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April 2025 Content Wrap-Up

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And here we are at May! It’s incredible how fast time flies. And for those of you keeping score (I’m looking at you, @tracyvds), as of this post, I have been posting daily for 3 years, 8 months, and 1 day. I spent much of April feeling like I was in catch-up-mode due to being out for a week attending the MVP Summit, and am just now feeling caught up — just in time to be out for 6 days for the M365 Conference in Las Vegas. But in April, I spent 2 nights in Denver for my 3rd Comms vNext event, which is a ton of fun — and a great smaller event that focuses on Microsoft Teams and a lot of the unified communications (and telephony) topics for the platform. I had two sessions: one focused on the ’10 Essentials for Effective Microsoft Teams Governance’ that had a good crowd and feedback, and the other a session on ‘How AI is Impacting Project Management’ alongside good friend and fellow MVP Shari Oswald (@shortcutshari). As for travels, I also spent 2 days in Arizona with a customer for a Smarter Consulting project that is ramping up quickly. I was reminded of how great it is to get a first-hand view of how different companies use technology, hear their questions, and talk about creative solutions. Great experience with a fun and energetic client.

Presenting at Comms vNext 2025 in DenverAs for other April events, I took a breather from the CollabTalk TweetJam this past month. Just too many things going on, and I needed to prioritize my time (and sanity). We also paused on a planned M365 migration webinar for Smarter Consulting, which has been moved to May. I will generate the landing page and start promoting it as soon as I’m back from Las Vegas and Texas.

On that last point: my wife and I are finally moving to Texas. More on that when I have dates locked down for the actual move, but it is definitely happening. My wife transferred to downtown Dallas with her company, and starts mid-May. I’ll be driving down with her after Vegas, then flying home for a few weeks to pack up and move, and get through 3 planned trips out of Salt Lake City. I’m excited to embark on this adventure, but there is a lot to get done before the move. Fun stuff.

As for content, here is what was published in April:

Project Failure Files

In this weekly series, my co-host Sharon Weaver (@sharoneweaver) and I discuss common management and leadership issues from the perspective of what NOT to do, and share our expertise and personal experiences. These are fun to do, and the show continues to grow. Coming soon are weekly training modules, our newsletter, and monthly “office hours” sessions for members. Watch for updates, and see our show live every Monday morning at 9am Pacific! Next up is “Juggling Stakeholder Reporting and Measurement Requests,” which you can watch here.

  • Project Failure Files: No Self-Preservation Skills (#ProjectFailureFiles Ep.42) [blog | YouTube]
  • Project Failure Files: Stuck in a PM Role (#ProjectFailureFiles Ep.43) [blog | YouTube]
  • Project Failure Files: Hiding in Plain Sight (#ProjectFailureFiles Ep.44) [blog | YouTube]
  • Project Failure Files: Putting Up with a Toxic Manager (#ProjectFailureFiles Ep.45) [blog | YouTube]
  • Project Failure Files: The Pitfalls of a One-Size-Fits-All Approach (#ProjectFailureFiles Ep.46) [blog | YouTube]

CollabTalk Podcast

If you follow the podcast, you’ve probably noticed the slight shift in my introductions as I move toward my new byline, “Focusing on what makes collaboration work (or fail) and how to improve it. I still have some episodes that focus on the Microsoft ecosystem, but the majority are broadly focused on topics around collaboration, teamwork, and leadership for a larger audience. I enjoy producing these, with new episode every Thursday (unless, like today, a Thursday falls on the 1st of the month when I do these wrap-ups).

Guardians of M365 Governance

Fantastic episode with guest MVP Alistair Pugin (@AlistairPugin) on “Using AI to Enhance Oversight & Streamline Compliance,” alongside series co-hosts Joy Apple (@joyofsharepoint) and Ragnar Heil (@ragnarh). Looking forward to next month’s episode with Rencore CEO, Matt Einig, as well.

