Microsoft’s annual MVP Global Summit is currently underway! The MVP Global Summit is a multi-day event that is hosted in Bellevue, WA and at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA. With a large catalog of technical sessions (offered only in English), and a variety of networking opportunities, the MVP Global Summit enables MVPs to connect with other MVPs, build relationships with Microsoft product managers, and provide feedback on Microsoft products and technologies. Translated, this means the best and brightest SMB IT technical minds are receiving “behind closed doors” confidential briefings on SMB-related products, so that they can return home and better support the community and prosper.
So what is an SMB MVP? First of all, the term stands for Most Valuable Professional, and it’s a technical award and title. I was an early Windows Small Business Server MVP in the early 2000s as a reward for my technical contributions to the community. Today, that number exceeds 43. Many of these SMB MVPs are attending the MVP Global Summit as I write this. In fact, last night, HP hosted a dinner that I was invited to attend, along with Jennifer Hallmark from SMB Nation (pictured above). This gathering was something of a reunion for SMB MVPs who participated in a MVP Community Roadshow a couple of years ago, focused on Windows Small Business Server. Which leads me to my next statement.
I’d like to offer that, in the truest since of the word, the SMB MVP community is a family, rallying when someone becomes ill or dies. Attending weddings. Being witness to childbirth and divorces. Everything that life has to offer. As a friend of the family, I can attest we’ve laughed, cried, fought and hugged. Everything a real family does. Word in the MVP community is that the SMB MVPs are the most "tight-knit” about of the 4,000+ MVPs spanning each product worldwide.
So I recommend you get to know your MVPs as you accelerate your SMB journey. First, check out this list of SMB MVPs. Second, print out this list. Third, print out the agenda for the Global MVP Summit here. Then, hang out in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel in Bellevue Washington where the MVPs are staying, and walk up and introduce yourself, offer to buy an SMB MVP a beer at the lobby bar, etc. This is how that game is played. Let me know how it works!
