Microsoft Innovation Podcast

byMark Smith [nz365guy]

BusinessCareersEducationTechnology

If you want to get your ideas or questions featured on an episode, please leave us a voicemail: https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/voicemail/Dive into the future of work with the "Microsoft Innovation Podcast," exploring the intersection of People, Business, Technology, and AI. Engage with expert guests—including thought leaders from Microsoft, industry innovators, and community specialists—who are redefining the world with advancements in AI, Cloud technologies, the Power Platform, Dynamics 365, and beyond.Every episode delivers a blend of in-depth discussions, practical insights, and actionable strategies tailored for professionals driving enablement and innovation. Join us across our six shows:The P...

Episodes(40 episodes)

From AI Fear to Daily Habit: The 90-Day Playbook

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 🎙 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/811 This episode explores how organisations can move from AI curiosity to real, everyday value through the practical adoption work of Carina de Vries. Drawing on hands-on experience, it reframes AI from a tool conversation to a problem-first mindset. The focus is on building trust, improving quality, and creating small habits that stick. Listeners will learn why one-off training fails, how behaviour change really happens, and how to design an AI adopt...

Published: Mar 25, 2026Duration: 22m 22s

Compliance as a Growth Lever: Close Enterprise Deals

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM In this episode, Mark Smith speaks with Caleb Mattingly about how startups and enterprises should approach AI governance, compliance, and risk as AI adoption accelerates. The conversation focuses on ISO 42001, common misconceptions about AI security, and why compliance is less about badges and more about trust, data quality, and long term viability. You will hear practical perspectives on when compliance becomes essential, how it functions as a sales enabler, and why human oversight still matters more than autonomous agents in high risk e...

Published: Mar 22, 2026Duration: 32m 1s

Pro-Code Agents Beat Low-Code: Here’s Why

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVMThis episode explores how AI coding agents are reshaping how software is built, through the practical experience of Vardhaman Deshpande. The core insight is that pro-code developers using natural language with modern AI models can now build features and agents faster than many low-code tools. The conversation examines velocity gains, trade-offs between pro-code and low-code, and what this shift means for professionals building AI-powered solutions. 🎙️ Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/809👉 What you’l...

Published: Mar 18, 2026Duration: 21m 16s

Your First AI Win: Automate What You Hate

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM In this episode, Esther Angell shares a grounded approach to adopting AI without hype or overwhelm. The conversation focuses on starting with real business problems, using the tools you already have, and improving efficiency without losing trust or human connection. Esther explains where AI delivers real value for small teams, the risks of misuse, and why culture matters as much as capability. The core message is simple: solve the work nobody wants to do, move fast, and stay purposeful as AI adoption...

Published: Mar 16, 2026Duration: 21m 52s

Agentic AI: From Hype to Real Work Done

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode features a conversation with Daniel Cohen‑Dumani on why many organisations feel stuck on AI despite rapid advances. The discussion focuses on agentic AI, the growing gap between consumer and business adoption, and why strategy matters more than experimentation. You will hear practical guidance on narrowing AI efforts to real business problems, building organisational memory for reliable agents, and avoiding paralysis caused by hype and fear. The conversation also challenges traditional systems like CRM and reframes AI as a tool to...

Published: Mar 15, 2026Duration: 32m 54s

Why AI Fails Without Governance and Information Architecture

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM Simon Hudson explores how organisations can build real AI capability by grounding Copilot and AI tools in strong information architecture, governance, and canonical knowledge. He discusses using SharePoint as the brain of the business, the limits of today’s agent hype, and why AI should be treated like essential infrastructure rather than a bolt-on. The conversation highlights practical patterns for reducing hallucinations, improving productivity, and using AI to support executive and ethical decision-making. 🎙 Full Show Notes https://www.micr...

Published: Mar 11, 2026Duration: 33m 0s

Build an AI-Ready Culture Without the Hype

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM Sam Fankuchen shares how organisations can move beyond AI hype to build real capability. The discussion focuses on creating an AI-ready culture, using AI agents with human oversight, and adopting AI responsibly in regulated environments. Sam explains why transparency, ethics, and experimentation matter, and why delaying adoption carries its own risks. The conversation is grounded in practical experience, showing how AI can scale human impact while keeping people, trust, and quality of life at the centre. 👉 Full Show Notes <br...

Published: Mar 8, 2026Duration: 32m 43s

Why Copilot Adoption Stalls and How to Fix It

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM Danny Burlage joins The MVP Show to explore why AI adoption in organisations is stalling and what actually moves it forward. The conversation moves beyond personal productivity to focus on AI as infrastructure, process transformation, and organisational capability. Danny shares what he sees in European enterprises, why Copilot adoption has lagged, and how companies can move from isolated pilots to real business impact by redesigning end to end processes and building AI literacy at scale.🎙 Full Show Notes ...

Published: Mar 4, 2026Duration: 25m 49s

How to Actually Get Value from Copilot at Work

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode explores how organisations can move from AI curiosity to real value using Microsoft Copilot and agents, drawing on practical insights from Yves Habersaat. The conversation focuses on adoption that starts where people already work, keeps early use cases simple, and scales only when the need is clear. It also covers real-world agent scenarios, model choice, and why low-code tools are often enough to deliver results quickly. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/803🎙️ What you...

