Whew—May is full. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We kick things off in Washington, DC, where I’ll be joining fellow members of ACT | The App Association for our annual fly-in, AppCon. It’s a week where small and medium-sized business owners like me get to make our voices heard—literally. After reconnecting with old friends and getting briefed on the latest policy issues affecting tech businesses, we head to the Hill. We’ll meet with Senators, Representatives, and their staff to share stories from our businesses and advocate for the issues that matter most. I’ve been doing this for more than a decade (maybe two?), and it’s always a highlight.

Next stop: Chicago for DynamicsCon LIVE. This one’s like a family reunion—but with the family I choose. I’ll be presenting two sessions at this community-driven event full of Microsoft Dynamics and Power Platform goodness.

• First up: “Is it Copilot for Sales or Sales Copilot? You Can Have Both!” We’ll dig into the differences (and how to use both to boost productivity).
• Then we go full nerd (my happy place) with “Revolutionizing App Development with Microsoft’s Visual Designer and Copilot” This one’s demo-heavy, so fingers crossed for smooth sailing.
• I’m also on a panel the last day, all about Copilot. “Ask the Experts - Copilot!”

After a quick reboot at home, I jet off to Valencia, Spain for Resco Next. It’s my first time attending, but I’ve heard amazing things. My session here is all about something close to my heart—community. We’ll talk about how professional communities shape us, support us, and how we can intentionally grow and sustain them.

And finally, I wrap the month in Slovenia at DynamicsMinds—one of my favorite events ever. It’s beautifully run, packed with learning, and full of that magic combo: good people and good content. My talk here is about certifications (spoiler alert: they’re not just shiny badges—they open doors). And I’m thrilled that a few of my former students—part of our reskilling program for displaced Ukrainians—will be there in person.

Buckle up, May! It's going to be a ride—and I can’t wait. Catch me at any of these events, or reach out online if you want to nerd out about Copilot, certifications, or what makes a great conference (hint: community!).

I’ve heard so many great things about Scottish Summit but have never been able to attend, until now 😊.

AND I get to deliver a fun workshop there too.  There are limited spots, but you can still sign up here.

The workshop is called My First Day of Power Platform. I just delivered a similar workshop to a room full of beginners.  I surveyed the audience…has anyone made an app or cloud flow?  Has anyone used a Power App?  Not a single hand came up.  After a few more questions, with no hands, I got one!  She had seen a Power BI report before.  These were true beginners.  Exactly who should be there.

My visual evaluation of the workshop attendees put them in the 40s, 50,s even 60s.  All starting something brand new.  (how inspiring is that!!)

By the end of the day….everyone had built a data model, everyone made and customized a canvas Power App, everyone made a custom model-driven Power App and everyone had made a working Power Automate cloud flow.

Yes, all in one day!

Join me in Scotland and launch the career you’ve been looking for, the change you need.  If not now, when?

I’ve tweaked the title and description just a bit to better reflect the day.

My first day of Power Platform (Powered by Copilot)

In "My First Day of Power Platform (Powered by Copilot)," we'll embark on a journey from idea to execution, exploring how Copilot can be your invaluable partner in crafting powerful business solutions. This session is all about making the Power Platform accessible to everyone, regardless of your technical background.  If you’re new and not sure what part of Power Platform is for you?  You’ll practice with several different tools and products and help you find the one that is best for you.

The full event agenda and schedule can be found here.

Since I last wrote about our Ukrainian cohorts the team has continued to be hard at work to support our efforts.  And we’ve expanded a bit.

Our July group started this week with 222 students.  Our March and May groups each had over 200 as well.

Several of our students want to improve their English skills, so we updated our cloud flows and now track their input language and respond in the same language.  Previously we were hard coded to respond in Ukrainian.  (This also means we can support cohorts in additional languages.)

We’ve added more community experts to help with feedback on weekly assignments.  Let me know if you’d like to help.

We’re getting more support from the community in general.  For example, BizApps legend Lisa Crosbie is adding Ukrainian subtitles to her videos for us. You can see her playlist here, and her whole channel here.  Lisa is my go-to when I need to catch up on all things Dynamics and Power Platform.  If you are a content creator and want to do something for our students, let me know.

We’ve spec’d out the next phase of the program.  We need to build it out a little more, but it will be focused on making functional consultants who are Power Platform generalists.  Let me know if you have jobs or apprenticeships for our grads.

The entire program has been run by volunteers, with a budget of $0.  We might be seeking sponsorship of some variety soon to help with the cost of getting licenses for training environments for our students for their continued efforts.