  • Summary of Guardians of M365 Governance Ep.16 [blog | YouTube]

Business-Focused Content

Just one article this past month, but planning to post weekly to the Smarter Consulting blog going forward, PLUS I am finalizing an ebook for the SC site on the topic of governance (shocking, I know).

#MVPbuzzChat

The #MVPmonday effort rolls on! I’ve added 4 new interviews to the series this past month, and have another 8 interviews already in the can and ready for post-production. If you’re a Microsoft MVP or RD and would like to participate in this series and talk about your MVP origin story, please ping me.

Content Strategy

I penned 6 more articles this past month as part of my ongoing Content Strategy series, and have started outlining my plans for the book and training modules, the latter of which will launch this summer, and the book (hopefully) in the fall. LOTS going on, and this has been a lower priority than my PFF and client work, but it’s still moving forward. It’ll be my first solo book project, which is always exciting.

  • Content Strategy: Unlocking Employee Advocacy [blog]
  • Content Strategy: Content Serialization [blog]
  • Content Strategy: Promotion Accelerators [blog]
  • Content Strategy: Mining Customer Feedback Loops [blog]
  • Content Strategy: Creating Marketing Traction [blog]
  • Content Strategy: Optimizing for Voice Search and AI Queries [blog]

Comms vNext 2025 badgeMicrosoft Product Focus

As I make some shifts to my content activities this year (mostly with the soon-to-be-launched M365AMA.com website) one area where I plan to do more is to get back to writing about the latest Microsoft product and feature releases, as well as productivity tips. I loved doing that, and hope to get underway again…including webinars with my good friend Tom Duff (@duffbert).

  • Microsoft’s New Copilot Agents Might Actually Be Useful (No, Really) [blog]
  • Managing the “Where” in Hybrid Work [blog]
  • Microsoft Renames the iPod….er, Copilot [YouTube]
  • (Original video – not mine) Microsoft Re-Designs the iPod Packaging [YouTube]

Music

I really enjoy putting these posts together, going through the catalogs of some of my favorite bands and sharing my favorites. Sometimes they are links to the most well-known hits, sometimes they are deep cuts from obscure albums. From this list, Bauhaus was extremely influential to my music tastes. Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape was one of the first albums I purchased, which was from Tower Records across from Sunrise Mall in Fair Oaks, Califnornia (Sacramento). I still collect all things Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail.

  • Blue Plate Special: The Church [blog]
  • Blue Plate Special: Bauhaus [blog]
  • Blue Plate Special: XTC [blog]
  • Blue Plate Special: World Party [blog]

Blatant Self-Promotion

Last month’s wrap-up, plus some thoughts on this year’s Microsoft MVP Summit at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

  • March 2025 Content Wrap-Up [blog]
  • Reflections from the 2025 MVP & RD Summit [blog]

Personal

In case you missed it, I am now serving a 2-year virtual mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Sr. Service Missionary in the Pathway Worldwide program. I’ve gone through the training to play an advisory role, and am about to start working with adult learners in the Philippines to help them get through their degree and certificate programs. Excited to get things underway!

  • Becoming a BYU-Pathway Missionary [blog]
  • Easter and the Living Christ [blog]

And that’s a wrap for my April 2025 contributions! If you enjoy the content I produce, I sure would appreciate comments on my posts. Let me know what value you get out of these posts, and what you’d like to see more of. Don’t be a stranger!

Christian Buckley

Christian is a Microsoft Regional Director and M365 Apps & Services MVP, and an award-winning product marketer and technology evangelist, based in Silicon Slopes (Lehi), Utah. He is a startup advisor and investor, and an independent consultant providing fractional marketing and channel development services for Microsoft partners. He hosts the weekly #CollabTalk Podcast, weekly #ProjectFailureFiles series, monthly Guardians of M365 Governance (#GoM365gov) series, and the Microsoft 365 Ask-Me-Anything (#M365AMA) series.