A couple years back, my team posted to our company blog a brief article on what it takes to become a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). While short on information, it has continued to be the most viewed article on our company blog. Microsoft gives out these awards quarterly as a way to recognize individuals for their past 12 months of technical and community excellence. In recent weeks, I've had several conversations with fellow MVPs about their path to MVP status, as well as questions from a few folks who would like to get onto the path of earning their MVP, and so I thought I'd share my perspective on the process.


There are incredibly smart, dedicated people out there who should have their MVPs, in my estimation, because of all that they do for the community, for their great content, for their amazing presentations, and for the time (and personal travel funds) they put into the SharePoint community. Mark Rackley is one. Jason Himmelstein is another. I'd also put Richard Harbridge in that mix. The fact is, there are quite a few folks deserving of this honor who do a tremendous amount of work for the larger community, most of them authors, presenters, community organizers (the good kind) who are the first to step up to answer questions, provide solutions, or point people in the right direction if they don't know the answer themselves.


Why write about this? Because I'd like to see more people striving to earn this recognition, filling the blogosphere with great content, and see more people step up to present at community or SPUG events. I am not afraid of a little competition. I write a lot of content for the community, and am blessed to be able to travel the world and speak at a lot of events, and give up many weekends to help local communities grow. But I will continue to do what I do regardless of my MVP status. I believe that having more people strive for this goal means a better SharePoint community for all of us.


So what does it take? While there is no secret formula, no "best practices" per se, but I do believe there are things you can do and habits that you can form that will help you on your path:

• Love what you do.

Passion is key. Find the most vocal and energetic people in the crowd, and you'll generally find the MVPs within that group. There are some who quietly give back, but most are sharing their opinions out front, encouraging others to participate in the community dialog.

• Give your time.

Another consistent theme is giving time and resources outside of work. While Axceler may cover my travel to events around the world, I'm often giving up my weekends and working long hours so that I can participate in community activities in addition to my regular workload. We all have day jobs, some more community-focused than others. But one of the distinguishing characteristics of an MVP is going above and beyond.

• Be honest about what you don't know.

SharePoint is huge, and nobody knows everything about the platform (well, I'm pretty sure Spence Harbar does), so you're bound to occasionally get questions from the community for which you don't know the answer. That's ok. The difference with MVPs (and those who should be/likely will be) is that they'll help the person find the answer, either through a peer or community member, or by exploring the problem themselves, testing out various solutions until they feel confident they can answer the question.

• Create content.

Let's face it - content is king. Some do this through the forums, answering multiple questions on a daily basis. Others write profusely through their blogs, and some are more comfortable through video or tool development. The point is - share your knowledge. Sometimes the most recognizable way is to present at conferences, through your local SharePoint user group (SPUG), or at a weekend SharePoint Saturday(SPS) event.

• Become an advocate for your local community.

Not every city or region has a SPUG. If not, help start one. If one already exists, attend it on a regular basis. Offer to present, to organize, to clean up afterward. Get to know the organizers, and the people within your community, especially any local MVPs, Microsoft Certified Masters(MCM), or Microsoft people, because Microsoft will reach out to them for feedback should you be considered for the MVP program. In short, be involved locally as much as possible.

• Help Microsoft improve.

Be willing to share your feedback with the Microsoft product teams, and with your regional Microsoft representatives. They want to hear your specific use cases, your industry or customer experiences. Get to know who they are, and develop relationships with them. It is easy to criticize the platform for what may be lacking, but you should focus on helping Microsoft understand the missing use cases and features so that they can work to improve the platform and/or documentation. If you do this regularly, you may just find yourself developing relationships with members of the product team, which is a good thing.

• Represent the community.

As an MVP, you are an ambassador for the community, representing the technology and, to some degree, Microsoft. Expectations are high for MVPs, both from the community and from Microsoft. Just remember that people are watching - before you earn your MVP and after. Be professional.

• Play nice.

People can get competitive, especially if you work for an independent software vendor (ISV) or a strategic integrator (SI, or consulting company). Nothing wrong with a little competition, but remember that you represent the community AND that Microsoft is watching. The pie is huge, folks, and there's plenty for everyone. Try to remain diplomatic in your dealings with competitors, even if they are less than friendly.

• Take it to the next level.

Some regions have well-known and hard working MVPs, so simply writing a blog and speaking at the occasional event may not be enough to capture Microsoft's attention. Watch what is happening in the community, and strive to do more. Volume of content is good, but looking for ways to add additional value to Microsoft and the community is even better. For example, I created my OneThingvideo series, which now has over 200 videos in the collection. I think it went a long way in helping me earn my MVP award.

• Nominate others.

You can nominate yourself, but its always more meaningful when the nomination comes from someone else in the community - especially if from a current or former MVP. I am a big believer in paying it forward. Recognize others for their contributions to the community, and learn from them, be like them.

My conclusion is that there is no single path to MVP, no set of prescribed activities that will get you there. In fact, the rules (if you can call them that) vary by specialty (SharePoint, SQL Server, Office365, etc) and by region or country. Don't let that make you feel like its a moving target - quite the contrary, what this means is that there are different paths into this elite program. Microsoft recognizes that we all have different strengths and different ways of demonstrating our expertise. The one thing we all have in common, however, is giving back to the community. That's the key. The MVP award is recognition of demonstrated excellence in the community.

Honestly, if you are doing most or all of what I've included here, regardless of your MVP status - you will benefit personally and professionally, and the community will benefit. So get started!

This article was first published on BuckleyPlanet. Check out our resource centre for more SharePoint content from Christian and other SharePoint specialists!

Early Booking Offer of €895 available until end of November. Book NOW>> Meet and connect with the European SharePoint Community at the conference in Copenhagen, 4-7 Feb 2013. Be a part of it!