Learn more about the groups, the impact to students and more in their own words here. 

Interested in joining the next cohort?  Apply here.

If you were in our hands-on lab sessions, we promised links.  Here you go:

Get Started With Copilot in Cloud Flows (Microsoft Documentation)

A few weeks ago, Dave came into my office and starts scribbling on the whiteboard.  Has a great idea.  And we all agreed.  And so, we jumped into the deep end and a few weeks later, we launched my digest by 365.Training.

What is my digest?  It’s your one-stop place for news, updates, blogs, events, podcasts, videos; all things current about Power Platform.  You build your interests in your saved filters and the feed only gives you things you are interested in. You can save items with notes, organized in your own folders.  You can snooze and item to read later.  You can do ad hoc views to narrow the scope of what you’re viewing right now, without changing your saved filters.

We’ve curated over 100 sources and add more pretty much every day. 

We just launched this crazy idea last week.  So, we’re in our beta phase while we work through any minor bugs and improvements.  During this beta, every logged in user has access at no cost.  We’ll sort out how we monetize it later.

Let me know if you have sources we should add or other ideas to make it better.

Go to my digest

I made a quick tutorial of how to get the most of my digest. 

This is starting to feel like the good old days 😊

Power Platform Conference Las Vegas NV October 3-5.  I’m not attending or presenting, but plan to be in town for a short time that week.  Feel free to grab some time to catch up.  https://365l.ink/MeetMeInVegas

365CommunityDays Knoxville TN- October 13^th.  I’m giving two talks at this free community event.  Come join us! https://www.communitydays.org/event/2023-10-13/knoxville-m365-community-day#schedule

Community Summit- October 15-20 Charlotte NC- I’m on a few panels and helping deliver a session for CRM/D365 Sales users.  Details here https://connect.summitna.com/8_0/sessions/speaker-details.cfm?speakerid=724

Denver Dev Day October 27 Denver CO- Not currently planning to deliver a session, but that might change.  It’s free, join us anyway.  https://denverdevday.github.io/oct-2023/

Wow, it's been a hot minute since we've all met in person, no?

I am immunocompromised and as vaccinated as vaccinated can be.  My doctor and I decided I can travel again, even speak at events.  So, come October, I'll be out there with you all.

I had written a post about being prepared for an event (CRMUG Summit 2016 to be precise).  And it is all still good advice.  But now we have to add a a few more items to the list.

• We all missed in-person events, but many of us are still terrified of germs and have spent the last few years avoiding them.  Please don't be the person that gets me (or other vulnerable people) sick.  If you suspect you have an active contagious anything, stay home this round.
  
  
• Don't be offended when someone like me is wearing a mask, or asks your vaccination status before giving that hug (can we establish a V hand signal, like V for victory and V for vaccinated??).  There are still people dying from COVID and flu.  I'd rather not be one of them.
  
  
• Remember what we all loved about being in person.  Talking about the cool things we've been doing.  Sharing our stories from the field. Learning from each other.
  
  
• Be forgiving.  We've all had an isolating couple of years.  We may have lost some of our social skills, we may have gained a few pounds, many have lost loved ones.
  
  
• Be smart. Wash your hands often.  See a sanitizer station- use it.  Don't sneeze or cough toward others.
  
  I'm really getting excited about seeing my community again.  I really did miss you all.
  
  
  
  Original list:
• Minimize distractions back at the office. Work extra hard now to avoid the trap of trying to work AND attend the conference. If you find yourself replying to emails three times in every session you attend, you aren’t really going to get much out of the session. If you have to keep up with the folks back at work, set aside time and plan for a session to spend working in a quiet corner instead of being partially engaged in several sessions.
• To ease the stress of leaving behind people at the office that would rather be at the conference with you, get their questions to take with you. What are their burning questions or concerns? Make sure you find the answers and resources to take back with you. Share the schedule with them in advance and then set up a lunch-and-learn the week you return and share your new knowledge and skills.
• Dress for comfort. Now, I will say no jammies for sure. But also, not a suit. Good shoes are the best thing you can bring. Promise.
• Stash some good snacks in your bag. You may find yourself in a great discussion and miss a conference meal or break. So grab some granola bars, some durable candy, whatever helps you make it to the meal later on. And drink water. You will be walking more than you plan, avoid dehydration.
• Every speaker, planner, expert is approachable, so approach them. Raise your hand in the session. Wait after the talk to ask your question. Find them at lunch and sit at the same table. Go to the medics’ station. They are there to share their knowledge. So let them.
• Plan your sessions in advance, mostly. Be open to last minute choices.
• Get yourself a fresh CRM trial before you go so you can immediately try that new cool thing you learned. Ok, get at least THREE new free trials. I suggest one that is bare, one that specializes (like sales or service) and one with a solution like Field Service or Project Service in it. Different things work different ways with added customizations or data.
• Take notes. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pen and paper person (me too!), if you like to scribble on your tablet or if you type it all organized. Take notes. I promise you won’t remember it all the next day.
• There will be booze. Don’t be THAT person that acts a fool and gets everyone to pull out their cameras and you find yourself rather embarrassed.
• Make friends, make memories.

