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  • Dinosaurs can dance – the Microsoft story

    As I approach 10 years at Microsoft (disclosure), I can honestly say that when I started here, I didn’t think I would be here that long. Granted it was not an uninterrupted 10 years. I left in 2016 for two years. But the fact I returned is a testament to Microsoft’s transformation. And that is…

  • Poll of Life – where do you stand

    There’s nothing worse than going through difficult times and we sure are going through one of those at the moment. It’s bad no doubt about it and could still get worse. I’m referring to the war in Ukraine of course, the economy, the cost of living crisis, the layoffs, take your pick. And this is…

  • When all about is a sea of artificially intelligent content

    I started out this post with the intention of exploring AI assisted writing and images on WordPress – a test run of some new functionality that has just been released. But then it turned into a set piece, a critique even, on writing in the age of AI. Since I both write and am a…

  • SenseMaking from the Web

    Rules for sustaining peak performance as we grow older Posted on March 2. Recent discoveries in embodied cognition, flow science, and network neuroscience have revolutionized how we think about human learning. On paper, … Zooming Out: The Power of Putting Things in Perspective Posted on February 28. Shortly after the publication of my book Callings,…

  • Microsoft 365 customer questions – OpenAI strategy and roadmap

    What a whirlwind couple of weeks and months. Since OpenAI and ChatGPT landed properly in the context of its relationship with Microsoft, I and I am sure many of my colleagues at Microsoft have been inundated with questions. This is so fast moving its difficult to keep track. I have already shared several posts under…

  • What employee experience can learn from customer success

    I’ve been in the customer success profession for just over 10 years. For even more years, I’ve been focusing on enterprise collaboration and productivity software, at Microsoft (disclosure) and beyond, and a lot of that is now evolving naturally into employee experience software. I also wrote a trend report on the connection between employee and…

  • Features that delight with ChatGPT Outlook Edge Bing

    In this short demo I’m using Outlook Web App with Bing and ChatGPT embedded alongside an open email in an Edge browser session. I’m showing how I can get help from Generative AI in composing an email that I would send to a customer, for example. This is coming to other Microsoft tools as I…

  • SenseMaking from the Web

    ChatGPT and LLM-based chatbots set to improve customer experience Posted on February 10. Large language model–driven artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots burst into prominence in recent weeks, capturing enterprise leaders’ attention across various industries. One such chatbot, ChatGPT, made especially notable waves in the tech world, garnering over 1 million users within a week of its…

  • Real-World Applications of Generative AI – Sales

    Generative AI is revolutionizing various industries from art to medicine. Discovering its potential impact and current use cases is still at an early stage and I have being doing a bit of that under the AI tag. Generative AI describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT) that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text,…

  • Battle of the design tools – Canva vs Microsoft Designer

    ℹ️ NOTE: Read this updated post for changes, exactly 31 months after the first post below: Battle of the design tools – Canva vs Microsoft – round two. I’ve been using Canva for many years now and pay for the Pro version. £9.99 per month is not that cheap but I have definitely received value from my…

  • Microsoft and the employee experience journey matrix

    This is a continuation of some work I started in this post: The Employee Experience Journey Matrix. In that post I started out mapping the employee experience journey in a matrix and I plotted some of the key factors or considerations within that. Now, because of the work I do at Microsoft (disclosure), I wanted…

  • SenseMaking from the Web

    Rethinking Hierarchy Posted on January 27. For all the hype and promise swirling around the idea of eliminating management to create agile, flat organizations, bosses and corporate hierarchies … Creativity training: How to develop creative skills in employees Posted on January 27. By developing skills like divergent thinking and collaboration in the workforce, creativity training…

  • Could blogging get a new lease of life with generative AI tools

    I’ve been blogging on and off for the last 20 years and have seen its fortunes come and go. All kinds of things have been thrown at it, none more powerful than social media with its short form. Longer form pieces though, as long as well written, still endure and add value. Now with generative…

  • SenseMaking from the Web

    Artificial Intelligence Is Coming for Human Creativity Posted on January 19. Animal behaviorists have already disputed the uniqueness of human cognitive ability. Another blow to our hubris is now posed by the digital … Zoom Doesn’t Cut It as Corporate Travelers Seek More Conference Networking Posted on January 17. Skift Take A new report from…