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https://aka.ms/cap4copilot Here's a summary: Super Prompts: Wilkins introduces the concept of "super prompts," which are elaborate prompts that can generate more detailed and useful responses from Copilot. He shows an example of a super prompt to summarize emails, including features like extracting quotes and adding importance ratings (3 basketballs). (04:37 - 12:13) Simplified Approach: Since large prompts can be cumbersome, Wilkins demonstrates how to achieve similar results by starting with a simple prompt ("summarize my emails") and then iteratively refining it with additional keywords and instructions, like specifying the number of emails, summarizing in pros, combining threads, adding date/time and quotes, and finally creating a summary table with importance and urgency ratings. (12:36 - 17:25) Beyond Summarization: Wilkins extends the use of Copilot to include research and response drafting. He shows how to generate links from learn.microsoft.com to help answer questions mentioned in the emails and even draft complete responses. (17:35 - 19:39) Key Takeaways: Don't be afraid to experiment with elaborate prompts, but save them for reuse. (10:54-11:19) If big prompts feel overwhelming, start simple and iterate. (19:44 - 20:21) Explore different ways to format the output to maximize its usefulness. (15:46 - 17:25, 21:47)

I was inspired by  Vesa Juvonen 's office pic and the resulting shares of ideas and pics in the comments. (I've also got nostalgic flashbacks to my 2021 setup ) Sharing my current setup here as well in the hopes of getting some new ideas & suggestions: What does yours look like? 🤓  LinkedIn Post Nov 2024

April is National Minority Health Awareness Month, a time to recognize the importance of improving the health and well-being of communities that have been historically underserved. I'm using this fun visual to spark an important conversation:  representation  in health matters. Whether it’s access to care, trust in providers, or awareness of preventive steps, equitable health outcomes require visibility, education, and  advocacy . The  100 Black Men of America, Inc. , an organization I'm a part of, had this to say: "Health is not just physical - it’s mental, emotional, and spiritual. Let’s work together to build a healthier future for our communities. National Minority Health Month is a call to action for everyone to prioritize wellness..." (see link in the comments) These  #LinkedInTrend  action figures are a reminder that we all play a role, whether you're in tech, healthcare, or community outreach. Let’s celebrate the professionals doing the work, the communities lifting each other up, and the efforts being made to close the gap.  Representation isn’t just about who we see, it’s about how we serve. 💙  #MinorityHealthMonth   #HealthEquity   #RepresentationMatters

https://aka.ms/cap4copilot -generated summary: This video from Microsoft 365 explains the difference between licensed and unlicensed users of Microsoft Copilot. Here's a summary: Licensed Users: Have full access to Microsoft Copilot features, including work-related functionalities like access to organizational data (files, emails, meetings, etc.), intelligent suggestions in applications , and a premium chatbot experience. The hallmark is the "work" tab in the Copilot interface. (8:38-9:57) Unlicensed Users: Still have access to Microsoft Copilot, but with limited functionality. They can use the web-based AI chat to generate content, answer questions, etc., but without enterprise data protection or integrations. Their experience is "web-grounded," meaning it doesn't have knowledge of the user's organization. The absence of the "work" tab is a key identifier. (10:09-11:59) Important Note: M365 subscribers are automatically entitled to Microsoft Copilot chat, even if they don't have a full license. Organizations may not always be aware of this or have it actively promoted. (11:21-11:59) The video also touches on: Agent capabilities: Licensed and unlicensed users can access agents, either through organizational deployments or on a pay-as-you-go basis. (12:57-13:38) Recommendations: Unlicensed users have starter prompts to help them familiarize themselves with the tool. (14:35-15:57) File uploads: Unlicensed users can manually upload files to the chatbot for tasks like summarization, while licensed users have a more convenient way to reference and interact with organizational documents. (20:40-22:58) In essence, the video clarifies what features are available to different types of Copilot users and how to identify which category you fall into.

