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  • Starting a business remote first – 10 priorities

    I mentor startups from time to time, in my spare time. I am doing so at the moment with one. I am bringing my past experience to bear starting and working in startups and I’ve also written an eBook on a related subject. In the current case though, it’s more my current experience I am…

  • Microsoft 365 customer questions – what and why M365

    Question: The customer is just about to launch Microsoft 365 so the decision has already been made about buying and using it. The question was more in relation to a kick off session to all staff in which I was asked to present in 10 minutes what M365 is and why it will add value…

  • Finite creativity and the importance of time out

    Creativity is important. In our personal lives as well as business. Creative juices are sustenance for our innovation output. Why then do we treat it as if it were an infinite resource that can be tapped at will. Creativity depletion deniers will say there is no limit to our capacity to be creative. But it…

  • Navigating the modern work landscape – impact and effort

    As things have shifted so dramatically over the last few years and there is no sign of it abating nor of going back to normal, I wondered what that meant for modern work. Time for a DanelDoodle. This is a really high-level view and naturally I will have missed key elements. But I just wanted…

  • Content management with WordPress evolved – full site editing 1

    Last month WordPress announced that full site editing was coming to its WordPress.com users of which I am one. I’ve been meaning to take it for a spin but haven’t managed to until now. This post is an attempt at documenting my experiences as I try and learn the new functionality as well as get…

  • Starting out as a customer success manager – first 10 things to do

    I was asked by a new colleague who is just two months into his role, what advice I could provide. Here it is in a short, sharp list of 10 things to focus on. I’ve tried to make it generic since there are some things specific to the company I work for that I could…

  • Everything can change except values

    I’m reminded of this truth in the title which comes from an early interview with Tim Cook of Apple I discovered the other day that I had bookmarked. It is focused on the technology business and it’s an observation on how Steve Jobs worked and it really resonated with me. It can easily transcend the…

  • Microsoft Teams and CRM for Sales Productivity

    Bringing CRM tools into Microsoft Teams makes sellers more collaborative with the intention of making them more productive, ultimately to drive top line growth. Microsoft where I work (disclosure) positions this as collaborative Apps that keep you in the flow of work. I’ve already written about the work I am doing with customers on this…

  • Hackathons the MVP and lean startup

    I’ve been doing a lot of work recently supporting customers with their hackathon efforts. It’s been especially focused on use of Microsoft Power Platform and Teams as core technology platforms underpinning the hackathons. I captured a best practice story about that and this is based on the many hackathons I’ve been involved in over the…

  • Stages of consciousness and the immaturity of tyrants

    It’s difficult to stand by and observe the terrible events happening in Ukraine and not say something. Or to write about inconsequential things while people are suffering. At the very least, offer solidarity. Or light a candle rather than curse the darkness. I wanted to try do all of that in this post. What do…

  • As we come out of the pandemic – what to take and what to leave

    I say we are coming out of the pandemic because all the signs point in that direction. At least where I live in the UK where all restrictions have been lifted and the talk is of learning to live with COVID-19. Whether it is based in fact and is a permanent state, that remains to…

  • The opportunity for inspiration is infinite

    I started my DanelDoodles as a way to capture simple inspiring thoughts visually, for myself. I frequently use them for visual sensemaking. They are also a great creative outlet for simple artwork, some of which I hope may go on to be purchase worthy. I started creating them using the Paper 53 App with their…

  • Microsoft 365 customer questions – Service BOTs in Teams

    Question: Can you help us to overcome a challenge our users face in how they currently access IT and HR related information, FAQ’s and create support tickets covering issues in both areas or departments? Answer: For the answer it is probably best to just share the two slides I used to capture the issue and…

  • The employee customer experience connection – 6 reasons to focus

    With a world that is so binary I’m not surprised there isn’t more attention on this topic. People are either in the one camp, or the other, mostly. There are some, and I consider myself one, that straddle both sides. Here is why I think this is going to become increasingly important and a key…