartner calls it Awareness to Experimentation to Scaling. McKinsey uses Explore to Expand to Extract. CBIZ frames it as Assess, Pilot, Scale. Deloitte, NIST, and others each have their own version. The labels differ but they all describe the same arc: paying attention, then experimenting, then embedding AI into daily work. For member conversations, this playbook uses three plain-language stages — Exploring, Preparing, Implementing — so you do not need to memorize any one framework to have a grounded conversation.

Whatever framework your member is using, three questions always apply: Where are you now? What is your next small step? Who do you need to talk to?
Stage can vary by department. A member org may be experimenting in marketing while leadership is still exploring. Ask about the specific team or use case — not the organization as a whole.
If you only take one thing:
Ask where they are before telling them what to do.
Your Move
One question
Ask a member: is your organization exploring AI, experimenting, or implementing?
The answer tells you everything about what they need from you right now.
Readiness
0 checked
© 2026 Greater Cleveland Partnership  ·  Built to be shared.
Step 1 of 6