aka.ms/cute4teams Generated by AI. Be sure to check for accuracy. Meeting notes: New Chat and Channels UI: Ricardo discussed the new chat and channels UI in Microsoft Teams, which is now rolling out as the default interface. They expressed their enthusiasm for the new UI, highlighting its positive impact on productivity and ease of use. Ricardo also mentioned the mixed reactions from others but emphasized the benefits of the new interface. UI Rollout: Ricardo confirmed that the new chat and channels UI is now rolling out as the default interface for Microsoft Teams. This change is no longer optional and will become the standard for all users. Productivity Boost: Ricardo emphasized that the new UI has significantly boosted their productivity. They find the new interface aligns well with their workflow, making it easier to manage tasks and communications. Mixed Reactions: While Ricardo is enthusiastic about the new UI, they acknowledged that reactions have been mixed. Some users find the change uncomfortable due to their familiarity with the old interface, but Ricardo believes the new UI is a positive step forward. Personal Experience: Ricardo shared their personal experience, stating that the new UI has been phenomenal for them. They highlighted the ease of use and the significant improvement in managing chats and channels. Mobile Experience: Ricardo highlighted the improved mobile experience with the new chat and channels UI. They mentioned the filter button in the upper left corner that allows users to see all chats and channels as recent, making it easier to stay updated while on the go. Ricardo also expressed their hope for this feature to be added to the desktop version. Filter Button: Ricardo explained the new filter button in the upper left corner of the mobile app, which allows users to see all chats and channels as recent. This feature helps users stay updated on the latest messages and activities. On-the-Go Updates: Ricardo highlighted the convenience of the new mobile UI for staying updated while on the go. They mentioned using the mobile app in various situations, such as traveling or checking notifications in the car. Desktop Feature Request: Ricardo expressed their hope that the filter button feature will be added to the desktop version of Teams. They believe this would enhance the desktop experience by providing a running list of the latest messages, similar to the mobile app. Managing Teams and Channels: Ricardo shared their experience of managing multiple teams and channels using the new UI. They explained how they categorize important channels and teams, allowing them to focus on relevant updates and ignore the noise. Ricardo emphasized the productivity boost this new organization method has provided. Channel Categorization: Ricardo described how they categorize important channels and teams into sections. This organization method helps them focus on relevant updates and ignore less important notifications. Productivity Improvement: Ricardo emphasized that the new organization method has significantly improved their productivity. By categorizing channels, they can quickly identify and address important updates without being overwhelmed by noise. Handling Noise: Ricardo mentioned that they have become accustomed to seeing bold notifications for less important teams and channels. This change in mindset allows them to focus on actionable items while ignoring non-essential updates. Custom Groupings: Ricardo explained that they group teams and channels based on their roles and accounts. This customization helps them manage multiple teams effectively and ensures they can quickly respond to important updates. Notification Settings: Ricardo discussed the new notification settings in Teams, including the ability to change the location of notifications on the screen. They shared their preference for placing notifications in the top left corner to avoid overlap with other app notifications. Ricardo also mentioned the option to mute all notifications during vacations or busy periods. Notification Location: Ricardo explained the new feature that allows users to change the location of notifications on the screen. They prefer placing notifications in the top left corner to avoid overlap with other app notifications. Vacation Mute: Ricardo mentioned the option to mute all notifications during vacations or busy periods. They shared their practice of muting notifications to avoid distractions while on vacation. Notification Overlap: Ricardo highlighted the issue of notification overlap with other apps. The ability to change the notification location helps mitigate this problem, ensuring that Teams notifications are visible and do not interfere with other app notifications. Custom Sounds: Ricardo discussed using custom notification sounds for different team members. This feature helps them prioritize responses to important messages, especially from key contacts like their spouse. Meet App Tips: Ricardo provided tips on using the Meet app in Teams, such as peeking at attendees before joining a meeting and using the chat to see who is present. They highlighted the usefulness of this feature for avoiding being the first person in a meeting and for managing double bookings. Peeking at Attendees: Ricardo explained how users can peek at attendees before joining a meeting using the Meet app. This feature helps avoid being the first person in a meeting and ensures the organizer is present before joining. Managing Double Bookings: Ricardo highlighted the usefulness of the Meet app for managing double bookings. By checking the chat and attendee list, users can decide which meeting to prioritize and join based on the participants and ongoing discussions. Meeting Chats: Ricardo mentioned using the chat feature in the Meet app to see who is present in a meeting. This helps users stay informed about the participants and any ongoing conversations before joining the meeting. Upcoming Sessions and Blog Updates: Ricardo announced that the next meeting will likely be in mid-May and mentioned their ongoing efforts to update the Q4 Teams landing page with summaries and notes from previous sessions. They emphasized the value of the search functionality on the site for finding specific topics discussed in past meetings. Next Meeting: Ricardo announced that the next meeting is likely to be scheduled for mid-May. They will update the website with the exact date once confirmed. Blog Updates: Ricardo mentioned their ongoing efforts to update the Q4 Teams landing page with summaries and notes from previous sessions. This update aims to make the site more valuable for users searching for specific topics discussed in past meetings. Follow-up tasks: Mobile Interface: Try the new chat and channels UI on the Teams mobile app and provide feedback. (the team) Blog Updates: Migrate previous session information to the new blog and ensure the search functionality is working correctly. (Ricardo) Next Meeting Date: Update the website with the new meeting date for mid-May. (Ricardo)

