From Death Star to Star Performer: Elevating Objectives with Viva Goals & Copilot

So, just the other day I was tasked with coming up with some OKRs for our new AI & Automation practice. If you don’t know what an OKR is then check this article out.

Anyway, I’ve set OKRs before and done quite a lot of work with Viva Goals before both internally at Nasstar but also with clients when implementing Viva Goals, I’ve also read quite a few books on effectively using OKRs. So I’m relatively well placed for this task but as I’m also a sucker for any new tech I thought I’d use the fairly new Copilot functionality in Viva Goals to see what its all about.

And to say I’m impressed is an understatement, it’s really REALLY good. As with anything Copilot related its not going to fully automate this process for you and you still need to work with the tool to get the right results but as with M365 Copilot it really helps with that staring at a blank page issue and I was very impressed with the starting point it gives you.

I thought this deserved a little blog post to show you how it works and for a bit of fun I thought I’d use a star wars theme for creating these OKRs 🙂

Microsoft Copilot Dashboard

First off if you have not read my last blog about Cameo in PowerPoint go and have a read it’s what I used in this video presentation I did for . Second off, this blog is to accompany the recent briefing I recorded for Empowering Cloud. The briefing and this blog is all about the Copilot Dashboard powered by Viva Insights so it encompasses 2 of my favourite things.

Using Cameo in PowerPoint

Introduction:

I recently recorded a video (more details on that coming in a future blog) and wanted to have both a PowerPoint presentation and my video on at the same time. Nothing new there right? Well I decided to use the cameo feature in PowerPoint to embed my webcam video right into the presentation. I think it works quite well and means you don’t have to have your video feed to the side of the presentation. So I thought I’d give you a step-by-step guide that will elevate your presentations to a whole new level.

PowerPoint has long been a staple in boardrooms, classrooms, and conference halls, but it’s time to move beyond the mundane. The Insert Cameo feature is your passport to a realm where every slide tells a story, and every presenter becomes a captivating storyteller.

Stream Deck in the New Teams

Hey techies, gather ’round for a rollercoaster ride through the thrilling saga of turning my Egalto Stream Deck Mini (which is the beautifully branded Commsverse model) into the ultimate Teams-commanding powerhouse! Hold onto your mousepads, because this is the tale of buttons, icons, and a touch of impatience!

Right, last year, I’m staring at my brand-new Stream Deck Mini with stars in my eyes. The dream? To make it play nice with the Microsoft Teams – the new version of Microsoft Teams. But oh no, there’s a catch. It’s like trying to introduce your favourite music to your grandma – not everyone’s vibing with the latest tunes. Fast forward a bit, and guess what? The tech universe decided to throw us a bone! The new Teams version is on its way, scheduled to become mandatory in March 2024 and thankfully the Stream Deck as of late last year is now ready to party with the new client!

With excitement in my fingertips, I embarked on the quest to transform my Stream Deck into a Teams maestro. And because I’m feeling generous, I decided to document the whole shebang for your reading pleasure. So, buckle up, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

Unlocking the Magic of Microsoft Viva: A Licensing Adventure

OK, I have been reading the Harry Potter books with my son recently so excuse the random magical references but I thought it might be a fun way of looking at the new(ish) Microsoft Viva licensing model, if there is such a thing as having fun and licensing in the same blog. Anyway, it’s been a while since I wrote a blog explaining the licensing model in Microsoft Viva and there have been some changes. It’s also been a little while since I wrote a blog article in general as I’ve been doing a few more video format updates the last few weeks.

So stick on your witch/wizard hats and grab your wands:-

Viva Learning

I thought I’d write a quick blog to follow up on the briefing I did for Empowering Cloud a few weeks ago. The video briefing was all about Viva Learning and how it can supercharge your LMS and build a culture of learning throughout your organisation.

Enable Viva Learning

This is the 2nd in a short series of blogs on how to enable the different modules of Viva. So, todays blog will be how to enable Viva Learning in your Microsoft Tenant.

Enable Viva Topics

This is the first in a series of blogs on how to enable the different modules of Microsoft Viva. So, this article I want to do a bit more of a deep dive into Viva Topics and how you can actually enable or switch on Viva Topics. Let’s look into the background of what Viva Topics is, how to enable it from a tech perspective, the people you need to make the most out of it, the governance and security required around it and then a brief summary.

Use PowerPoint Live

Just a short blog post today with a quick tip on how to use PowerPoint Live and importantly the Teams Presenter View. In the last couple of months I’d need another pair of hands to count how many times a presenter has not managed to share the correct view of their PowerPoint presentation. Either they are sharing their desktop and have not gone into the slide show or they don’t know where that pesky button to switch to presenter view is, There is a tip at the bottom of this blog as to why you may not be able to find this elusive button. The audience gets the below view instead of the nice shiny presentation you’ve worked hours on, and they can even see the really important notes you’ve put into the presentation but don’t actually want the audience to see.

Viva Explorers Community Day

OK, it’s Tuesday and time for me to unpack Friday and Saturday’s activities. This time I wasn’t running around taking my son to a tennis lesson or a football match, although I did get to do that on Sunday and yes, they played brilliantly and came away with a 3 – 0 victory – Go Norwich Eagles Academy! I also wasn’t dancing to some pounding Techno beats or in a pub drinking far too many beers, although I was in the bar Friday night but didn’t have too many.

No, I was in Manchester for the first ever Viva Explorers Community Day on the Saturday and what a day it was. I had the absolute privilege of being asked to speak about Viva Learning at the event.