Microsoft Innovation Podcast

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This episode explores how AI, agents, and prompting are reshaping how software and business solutions are built. Mark Smith and Keith Atherton discuss the shift beyond traditional low-code towards natural language, agent-driven development, where context, outcomes, and governance matter more than interfaces. They examine why developer fundamentals still matter, how generative AI accelerates delivery, and what new makers should focus on as Microsoft investment, tooling, and certifications pivot towards agentic and AI-first approaches. 
👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/818   
🎙️ What you’ll learn   
How agent-based development changes the way applications and systems are designed 
Why context engineering and outcomes engineering matter more than short prompts 
When low-code tools help and when direct code or CLI is faster 
How experienced developers gain leverage in an agent-driven world 
Where new makers should focus their learning as platforms and certifications evolve 
✅ Highlights 
“Beyond that hype, now organizations and customers, I can see them getting more mature and ready to actually adopt.” 
“We’re designing for API efficiency for AIs, not just human interfaces anymore.” 
“You wouldn’t have to put anything in your system that isn’t explicitly needed.” 
“If you can build something in a few minutes, why spend hours dragging and dropping?” 
“Context engineering is the next step beyond prompt engineering.” 
“My prompts are not one or two sentences, they’re hundreds of lines of data.” 
“It’s almost cumbersome today to go through visual steps when CLI is just speed.” 
“It could be seen as a bit of a superpower having that developer background.” 
“You need to know what good looks like to hold agents to account.” 
🧰 Mentioned  
Microsoft Power Platform: https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform 
Copilot Studio: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio  
ChatGPT:  https://chatgpt.com  
Visual Studio Code: https://code.visualstudio.com  
Power Automate: https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform/products/power-automate  
Dataverse: https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform/dataverse  
✅Keywords   
ai agents, power platform, low code, generative ai, prompt engineering, context engineering, outcomes engineering, dataverse, power automate, software development, cli, microsoft ai 
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/CopilotAdoption
Support the show
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

This episode explores why emotional resilience is becoming a core leadership skill in the age of AI. Jennifer Selby Long explains how a leader’s emotional state shapes team performance, why calm and consistency now matter more than constant disruption, and how grounded leadership enables effective change. Drawing on real client examples, she shares practical frameworks leaders can use to build self awareness, manage stress, and lead transformation without burning themselves or their teams out.

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/817   
🎙️ What you’ll learn 
Why a leader’s emotional state is contagious and shapes team outcomes 
The difference between change management and change leadership in practice 
How calm, consistency, and grounding build trust during rapid change 
Frameworks leaders use to recognise stress triggers and manage reactions 
Why emotional intelligence is a competitive advantage in AI driven workplaces 
✅ Highlights 
“The emotional state of the leader is highly contagious to the team.” 
“You really need to understand those stakeholders and get those folks aligned.” 
“Change management is about ensuring completion to a standard.” 
“Change leadership is keeping people hopeful, inspired, and focused on the future.” 
“The leadership element is what the human brings.” 
“Calm, consistency, and stability in leaders has been really underemphasised.” 
“Even when you think you’re hiding your emotions, you’re not.” 
“Cultivating inner calm is a surprisingly vital foundational skill for leaders today.” 
🧰 Mentioned 
Shirzad Chamine: https://positiveintelligence.com/about/  
Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine: https://books.google.com/books/about/Positive_Intelligence.html?id=ziSoxw_ACSwC  
The Problem with Change by Ashley Goodall: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203578496-the-problem-with-change  
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: https://www.themyersbriggs.com/en-US/Explore-Solutions/MBTI 
✅Keywords 
emotional intelligence, change leadership, change management, leadership resilience, grounded leadership, stakeholder alignment, organisational change, ai leadership, inner calm, self awareness, saboteur mindset, positive intelligence 
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/CopilotAdoption
Support the show
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

Ragnar Heil shares hands-on lessons from building and running autonomous agents with OpenClaw. He compares conversational, agent-first workflows with traditional automation tools, highlights real infrastructure and security trade-offs, and explains why this kind of experimentation accelerates deep understanding of agent architecture. The conversation explores where Copilot fits today, what breaks in early-stage agents, and why learning Linux, scripting, and model plumbing is becoming a core AI skill for practitioners.