Ok, I'll play too... 🤓 ( Linkedin Post Mar 31, 2025 )

To my daughter and all the other girls working hard in the lab, Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

aka.ms/cute4teams Generated by AI. Be sure to check for accuracy. Meeting notes: Targeted Release Features: Ricardo discussed the new targeted release features in Microsoft Teams, including the ability to edit display names in meetings, DVR in town halls, and storyline integration in Teams. He highlighted the potential benefits of these features for meeting organizers and participants. Editing Display Names: Ricardo introduced the new feature that allows users to edit their display names during meetings. This feature enables participants to add additional information such as their company or title, which can be useful for meeting organizers and participants. Ricardo emphasized the value of this feature for personalizing meeting experiences and providing context about attendees. DVR in Town Halls: Ricardo explained the addition of DVR functionality in town halls, allowing participants to pause, rewind, and skip forward during live events. This feature, previously available in live events, is now extended to town halls, enhancing the flexibility and accessibility of these sessions. Storyline Integration: Ricardo discussed the integration of the storyline feature in Teams, which allows users to share personal posts and updates with colleagues. This feature is now easily accessible within Teams, providing added convenience for users to connect and share information. Editing Display Names: Ricardo explained the new feature that allows users to edit their display names in meetings, which can be useful for adding additional information such as company or title. This feature can enhance the meeting experience for organizers and participants. Feature Overview: Ricardo detailed the new feature that allows users to edit their display names during meetings. This can include adding their company, title, or other relevant information, which remains throughout the duration of the meeting. Use Cases: Ricardo provided examples of how this feature can be used, such as adding only a first name, including a company name in parentheses, or specifying a title. This can be particularly useful for meeting organizers to understand the context of participants. Practical Benefits: Ricardo highlighted the practical benefits of this feature, such as enhancing the meeting experience by providing more context about attendees. This can be valuable for organizers and presenters who like to know more about their audience. DVR in Town Halls: Ricardo mentioned the addition of DVR functionality in town halls, allowing participants to pause, rewind, and skip forward during live events. This feature was previously available in live events and is now being extended to town halls. Storyline in Teams: Ricardo introduced the storyline feature in Teams, which allows users to share personal posts and updates with colleagues. This feature is now easily accessible within Teams, providing added convenience for users. Together Mode: Ricardo discussed the together mode feature in Teams, which allows participants to appear in a shared virtual space during meetings. He mentioned that this feature is often used for team pictures and can add a fun element to meetings. Feature Explanation: Ricardo explained the together mode feature, which allows participants to appear in a shared virtual space during meetings. This feature can be used to create a more engaging and interactive meeting environment. Common Uses: Ricardo mentioned that together mode is often used for team pictures, where participants can appear together in a virtual setting, making it a fun and memorable part of meetings. Future Potential: Ricardo discussed the potential for together mode to become more popular in regular meetings, as well as its integration with VR spaces for a more immersive experience. Preview Files in Chat: Ricardo demonstrated the new feature that allows users to preview shared files directly in the chat without opening them. This feature provides a convenient way to quickly review documents shared during meetings. Feature Demonstration: Ricardo demonstrated the new feature that allows users to preview shared files directly in the chat. This includes the ability to click through slides in a PowerPoint presentation or pages in a PDF without fully opening the document. Practical Benefits: Ricardo highlighted the convenience of this feature, allowing users to quickly review documents shared during meetings without the need to open them fully. This can save time and streamline the review process. Meeting Transcript Enhancements: Ricardo highlighted the improvements in meeting transcription accuracy and the ability to access spoken language settings. These enhancements can be particularly useful for global organizations with participants speaking different languages. Accuracy Improvements: Ricardo discussed the enhancements in meeting transcription accuracy, which can improve the reliability of transcriptions for meeting records. Language Settings: Ricardo explained the new ability to access spoken language settings and receive notifications if someone speaks a different language than the one selected. This feature is particularly useful for global organizations. Use Cases: Ricardo provided examples of how these enhancements can be beneficial, such as in meetings with participants from different countries who may switch languages during the discussion. Intelligent Recap for Events: Ricardo mentioned the availability of intelligent recaps for Teams town halls and webinars, which provide AI-generated notes and summaries of events. This feature is part of Teams Premium and can help users quickly review key points from meetings. SharePoint Usage: Ricardo reflected on the continued use of SharePoint for document repositories and landing pages. He emphasized the importance of SharePoint as a high-fidelity platform for displaying content and its role in collaboration alongside Teams and Viva Engage. Document Repositories: Ricardo emphasized the continued use of SharePoint as a primary document repository, highlighting its importance for storing and managing documents. Landing Pages: Ricardo discussed the use of SharePoint for creating landing pages with rich content, images, and updates, which can serve as an intranet for organizations. Integration with Teams: Ricardo explained how SharePoint integrates with Teams, providing a seamless experience for accessing documents and content within the Teams environment. Teams and Viva Engage Integration: Ricardo discussed the integration of Viva Engage with Teams, allowing users to add Engage communities or topics as tabs within Teams channels. This integration provides a seamless way to access and engage with content from within Teams. Follow-up tasks: Feature Feedback: Provide feedback on the new feature allowing editing of display names in meetings. (the team) Language Settings: Notify if there is interest in a session dedicated to discussing language settings, captions, transcription, and translation in Teams. (the team)