I’ve presented probably hundreds of times. I’ve evaluated hundreds of sessions.

What sessions get picked? What sessions don’t get picked?

In general…

1. Relevant topic is important. Super important.
2. Unique topic is important. But not so niche that only 2 people will attend the session.
3. Catchy, but not cutesy session title. Shorter is better.  We can help you with this later if needed.
4. Catchy, but not cutesy session description. At least a paragraph, but not so long that I no longer need your presentation.
5. If your session description is one poorly written sentence, but your bio is 5 paragraphs of perfection, that means you care about you (good) but don’t care about my event (bad).
6. Fill out the details on the call for speakers. There’s lots of empty cells on those spreadsheets when we review, if yours is full of answers, we pay attention.
7. When asked “how did you find out about us?” don’t say “online.” OF COURSE, you found out online, where, how, who?
8. We don’t have to know you, but if we don’t make sure you have enough of an online presence that we can evaluate your fitness as a presenter and subject matter expert. Also, answer the question above if you have a named person that we do know that said to go submit, that gives credibility.
9. I personally love to nurture new talent. So, don’t let lack of experience prevent you from submitting. And don’t assume a long pedigree is a magical front of the line pass.
10. Ask for peer review on your submissions. Find someone that has subject matter expertise, and a good handle on the event, and get their feedback.

It’s been re-named!

See you there.

Attend Showcasing Dynamics 365 Demos - 2 Dates Only!

Monday, February 12 @ 8 pm PST l Tuesday, February 13 @ 8 am PST

As a follow up to the November 2017 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Blitz, we invite you to attend Showcasing Dynamics 365 Demos. Product specialists are excited to share the demo strategy, resources available, and how to deliver the content for the following Dynamics 365 business applications:  Sales, Adobe Experience Cloud, Customer Service, Field Service, Finance and Operations, Talent, and Retail.

Please join us at 8 PM PST on 12 February or 8 AM PST on 13 February. Subject matter experts will be on hand to answer your questions and on-demand sessions will be available on-demand following the live-streamed event.

Register Now!

As we get into the last few days before we meet in Tampa, I’ve made a list helpful hints and tips to help get the most out of your time at CRMUG Summit.

1. Minimize distractions back at the office. Work extra hard now to avoid the trap of trying to work AND attend the conference. If you find yourself replying to emails three times in every session you attend, you aren’t really going to get much out of the session. If you have to keep up with the folks back at work, set aside time and plan for a session to spend working in a quiet corner instead of being partially engaged in several sessions.
2. To ease the stress of leaving behind people at the office that would rather be at the conference with you, get their questions to take with you. What are their burning questions or concerns? Make sure you find the answers and resources to take back with you. Share the schedule with them in advance and then set up a lunch-and-learn the week you return and share your new knowledge and skills.
3. Dress for comfort. Now, I will say no jammies for sure. But also, not a suit. Good shoes are the best thing you can bring. Promise.
4. Stash some good snacks in your bag. You may find yourself in a great discussion and miss a conference meal or break. So grab some granola bars, some durable candy, whatever helps you make it to the meal later on. And drink water. You will be walking more than you plan, avoid dehydration.
5. Every speaker, planner, expert is approachable, so approach them. Raise your hand in the session. Wait after the talk to ask your question. Find them at lunch and sit at the same table. Go to the medics’ station. They are there to share their knowledge. So let them.
6. Plan your sessions in advance, mostly. Be open to last minute choices.
7. Get yourself a fresh CRM trial before you go so you can immediately try that new cool thing you learned. Ok, get at least THREE new free trials. I suggest one that is bare, one that specializes (like sales or service) and one with a solution like Field Service or Project Service in it. Different things work different ways with added customizations or data.
8. Take notes. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pen and paper person (me too!), if you like to scribble on your tablet or if you type it all organized. Take notes. I promise you won’t remember it all the next day.
9. There will be booze. Don’t be THAT person that acts a fool and gets everyone to pull out their cameras and you find yourself rather embarrassed.
10. Make friends, make memories.

See you there!