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/816 
🎙️ What you’ll learn     
How conversational interfaces like Telegram change the way agents are built and operated 
Where traditional automation adds friction compared to autonomous agents 
Practical infrastructure choices for running experimental agents safely 
Real-world security and governance risks when working with agentic AI 
Why hands-on agent maintenance accelerates architectural understanding 
✅ Highlights   
“I literally talk into the microphone and then it builds it overnight without any effort for me.” 
“They’re not really autonomous, most of them are retrieval agents.” 
“Please don’t install OpenClaw on your PC or MacBook.” 
“It could literally delete your whole C drive without your command.” 
“I never learned so much around Linux scripts than in my whole life.” 
“I’m losing my fascination because I have to fix it every single day.” 
“It’s taken me further into understanding agents than I have ever been.” 
“We are in a very, very early stage here.” 
“The interface as we know it is going to go away.” 
🧰 Mentioned     
OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai/ [openclaw.ai] 
Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
Microsoft responsible AI standards: https://www.microsoft.com/ai/responsible-ai 
Copilot Studio: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio/ 
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 
✅ Keywords      
openclaw, autonomous agents, agentic ai, copilot, copilot studio, power automate, telegram interface, linux scripting, ai security, governance, mcp servers, infrastructure 
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/CopilotAdoption
Support the show
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
This episode features Martin Miller and explores the practical reality of using AI inside organisations. The conversation cuts through hype to focus on where AI genuinely adds leverage, where it breaks down, and why subject matter expertise, data quality, and critical thinking still matter. From AI‑generated code and agent teams to data governance, outages, and deepfakes, the discussion frames AI as a powerful amplifier rather than a replacement. The core message is clear: AI rewards clarity of intent, strong foundations, and human judgement. 
👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/815
🎙️ What you’ll learn 
How AI‑generated code fails without clear problem definition 
Why data quality and governance are prerequisites for AI success 
When AI amplifies expertise versus creating costly mistakes 
How organisations misuse AI by chasing headcount reduction 
Why critical thinking weakens when AI replaces core learning 
✅ Highlights 
“It’s not about can you write a for loop. It’s about can you define what you’re trying to accomplish.” 
“The more you know, the more you can use this tool.” 
“Nothing like making a decision off of bad data.” 
“AI is a power tool in the box of tools, and it’s a super tool.” 
“It will confidently deliver you results that may or may not be what you need.” 
“Headcount reduction and creating solutions are mutually exclusive.” 
“If you can’t manage your data with or without humans, you need to know that.” 
“You can generate the anomaly of the moment using AI all day long.” 
“There’s no Brent to call when your AI isn’t working.” 
“People that used AI couldn’t remember anything about the paper.” 
🧰 Mentioned 
Claude: https://claude.ai/ 
OpenAI: https://openai.com/  
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/  
Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/ 
DevOps: https://www.atlassian.com/devops 
The Phoenix Project: https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/  
Foursquare: https://foursquare.com/ 
Book: AI in a Weekend: An Executive’s Guide: https://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Executives-Guide-Martin-Miller-ebook/dp/B0D4JPSRH2
✅Keywords 
ai strategy, ai coding, data governance, critical thinking, ai agents, devops, site reliability engineering, ai outages, deepfakes, prompt engineering, subject matter expertise, enterprise ai 
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/CopilotAdoption
Support the show
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Simon Doy and Mark Smith explore the rapid shift from experimentation to production use of AI agents. The conversation focuses on practical agent design, Copilot Studio, RAG quality, and where automation fits better than full agents. Simon shares real client work in the NHS, small business realities, and how partners deliver Copilot adoption and agent-led transformation. A recurring theme is choosing the right level of AI, from automation with AI sprinkles to long running agent workflows, while staying pragmatic about cost, governance, and user experience. 
🎙 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/814
👉 What you’ll learn     
How agentic workflows are moving from demos into real production use 
When simple SharePoint grounding is enough and when Azure AI Search is required 
How to combine automation and agents to avoid slow, interactive AI experiences 
Practical approaches to Copilot adoption for leaders and teams 
Why token usage, orchestration, and model choice are becoming operational concerns 
✅ Highlights     
“On Friday, I let Claude Opus go and build me a Teams agent overnight.” 
“The agentic side and being able to have these long running tasks is really shifting things.” 
“Customers are now getting much more open to trying things out.” 
“Copilot Studio is the first port of call.” 
“You don’t get the quality back from the agent that you need with complex content.” 
“How you chunk it is so important for RAG.” 
“Not everything needs to be a full on agent.” 
“Automation with AI sprinkles is sometimes the better option.” 
“My world is fast becoming measured by tokens.” 
“You don’t have to use the most expensive model on everything.” 
🧰 Mentioned     
Copilot Studio - https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio 
Azure AI Search - https://azure.microsoft.com/products/ai-services/ai-search 
EmpowerM365 -  https://empowerm365.com 
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 
✅ Keywords      
ai agents, copilot studio, microsoft 365, automation, rag, azure ai search, sharepoint, claude opus, agentic workflows, copilot adoption, power automate, tokens 
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/CopilotAdoption
Support the show
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith