Dona Sarkar
PROFILE
Dona believes that you are one experiment away from being your most powerful self at work. And yes, in life!
Currently at her day job, she’s running 100 experiments as the Chief Troublemaker of the Microsoft AI and Copilot Extensibility Program. Her goal is that people all over the world can use Microsoft’s AI and Copilot programs to reason over their OWN data and truly make AI useful for their business.
Previously, Dona led the Accessibility tech program at Microsoft, implementing Generative AI in her products in an inclusive way. She also led the #WindowsInsiders program (20 million people globally) and worked on advocacy for the Metaverse via HoloLens and low-code development via Microsoft’s Power Platform.
Dona is also a keynote speaker (fave audience is corporate leaders like YOU), a multi-published author (it turns out fiction writing is useful in software!), the owner of the ethical luxury fashion brand called Prima Dona Studios, and she has recently become a wine bar co-owner and is studying to be a sommelier.
A few years ago, she was named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Productive People and Cosmopolitan magazine’s Businessperson of the Year for her multi-faceted (aka weird) life. And yes, she is always ready to get on a plane and come see YOU.
SPEAKING TOPICS
I Got 99 Problems but AI Ain’t One
How many of you have heard that AI is here to take your job? Yeah, exactly. Us too. Apparently, AI is here to take ALL the jobs.
Yet, here we are, employed and busier than EVER. Did you know that every large tech company has announced AI products this year with the promise to transform your business?
In this talk, you’ll learn:
- What in this latest AI craze is hype and what is real?
- What are successful companies actually doing with AI these days?
- What are 3 things that you ABSOLUTELY should be doing in the next 6 months to get your business ready to implement AI in a secure and responsible way?
The Future of Work is… Shenanigans
“Yay. A Consultant.” – no one ever
Every company, especially when the economy takes a downturn immediately decides to hire a consultant to solve their latest business problem. Here is the real truth: the best ideas for your organization are already in your organization, hidden deep inside the brains of your quietest members. Your goal is to get these ideas out of brains and onto paper so that they can become experiments and then wins and then tangible business results.
Using my proven 5 Step SHENANIGANS framework, we will identify your most urgent business problems and solve them in an innovative and FUN way using your most valuable assets, your teams. This will not only save you million of dollars, but will also raise employee engagement and retention like you’ve never seen. Let’s go!
Inclusive AI: How We all Have A Role To Play
Who’s heard of ChatGPT and DallE?
These exist to be your copilot
They start stuff for you
They finish stuff for you
They’re here to make your life easier, NOT harder.
BUT they can very easily not represent what you believe and value. How can organizations and individuals make the best use of this amazing new technology when they’re NOT AI experts and don’t have the time or resources to become one?
Learn 5 techniques that your company can be doing today to maximize the usableness and usefulness of Generative AI and the 3 different roles everyone in your company can and should play a part in the AI revolution.
NON-PROMOTE-ABLE WORK: 10 Ways to STOP doing it and START being more Powerful in the Workplace
No one ever got promoted for organizing a “women’s mentoring ring”.
Harsh. But true.
Every senior woman knows this. So why don’t we coach and advise the next generation to stop doing this work unless it’s part of your job?
Around 2012, I stopped doing ALL non-promote-able work and instead started doing 10 *very specific experiments* at my job.
Lo and behold, my career *absolutely transformed* over the next 2 years. The opportunities started to show up and have not stopped to this day. I talked to a few of my other senior women friends and we agreed–these techniques WORK. In this 45 minute keynote, I will walk you through the 10 experiments I have done to become more powerful in the workplace and how you can do it too!
Mind Your Business: How to Talk About Mental Health At Work
“Managers should be keeping their team’s mental health in mind.”
How many of you have heard this?
How many of you have absolutely NO IDEA what this means or even how to do this?
How do you make sure you’re not crossing the line into trying to be someone’s therapist?
Fear not, I have a simple 5 step strategy that will work for your organization.
In this session, we will cover:
- WHY is it important for leaders like YOU to talk about mental health
- WHAT you should be talking about and what you should not be talking about
- Talking to your team about them creating their own Mental Health plans
- Creating a team Mental Health plan
- Understand what resources are at your disposal