https://aka.ms/cap4copilot AI-generated summary: Demonstrates how to use Microsoft Copilot to create training materials: * User Manual Creation: Copilot in Word was used to create an eight-page user manual for a fictitious "cake help desk" software, including detailed information about a cake industry founder (Tyrone "Hotcakes" Wilson) * Survey Creation: Copilot in Forms generated a five-question user survey to understand user feelings about cake and cake-related issues to help design the cake system. * PowerPoint Presentation: Copilot in PowerPoint created a comprehensive presentation based on the user manual for launch day, including an agenda and system overview. * SharePoint Landing Page: Copilot was used to create content and a logo for a SharePoint landing page for the cake help desk system. * Efficiency and Creativity: Copilot significantly speeds up training material creation, doing the work of three people in about 15 minutes and adding creativity and fun to the materials.

(also published in BlacksInTechnology.net ) Being a consultant can be challenging, and although there have been many books and articles written on the subject of how to be a good consultant (or even how to be a BAD one ), much of what we learn about consulting comes from hands-on experience and trial-and-error. Fortunately, in the 1980’s there was another body of work produced on the subject of consulting that has been particularly useful for me. It was a film called “ The Ghostbusters”** , and for me, it was an enlightening look at several areas of consulting that we’ve all had to deal with from time to time. Here are some of the subjects that this ground-breaking piece of work helped to make clear for me: Opportunities – Sometimes a closed door can be an opportunity. While Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz were worried about their reputations after being fired from the University, Dr. Venkman saw it as an opportunity to follow a career path that they had long been wanting to pursue - ghost busting. Sometimes as a consultant, we may lose a contract, perhaps even one with a long-standing client. We have to learn when to see these moments as a chance to expand our skills and experiences with new clients, or maybe even a new type of business. Fears – In the hallway of the Sedgewick Hotel, Dr. Venkman turns a corner and comes face-to-face with a green blob of a monster. This was only the second ghost he had ever seen, but this one looked particularly scary. However, he controlled his fear and immediately radioed for help. Many times we’ll be faced with new and unknown technical or business challenges. It’s important to learn not to panic, but to think through the situation rationally. It’s also important to know when to ask for help, which could mean hiring additional consultants for your project team, or subcontracting to another consultant. Clients – When Dr. Venkman shows up at Dana Barrett’s apartment for their first date, he discovers that in fact she’s no longer the person he originally met. She’s now possessed by a demon, and surprisingly now has an entirely different disposition towards him. Over time, our clients may appear to change their mind or their demeanor in a way that seems completely different from when you first met them at the start of the project. They may have new needs, or new opinions about the project plan you originally set in motion. As consultants we have to be able to quickly change gears, and perhaps use different skills and approaches to address the new business requirements, just as Dr. Venkman immediately saw the need to try to exorcise the demon out of Dana. There may not even be time or a need to discuss how or why this change has suddenly occurred, but when it does, many times we have to make the best of it. Relevance – Dr. Venkman helps land a key citywide consulting contract from the Mayor by helping to show him how their proposed solution can benefit his Office – “…you can save the lives of millions of registered voters…” Similarly, our clients also need us to show them the business value of our solutions and expertise, and the positive impact on their bottom line. Many times we may be focused on the elegance of our technical approach, or perhaps even on the cost-saving measures we’ve implemented to control the project budget. But at the end of the day our clients need assurance that the project’s success will solve the pain points from which the project was conceived in the first place. Marketing – After Ray’s bad response to a demonic line of questioning (consultants: think carefully about your responses during an interview!) almost ends in a fatal mishap, Winston Zeddemore quickly tells Ray that “when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say YES!” It’s important for us as consultants to let our potential customers know our skills and talents, and to be able to market ourselves as experts in our field. We need to have confidence in our abilities, because our clients want a confident consultant tackling their challenging business needs. Although our industries tend to be much more challenging than the world-ending paranormal elimination market that Dr. Venkman and his colleagues found themselves in, I think we can all still see value in the consulting techniques they used to be successful. If we can master these areas of our business, then ultimately when the decision-making staff of our client companies start thinking about which consultant to hire, they will without question have to ask themselves… “Who You Gonna Call?” (you knew it was coming) : )   ** This blog post references scenes, phrases, and images from the movie "The Ghostbusters". All rights to the movie and its content are owned by Columbia Pictures. The use of these references is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by Columbia Pictures.

