Microsoft Innovation Podcast

• Mastering Copilot: Real Productivity with AI Tools

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/744   David Fortin shares his journey from CPA to LinkedIn Learning instructor and Microsoft MVP, offering practical insights into creating professional learning content and mastering Microsoft 365 Copilot. Learn how to prompt effectively, stay current with AI tools, and apply Copilot in real-world business scenarios. 🎙️ What you’ll learn How to design and deliver a LinkedIn Learning course from concept to studio Practical Excel tips for professionals, drawn from 10 years of experience How to use Microsoft 365 Copilot for productivity across Teams, OneNote, and To Do Why prompt engineering is essential for effective AI use Strategies to stay current with fast-evolving AI tools and features ✅ Highlights “I packaged my best Excel tips from 10 years into an hour and 15 minutes.” “You hit record and it shows ‘recording’ in red at the top.” “I teach busy professionals how to make the most out of Microsoft 365 Copilot.” “It’s a machine to forecast the next word.” “I always ask—who are we helping and how?” “I comment on everyone personally—LinkedIn even blocked me once for typing too fast.” “You need to refill AI courses every time—three times now.” “Use it every day. You’ll get better by using it.” “I scroll Instagram and read the AI report newsletter daily.” “I show people how to build an agent to be more productive.” “If you say ‘help me’ instead of ‘do this,’ it’ll do two completely different things.” 🧰 Mentioned LinkedIn Learning - Excel Quick Tips - https://courses.davidpba.com/ Microsoft To Do - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-to-do-list-app AI Report newsletter - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-to-do-list-app  ChatGPT - https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5/  ChatGPT Tricks - https://techpp.com/2025/08/21/chatgpt-for-instagram-growth/  Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 ✅Keywords linkedin learning, microsoft 365 copilot, excel tips, prompt engineering, ai productivity, gpt-5, chatgpt, onenote, teams, microsoft to do, training, content creation Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• The Golden Age of Creativity with AI

  🔴 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/743Hosts: Mark Smith, Meg SmithCreativity is not replaced by AI. It is amplified. Meg and Mark unpack how AI frees time, widens ideas, and supports practice. They argue for redefining wealth as time to create, building human-AI teams, and using tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude to move from blank page to applied output. They ground it in gardening, branding, writing, and “vibe coding,” and echo Neil deGrasse Tyson’s call to out-create the machine.Join the private WhatsApp group for Q&A and community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0iyXcUVhpl9um7DuKLYEz🎙️ What you’ll learnReframe “will AI take jobs?” into “how will I create more value?”Build daily creative habits that AI accelerates, not replaces.Turn fuzzy ideas into drafts, designs, and prototypes fast.Use “vibe coding” to ship simple sites without a CMS.Work as human-AI teams that respect customer needs and mana.✅Highlights“Everything is gonna change.”“It’s going to allow us to step into a level of creativity like we’ve never known”“What are we going to do with all this free time”“Why don’t I bring the creativity forward into my day now”“Can we create in a different way?”“I think we will enter an era where creativity will be the golden age.”🧰 MentionedNyssa Waters https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyssawaters/Possible AI https://www.possibl.ai/PAX 8 https://www.pax8.com/Neil deGrasse Tyson https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-degrasse-tyson-680a35357/Connect with the hostsMark Smith:  Blog: https://www.nz365guy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nz365guy Meg Smith:  Blog: https://www.megsmith.nz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsmithnz Subscribe, rate, and share with someone who wants to be future ready. Drop your questions in the comments or the WhatsApp group, and we may feature them in an upcoming episode.✅ Keywords:  ai, creativity, human ai teams, vibe coding, chatgpt, copilot, claude, mid journey, vs code, azure, te ao māori, mana Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• How One App Transformed a 65,000-User Bank

