I’ve been teaching Microsoft Office since the suite was first released in 1990. At the time, the big question was simple:

Could Microsoft pull users away from dominant tools like WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and Harvard Graphics?

They could.
They did.

By the mid-1990s, corporate training calendars were packed with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint classes. At one point, I taught Introduction to Microsoft Word twenty-eight days in a row for a large enterprise rollout. By the end, I knew the material so well it felt like a museum tour—same jokes, same questions, same sticking points in the labs, every single day.

But that was 1994.

Fast forward to today.

In recent years, Logical Imagination has delivered hundreds of onsite and virtual training sessions across a wide range of technologies. Yet traditional "Microsoft Office" courses now represent only a small fraction of that work. Somewhere along the way, organizations decided that training in tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint was no longer necessary.

So what changed?

Are these tools so intuitive now that training isn’t needed?
Are there enough free videos and self-paced resources to replace live instruction?
Or did companies simply start assuming people already know how to use them?

The Dangerous Assumption of Digital Fluency

On a recent flight, I struck up a conversation with the person seated next to me. He reminisced about the days when companies invested heavily in foundational technology skills. We joked that I had probably been his Microsoft Word instructor at some point.

Then he said something that stuck with me:

"Those days are gone. Now companies just assume people know Microsoft Office."

He followed that with story after story about how weak Excel skills on his pharmaceutical sales team had cost his organization time, money, and credibility. Reports took longer. Data had to be reworked. Decisions were delayed or made on faulty assumptions.

That aligns perfectly with what I see every day.

Many professionals who write proposals, reports, or policies have never learned how to use styles, document structure, or navigation tools. Yet these features dramatically improve clarity, consistency, and collaboration. I’ve taught rooms full of smart, capable early-career professionals who had never been shown how to analyze data beyond basic spreadsheets.

In one class, I casually mentioned pivot tables. Blank stares. These were people in roles that depended on data.

When I asked whether they had received formal Excel training in high school or college, the answer was a unanimous no.

"I Wish I’d Known This Years Ago"

When organizations do invest in foundational productivity training, the reactions are remarkably consistent:

• "I wish I had known this two years ago."
• "This will save me hours every week."
• "I had no idea this was possible."

The truth is uncomfortable but clear: Competence, let alone excellence, with core productivity tools should not be assumed.

Most people use a small fraction of the available features, often in inefficient or error-prone ways. They get by. Until they can’t.

AI Didn’t Solve This Problem. It Exposed It.

In 2026, the conversation has shifted. We no longer talk about "Microsoft Office" as standalone applications. We talk about Microsoft 365, collaboration, cloud-based work, and increasingly, AI copilots embedded directly into our tools.

This has raised the stakes.

AI doesn’t replace foundational skills—it amplifies them. Someone who understands structure, data, and intent can use Copilot to work faster and smarter. Someone who doesn’t simply moves faster in the wrong direction.

Without a solid understanding of:

• Document structure and hierarchy
• Data modeling and analysis
• Version control and collaboration
• How outputs should be evaluated and validated

AI becomes a confidence multiplier for bad work.

The result? Polished-looking reports built on shaky logic. Dashboards that tell the wrong story. Automated processes that accelerate mistakes instead of eliminating them.

Training Is Not a Luxury—It’s Infrastructure

Organizations often treat training as discretionary—something to cut when budgets tighten. But the most effective companies understand that training is infrastructure, not a perk.

Well-trained teams:

• Make better decisions
• Waste less time
• Trust their tools
• Adapt faster to new technologies

Meanwhile, most organizations quietly acknowledge they don’t have all the skills they need, especially as roles evolve and expectations increase.

Before rushing to the next shiny tool or AI feature, it’s worth asking a simpler question: Do our people truly understand the tools they already use every day?

The Basics Matter More Than Ever

Advanced skills matter. AI literacy matters. Automation matters.

But none of it works without strong foundations.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint (and their modern Microsoft 365 counterparts) are still the backbone of knowledge work. Investing in deeper, more thoughtful training on these tools isn’t old-fashioned.

In 2026, it’s one of the smartest productivity investments an organization can make.

by Debbie on 03.10.2023