This past weekend I received a care package from Satya Nadella. Inside was my Microsoft MVP award for 2018-2019. I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft MVP award for the tenth straight year. I still recall my first MVP award and how it got caught in the company spam folder. Good times.
I am not able to explain why I am considered an MVP and others are not. I have no idea what it takes to be an MVP. And neither does anyone else. Well, maybe Microsoft does since they are the ones that bestow the award on others. But there doesn’t seem to be any magical formula to determine if someone is an MVP or not.
I do my best to help others. I value people and relationships over money. I play around with lots of Microsoft data tools and applications and I like to blog about things I find interesting. Sometimes those blog posts are close to fanboi level, other times they are not. But I do my best to remember that there are people over in Redmond that work hard on delivering quality. Sometimes they miss, and I do my best to help them stay on target. Maybe that’s why they keep me around.
Here’s what I do know about the current Microsoft MVPs:
There is no magic number. In my time as an MVP I’ve heard talk about how the number of MVPs is limited by Microsoft budgets. Well, the Data Platform group is large, we have more than 300 members with public profiles. When we’ve asked about numbers, we’ve been told that the right number of MVPs is to find and recognize everyone that is worthy of being an MVP. I don’t know anyone that has been cut from the MVP program as a result of a budget decision. If a person meets the bar set by Microsoft, they earn the award.
MVPs have a great relationship with Microsoft employees, the MVP lead(s), and the folks on the product team. Being able to have respectful conversations as you discuss products, features, and strategy is important. It’s also how Microsoft measure influence. (Do not mistake influence for reach). Being able to work with disparate teams, provide valued input, and influence the way others think are important skills for anyone, and especially true for MVPs. We are never shy about providing lovingly critical feedback. We don’t take advantage of our NDA status to write “breaking news” blog posts, either.
MVPs give more than they receive. They find opportunities to help others and look to put the needs of others ahead of their own. MVPs serve as leaders and spend their time answering questions on forums and on Twitter (#sqlhelp). They spend time writing blog posts about weird things they have found, hoping that the information may prove useful to someone else. An MVP will encourage others to share knowledge, and not make a habit of mocking others who lack knowledge. We participate whenever and wherever we can. In a world of “everyone get’s a trophy”, the MVP award is the greatest participation trophy on Earth.
MVPs are thirsty for more. We are constantly looking to improve and expand our skills. It is rare to find an MVP that doesn’t want to learn something new or dismisses new technology altogether. Sure, such MVPs do exist, but not for very long. Microsoft is a company that needs to move forward, and they need people that can help piece together solutions using multiple products in new ways. And the solutions and products aren’t just Microsoft ones, they can be 3rd party or open source. As technology changes, you need new skills. You either keep pace or fall behind.
The MVP program has had several changes the past few years. I believe that these changes are enhancing the program. In addition to the MVP program, Microsoft has other ways to get product feedback. The Microsoft SQL Server Facebook page has 351,000 likes and the Microsoft page has over 13 million likes. The Microsoft SQL Server Twitter account has over 212,000 followers. That’s a lot of reach. (Do not mistake reach for influence. Reach is having a drawer full of business cards with phone numbers to call. Influence is when people call you back. The MVP program favors influence over reach, IMO). If the Data Platform team wants feedback on a feature they can get feedback, quickly. Microsoft also has telemetry on product usage through the customer feedback program that you opt-in (hopefully) when installing products. I’m amused when someone says “NO ONE USES PRODUCT X” and I later find Microsoft has data to suggest otherwise.
Microsoft can deliver their message to, and get feedback from, their industry influencers in a variety of ways. MVPs take part in webinars (called Product Group Interactions, or PGIs) on a regular basis, there are regional MVP events, and my MVP lead pings me weekly on events.
I’m going to enjoy this ride while it lasts. I’m also going to do my part to make certain that the ride lasts as long as possible for everyone. Here’s a #ProTip for those of us renewed today:
Say thank you. Then say it again. Be grateful for what we have. Email the person that made the widget that you enjoy using over and over and tell them how much you appreciate their effort. Email your MVP lead and thank them for all their hard work as well.
MVPs do these things because we want to, not because we want an award.
Perhaps that’s the difference.