Published: Feb 25, 2026Duration: 23m 54s

Why Most AI Projects Fail to Deliver ROI

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode reframes how leaders should approach generative AI, with insights from Justin Trombold. Instead of chasing use cases or tools, the focus is on fixing processes, incentives, and operating models. The conversation explores why many AI pilots fail, how ROI thinking can mislead, and why AI should be treated as a new way of working rather than a software upgrade. Practical examples show how small, disciplined changes can unlock productivity, innovation, and meaningful business impact without overinvesting or freezing in fear. <...

Published: Feb 22, 2026Duration: 31m 18s

AI Adoption: From “No Thanks” to Power Users

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM AI enablement is a change problem, not a tech problem. In this episode, Molly Rupert-Sullivan breaks down how to support three groups at once: people who do not get AI yet, people who want to opt out, and champions who want more. You will hear practical ways to set expectations, avoid over‑teaching “all AI”, and build momentum by giving champions the right access, platforms, and repeatable wins that can scale across an organisation. 👉️ Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftin...

Published: Feb 18, 2026Duration: 23m 35s

From Prompts to Goals: How AI Now Writes Full Documents

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode tracks how Manbhawan Prasad and the Word team are evolving Copilot from simple prompt-based help to goal-based “agent mode” that can plan and edit documents directly. You will hear practical, enterprise-focused examples: using SharePoint knowledge as authoritative context, reducing blank-page inertia, mirroring customer language from emails and meeting transcripts, and using AI as an always-on reviewer for structure, clarity, and accuracy. 👉️ Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/800 🎙️ What you’ll learn Shift from...

Published: Feb 16, 2026Duration: 27m 51s

Stop Chasing OKRs: Solve the Real Business Puzzle

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode challenges goal-driven thinking in an AI-enabled world through a conversation with Radhika Dutt. The discussion explores why OKRs and vanity metrics often fail, especially when AI accelerates optimisation without understanding. The core insight is a shift from goal setting to puzzle setting. By framing problems clearly, staying in the discomfort, and learning through small experiments, teams can build products that create long-term value. Practical examples show how this mindset helped recover stalled growth, improve trust, and reduce churn while keeping hu...

Published: Feb 15, 2026Duration: 33m 59s

Building Copilot Habits That Actually Stick

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM Amelia Hernandez Osorio explores practical ways organisations can build lasting Copilot habits, strengthen internal communities and drive effective AI adoption. Amelia shares her journey through web technologies, SharePoint, cloud transformation and Microsoft 365 adoption, offering guidance on behaviour change, team enablement and identifying meaningful Copilot use cases that improve daily work. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/798 🎙️What you’ll learn How to help teams build sustainable Copilot habits How internal communities strengthen adoption...

Published: Feb 11, 2026Duration: 24m 24s

AI Risks You’re Ignoring and How to Fix Them

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM Craig Taylor shares practical, real‑world guidance on cybersecurity, AI risks, and behaviour change inside organisations. He explains why positive reinforcement outperforms punishment, how biases appear in AI systems, and why zero‑trust matters for companies of all sizes. The conversation offers pragmatic, people‑centred steps to strengthen cyber literacy, reduce insider risk, and navigate emerging threats such as deepfakes and social engineering. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/797 🎙️ What you’ll learn How to streng...

Published: Feb 8, 2026Duration: 32m 35s

Your AI Intern: Unlocking Daily Productivity with Copilot

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM In this episode, Edine Olijve-Watkinson explores practical ways Microsoft 365 Copilot, Loop, Planner and emerging AI agents improve daily productivity, collaboration and decision making. It highlights real use cases, evolving tools and the shift toward AI supported workflows across organisations. 🎙️ Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/796👉 What you’ll learn • How Microsoft 365 Copilot supports personal efficiency • How AI agents extend productivity across meetings and workflows • How Loop, Copilot pages and notebooks support f...

Published: Feb 4, 2026Duration: 17m 41s

AI Agents in 2026: Govern Without Slowing Innovation

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM A focused conversation on why AI agents will define 2026, how governance must evolve, and the practical skills business and tech professionals need to stay relevant. The episode explores the shift from Power Platform governance to AI‑first governance, the rise of agent orchestration, and the critical importance of data security, testing, and prompt engineering. Listeners gain clear guidance on adapting their roles, scaling responsibly, and preparing for an agent‑driven future. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/795 <b...

Published: Feb 2, 2026Duration: 36m 37s

How AI Reveals Your True Leadership Style

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode explores how AI can transform leadership by analysing real conversational behaviour, reducing bias and giving leaders immediate insight into their communication style. The discussion covers how leadership differs from management, why early‑career support is often missing, and how continuous feedback can shorten the development gap for new leaders. Listeners gain a practical view of how leadership intelligence works and what it means for team clarity, alignment and growth. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/7...

Published: Feb 1, 2026Duration: 31m 37s

AI Adoption That Actually Works

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM This episode with Michael Plettner explores how organisations move from AI curiosity to practical, business focused implementation. You will learn why user adoption and leadership support matter, how teams shift from generic Copilot use to targeted process improvement, and how the EU AI Act is pushing companies toward more mature and responsible AI practices. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/793 🎙️What you’ll learn How to evaluate AI opportunities based on real business...

Published: Jan 28, 2026Duration: 22m 45s

Governance That Accelerates Innovation

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM John Rood shares how organisations can unlock real value from AI by balancing innovation, governance, and compliance. Learn why robust frameworks, practical training, and a bottom-up approach are key to sustainable AI adoption and risk management. 👉 Full Show Notes https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/792 🎙️ What you’ll learn How to implement effective AI governance without stifling innovation Practical steps for building an AI management system The role of ISO 42001 and the EU AI Act in complianc...

Published: Jan 25, 2026Duration: 32m 12s