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/742 Michael De Abreu shares his journey from IT infrastructure to building enterprise-grade solutions on the Microsoft Power Platform. He discusses the evolution of his consulting firm, Third Floor Solutions, and dives into large-scale implementations, including a 65,000-user deployment for a Canadian bank. The episode explores practical frameworks, offline capabilities, and the transformative potential of Copilot in form design. 🎙️ What you’ll learn How to architect scalable Power Platform solutions for enterprise use Ways to rethink form design using Copilot and dynamic logic Strategies for building reusable frameworks with Dataverse Approaches to offline capability in Canvas and Model-driven apps How to position yourself with FastTrack credentials and PL-600 certification ✅ Highlights “I got addicted to the Power Platform… building so many apps.” “We went from no Power Apps to close to 70 apps in 8–9 months.” “We built a reusable framework that runs 350 forms off 4 tables.” “Offline capability was key - we saved collections locally to the device.” “FastTrack helps credential yourself and shows real enterprise experience.” “We built a mining app for underground drill logging with offline sync.” “Copilot can prompt users with missing info and SME knowledge.” “I hate seeing a gallery trying to look like a table - grids are essential.” “Plugins are powerful - many forget they run even on imported data.” “We’re transferring problems from PDFs to Power Apps without rethinking.” “Copilot is more than a chatbot - it can perform tasks and visualise data.” “The biggest thing is building so users can maintain without white-glove support.” 🧰 Mentioned Microsoft Power Platform - https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/power-platform/ FastTrack for Power Platform - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/fasttrack/overview Dataverse - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/data-platform-intro Power Apps - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/ ✅Keywords power platform, canvas apps, dataverse, fasttrack, copilot, offline capability, enterprise architecture, reusable frameworks, fusion developer, model-driven apps, PL-600, form design Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• AI Change Management That Actually Works

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/741 Josefin Stenmark shares her journey from adult education to becoming a Copilot expert, helping organisations embrace AI through practical tools, change management, and prompt engineering. Her insights reveal how crafting, collaboration, and culture shape successful AI adoption. practical strategies to make technology work for people—not the other way around.  🎙️ What you’ll learn How to run effective prompt-a-thons for departmental AI adoption Ways to reduce AI-related fear through education and transparency Practical uses of Copilot for meeting recaps and daily workflows The difference between training and change management in digital transformation How to build personalised AI agents aligned with organisational needs ✅ Highlights “You need to wind down.” “We are still in charge of it. We as people.” “You are still the expert in your field.” “We start to craft scenarios.” “They learn how to craft these more powerful prompts.” “It’s not that everybody shares with their colleagues.” “We build a lot of simple agents and more advanced agents.” “We have to do more about agents.” “I think I can call myself a Copilot expert.” “It’s not the scary person who will replace me.” “You get the opportunity to learn together with your colleagues.” “It’s a really great way to dive into their organisation and their needs.” 🧰 Mentioned Microsoft Copilot: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot Copilot Studio: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio Microsoft Power Platform: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform West Swedish Chamber of Commerce: https://www.handelskammaren.net  Microsoft MVP YouTube Series: How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7  ✅ Keywords copilot, ai agents, microsoft 365, change management, prompt engineering, power platform, copilot studio, power automate, digital transformation, organisational culture, prompt-a-thon, hybrid work Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• Find the Story: Turn Data into Meaning

  Hosts: Mark Smith, Meg Smith🔴 For full Show Notes: https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/740Communication and storytelling turn information into meaning. The episode shows how to frame data as a clear message, tailor to specific audiences, interrupt fear-driven narratives, and use concise stories and quotes to create action. It covers a practical “find the story” prompt, the role of humanities, decision frameworks for tech use, and a simple champions model for scaling change. It closes with community invites and a learning series.Join the private WhatsApp group for Q&A and community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0iyXcUVhpl9um7DuKLYEz🎙️ What you’ll learn- Extract a single, audience-ready message from messy data.- Tailor the same insight for executives, managers, and interns.- Detect and interrupt fear cycles in media and feeds.- Use sticky story structures and quotes to drive recall.- Build champions with simple, memorable selection criteria.✅Highlights“What is the single most important story that emerges from this data?”“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”“Play the ball, not the player.”“I'm getting rid of apps off my phone.”“Be really intentional and engaged about how you're using technology.”“Do you think that people are generally doing the best they can with what they have?”🧰 MentionedMicrosoft 365 Copilot Adoption https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSLB (Schlumberger) https://www.slb.com/Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath)https://amzn.to/42q3fqALost Heart Found (book)https://amzn.to/4pRAH3rConnect with the hostsMark Smith:  Blog: https://www.nz365guy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nz365guyMeg Smith:  Blog: https://www.megsmith.nz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsmithnzSubscribe, rate, and share with someone who wants to be future ready. Drop your questions in the comments or the WhatsApp group, and we may feature them in an upcoming episode.Keywords: communication, storytelling, ai, google, mission, yoda, fear, champions program, power platform, whatsapp, meta, linkedinMicrosoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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