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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.

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/802

🎙️ What you’ll learn

• How to identify AI opportunities by examining business processes, not tools
• Why most AI pilots stall before delivering real value
• How incentives and operating models determine AI ROI
• When ROI metrics help and when they get in the way
• How productivity gains can unlock business model innovation

✅ Highlights

• “Let’s not talk about use cases. Let’s talk about your processes.”
• “If you don’t have to mow your lawn, why would you do it?”
• “You’re just going to shift the bottleneck to another place.”
• “There’s a very high level of maturity in the potential.”
• “There’s generally a very low level of maturity in the willingness.”
• “People are talking a lot about the drill.”
• “Generative AI is transformation.”
• “It’s a change in the way that you’re working.”
• “AI gives people permission to innovate.”

🧰 Mentioned

• Start your own value-creating GenAI Journey with our "rapid" diagnostic here:
  Survey Page | AnteSyn Advisors - https://www.antesynadvisors.com/blank-3
• "How to Flourish" with guest Daniel Coyle - EconTalk Podcast Archive - Econlib - https://www.econtalk.org/
• Generative AI - https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/generative-ai
• MIT study on AI ROI - https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/28/1126693/finding-return-on-ai-investments-across-industries/
• Proofs of concept (POCs) - https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/proof-of-concept-definition
• Design thinking viability and feasibility concepts https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/desirability-viability-and-feasibility/

✅Keywords
generative ai, ai roi, operating model, business processes, productivity, innovation, incentives, ai pilots, digital transformation, leadership, applied ai, 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

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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

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.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/801

🎙️ What you’ll learn

• Map AI adoption into segments and tailor support levels to each group.
• Respond to “no thanks” with clear expectations and a path to re-engage.
• Build champions by focusing on domain expertise, not technical depth.
• Scale internal wins by giving champions access to enterprise tools and visibility.
• Decide when to use personal AI tools versus enterprise copilots for data separation.

🔴Highlights

• “My entire role is about AI enablement.”
• “There’s such a spectrum of where people are.”
• “I think that there will be a place for some people to opt out.”
• “It will become very difficult for people not to use it because they will fall behind.”
• “We don’t all need to be AI experts.”
• “You’re already an expert in whatever your domain is.”
• “Access is, a big one.”
• “Showcasing those wins and successes, giving them platforms.”
• “I use Pi on my phone a lot.”
• “I don’t want answers tied to my corporate data.”

🧰 Mentioned

• Pi - https://pi.ai/
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
• Change management: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management
• MVP Summit:https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-US/Summit [mvp.microsoft.com]
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7

✅Keywords
ai enablement, ai adoption, change management, champions, resistance, opt out, productivity, enterprise access, copilot, chatgpt, professional services, agents

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 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 instruction prompts to goal-based document creation with “agent mode” in Word.
• Build a SharePoint “knowledge vault” so Copilot can draft with authoritative business context.
• Use retrieval (RAG-style grounding) to write specs and proposals from internal files, emails, chats, decks, and meetings.
• Improve proposals by mirroring a customer’s terminology pulled from email threads and meeting transcripts.
• Apply Copilot as a reviewer to spot gaps, inconsistencies, and missed requirements across long documents.

✅ Highlights

• “Creation and comprehension, that's all.”
• “We are going beyond that and we are making it unable to solve your goal.”
• “We are calling agent mode inside Word.”
• “Most of the customers' data is in either Microsoft files or SharePoint, et cetera.”
• “Use those as RAG in RAG model to kind of generate or even answer accurately.”
• “First of all, inertia is gone because it gives you a starting point right away in seconds.”
• It also sometimes brings information which you and I may not have thought of.”
• “Do you see any gaps in my communication?”
• “It can directly edit the document and it can directly, you know, create a document.”
• “The interface for every app will become natural language.”

🧰 Mentioned

• Microsoft Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/
• Microsoft Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/
• Microsoft Word: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/word
• SharePoint: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration
• PowerPoint: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/powerpoint
• Visio: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/visio

✅Keywords
copilot, microsoft word, agent mode, generative ai, sharepoint, rag, chatgpt, proposal, rfp, natural language, microsoft editor, visio

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