From Rollout to Black Belt: What Karate Taught Me About Microsoft 365 Adoption

Speakers

• Gitta Bleijendaal

About this session

You don’t become a black belt by attending a single training. You don’t master a technique by seeing it once. And you definitely don’t build discipline without repetition, feedback, and consistency. Yet somehow… this is exactly how we approach Microsoft 365 adoption. We roll out the tools. We schedule a training. We send a few communications. And then we’re surprised when nothing really changes. In this session, we’ll take an honest look at what actually happens when organizations try to drive adoption and why so many well-intended approaches fall short. Through real stories from the field, we’ll explore: Why combining key users and ambassadors seemed efficient… until no one wanted (or understood) the role How a simple decision around Microsoft Authenticator created distrust instead of adoption What happens when “adoption teams” exist, but no one knows who’s responsible for what And why “just one training” continues to fail, despite everyone knowing better Along the way, we’ll connect these experiences to an unexpected source: karate. Because the gap between knowing and doing, between rollout and adoption, isn’t a technology problem. It’s a behavior problem. From white belt to black belt, progress doesn’t come from tools or intentions. It comes from: Repetition over one-time effort Habits over knowledge Reinforcement over announcements And visible practice over invisible expectations No abstract frameworks. No perfect-case scenarios. Just honest lessons about what works, what doesn’t, and what actually helps people change the way they work. Because if people don’t use it…it doesn’t exist.