Creating aha moments - an Interview with Karuana Gatimu

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the MVP Summit at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond. Although all the sessions were under NDA, I had the chance to speak with Karuana Gatimu from 微软 , a leader in the field of user enablement in technology.

We discussed the importance of creating 'aha-moments' for employees using Copilot, as well as the organizational and C-level perspective on why it's the right time to invest in this journey. For Karuana, it's clear that this is a business growth opportunity.

The one and only, Karuana Gatimu

For those who may not be familiar with her, Karuana Gatimu is responsible for the M365 Customer Advocacy Group. This group manages resources such as adoption.microsoft.com, communities e.g. Microsoft Community , events, and technical guidance to help onboard customers with Microsoft 365, including Copilot.

?? Make sure to follow Karuana and check out her great "Mondays at Microsoft" videos together with Heather Cook. As well as Karuana's LinkedIn Newsletter Adoption News at Microsoft.

Similarities to 2019, but different

I remember my first workshop with Karuana as well. It was back in 2019 at Inspire in Las Vegas, where Karuana taught the audience about the importance of Change and Adoption in order to get the most out of Microsoft Teams.

[...] I think those things are coming, but I didn't realized how close they were or how impactful it can be for people in their day-to-day lifes, it's an amazing moment in time. I am very grateful to working on Copilot with my team [...] - Karuana

Today, we have a similar starting point, but with a slight difference. On one hand, people understand the importance of Change Management more than ever. On the other hand, teaching someone how to set up a meeting in Teams is different from using a conversational interface like Copilot. Each individual will use it differently.

Nobody has to start from scratch

To fully leverage the usage of Copilot, user enablement is key! The great news is that, thanks to Karuana's team, no one has to start from scratch. You can easily visit Microsoft's adoption site and download the customer success kit, which can then be optimized for your specific use cases.

Probably the number 1 most important thing is to make sure to bring together your champions! Peer-learning is incredibly important in this! - Karuana

Everyone needs to have the 'AHA-Moment'

Karuana Gatimu's AHA moment was when she summarized her emails from the last 10 days and found all the emails from her boss. She knew this could be epic!

Everyone needs to find their own AHA moment in a way that is relevant to them. To help with this, Karuana's team has created resources such as the Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption Workbook or the customer success kit, which provides guidance on how to successfully adopt Copilot and other Microsoft 365 technologies.

? What was your aha-moment while using Copilot? Let me know in the comments ??

It's more user enablement, than user adoption

On the user journey, we focus on enablement rather than adoption. While organizations may adopt Artificial Intelligence, when it comes to helping people, it's actually about user enablement. Our ultimate goal is user satisfaction.

How do I pick the people that get Copilot licenses first?

Take a look at your M365 usage report and adoption score to see who is deeply using SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook. These individuals make great candidates for your cohort to go through your program first.

But there is a lifecycle! User enablement never ends - Karuana

How can you support your users to get their aha-moment?

Support your employees on their journey by collecting and sharing their individual 'aha' moments with your peers. Microsoft has created an overview of the top 10 things you should do with Copilot, which is integrated into the customer success kit. By doing these fundamental things, users can experience their own 'aha' moments because they are relevant to their day-to-day work.

Microsoft certainly did an excellent job in naming it 'Copilot'

It helps me to go faster, but it can't replace my wisdom

When discussing trust, it's important to note that Microsoft Copilot is grounded in your data. It only uses data that you have access to. Karuana has even used Copilot to create content for the customer success kit. However, it's important to remember that it's Copilot, not Autopilot. She still had to read through, check, and add her own knowledge and wisdom to the content.

Microsoft Viva is a key element in the journey!

At Microsoft, it is observed that 10% of the product users tend to lean in and become champions, which is a healthy ratio. The broader community participates through Viva Engage.

?? If you would like to learn more on how to accelerate your AI journey with Microsoft Viva, check out the Copilot Your Day episode

Viva Insights is indeed a key element in measuring the impact and usage of Copilot, especially when combined with qualitative feedback through Pulse and Glint to measure sentiment and satisfaction.

And there's more to come! Karuana mentioned that Viva Academy will soon be available in preview.

How to convince the C-Level for Copilot?

Customers often face challenges when it comes to understanding and utilizing AI from a business perspective.

AI for me is a business growth opportunity, when I was a CEO I'd look at my business and thinking how can more productivity or creativity really accelerate my business objectives. How can I use AI to grow my business - Karuana

Different AI-perspectives for an organization

It's important to understand that there are different perspectives on AI, including:

1. Leadership Journey
2. Human Change Element
3. Technical Skilling

All three of these must undergo a process of change. When this change is undertaken with the mentioned activities, it shows that the vision of the leaders and the skills of the users are meeting in the middle.

Therefore, leading in AI is another key element in getting the most out of it. As leaders, we have a responsibility to support our employees on this journey.

Extend your use cases with Copilot Studio

Copilot Studio allows us to extend the use cases and scenarios to an even broader range, representing the next step in the journey. This is exciting not only for organizations, but also for many individuals.

?? If you would like to learn more on the extensibility of Copilot, check out the Copilot Your Day episode

Humans are the chief tool in problem solving

Karuana rephrased your message to emphasize that AI is not the go-to tool for problem-solving, but rather, humans are. However, AI provides us with capabilities that we have never had before, empowering us even further. It is crucial for organizations to adopt this new mindset. AI will not replace us, which is why Microsoft aptly named it 'Copilot'. The key to success lies in the alliance between AI and employees. I couldn't agree more with Karuana, especially since the choice of words really matters these days.

THANK YOU KARUANA! ??

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Karuana Gatimu once again! I appreciate that you took the time to speak with me.

Not only did you provide incredibly helpful and valuable insights, but you are also an inspiring person. I have been following your work for years, and you are doing an outstanding job! ??

? What are you most excited about? let me know in the comments ??

We are both incredibly excited about the future! This is a tremendous opportunity for all of us. While we cannot stop the advancement of technology, we can shape it. Now is the time to shape it for your organization.