I got a great response to my previous article, “ Everything I Know About Consulting… ”, and it made me realize that there are even more things to be learned from classic 80’s cinema. While good consulting techniques are certainly important to help us land our next client, they’re not the total package.  We have to also use certain skills after we’ve landed the project to show that we were indeed the right person to pick for the job, and worthy of even more projects. This falls into the category of self-promotion – our ability to display our expertise, ability, and confidence to those around us, so that we’re seen as the very subject matter expert we claim to be.  And what better piece of work to illustrate these techniques than that classic movie “ The Princess Bride ”**. Let’s take a look at what this movie has to tell us about how to promote ourselves:   “I am the Dread Pirate Roberts!…” Just as Fezzick had only one chance to strike fear into the hearts of the castle guards, we’ve only got one chance to MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION. Make that first day a great one, a memorable one. We should introduce ourselves to as many people as we can, so that people know that someone new with our expertise and experience is in the building and available. And if possible, we should try to qet some quick wins in our project – even if they’re small, that early victory can have a lasting impression. “I mean, if we only had a wheelbarrow, that would be something…” Certain key tools were all that Westley needed in order to come up with a master plan for storming the castle. We, too, need to USE OUR PERSONAL MARKETING TOOLS to help promote ourselves. The most obvious one is our business cards – we should have them ready to hand out, but also placed on our desk in plain sight for anyone to take, or for us to easily access when we meet someone new at our desk. Other useful tools are signs or posters, even light-hearted ones, related to our technology or area of expertise, that we can post on or around our desk or work area. Passer-byers can then easily see what we’re all about, and might be motivated to enquire. “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Inigo had practiced this speech for 20 years, just for the one moment when he needed it most. It’s also important for us to HAVE OUR ELEVATOR SPEECH READY for that inevitable moment when it will be needed. This is that 30-second speech that we’ll give in the brief moment in which we meet someone new that asks “So, what do you do?” Also, we should know which of our talents we want to highlight in that speech – we may have several areas of expertise, but only certain ones are important to the person we’re talking to at the moment.. In that same way, we’ll need more than one elevator speech ready to be prepared for the different types of people we might meet. “Do you hear that, Fezzik? That is the sound of ultimate suffering…” Inigo heard the tormented screams of Westley from miles away, and so did everyone else throughout the land, from the Prince to the village people. In the same way, we should try to MAKE OUR PRESENCE KNOWN throughout the organization. What can we do to get ourselves, our brand, or the fruits of our labors in front of as many people as possible?  What about volunteering to do training in our area? Or to show a demo of a new application we’ve developed? Better yet, if the organization has online forums or internal SIGs (Special Interest Groups) – let’s participate! Also, if we’re a writer or blogger, we should let people know when we’ve published a new article. “True Love is the greatest thing in the world…” Even though Westley was ‘mostly dead’, he was still able to bellow “t-r-u-e l-o-v-e” when Miracle Max asked him what’s worth living for.  People around us should also know how much we care about our craft. We need to find a way to SHOW OUR PASSION to our client. To do that, we need to talk-up our technology or area of expertise, and show our excitement about the subject. Let’s be vocal about a possibly bigger vision for our area or technology – talk about the visionary things that could be done on our project in future phases, or if more time or funding was available. And also, we should highlight our community involvement – make sure everyone knows about our attendance at user groups, conferences, or perhaps our upcoming speaking engagements.   What are some techniques you use to promote yourself with your clients?   ** This blog post references scenes, phrases, and images from the movie "The Princess Bride". All rights to the movie and its content are owned by 20th Century Fox. The use of these references is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by 20th Century Fox.