Technically Speaking

Wow… Aerosmith must have been on a radio somewhere today.  But none the less, I am back in Seattle WA for the Microsoft MVP Global Summit and am quite looking forward to the forthcoming information overload.

Microsoft spends a great deal of resources to put this event together for MVPs around the world and having the opportunity to attend is really outstanding.  That and the weather here today was about 50 degrees compared to somewhere in the 20’s back in Wisconsin.  I’ll admit, I like being able to get outside in February without wearing all the Winter essentials.  Similarly, getting to Advaiya’s offices from somewhere middle Bellevue did take closer to 40 minutes than the 20 or so I had thought (or I’m a slow walker).

Bring it on.

Tomorrow starts the festivities that are Summit and surely there will be more than a little NDA and Non-NDA content provided.  My intent was not to go into detail about the content of the Summit, which is in many cases protected by the aforementioned NDA, but to look at two things, the experience itself and maybe why an organization might put together an NDA in the first place.

Summit – or geek week

My wife refers to the MVP Summit as Geek Week, the one week out of the year where I get to spend time learning about Microsoft stuff and what other ‘geeks’ are doing.  The experience of being an MVP is amazing but still likens much to a fire hydrant.  The amount of information one gets as part of the program is a ton.  There are so many ways to interact with other MVPs and Microsoft that it seems like overload at first, but as you get used to it, it really doesn’t seem so bad.

Side sessions and learning about things new (or just new to you) while getting the opportunity to interact with others and with Microsoft is the idea of the weeklong event.  Feedback and just overall face to face conversation with Microsoft is something not many technology professionals get the chance to experience.  I have found myself seeing Microsoft as the huge corporation they are more than once, but now that I have gotten a chance to know some of the people behind the company and the products, my outlook or consideration o things that might go into an application is a bit different.  Do I drink some of the Microsoft Kool Aid, absolutely, but at the same time there are things I am not sure I agree with.  The MVP program provides multiple feedback opportunities, both good and bad are allowed, as long as they are constructive and helpful.

Where do I take the exam for MVP?

That’s the thing… you don’t.  MVPs are picked by Microsoft for contributions to the technical community.  Things that they do to help others learn a technology or better service their customers.  You cannot buy the MVP Award, sure you might get an MVP to sell you their used MVP t-shirt, but the award must be earned.  I found out about the MVP program a few years back and could never really figure out how one became an MVP.

Then one day, I got an email from a former Microsoft employee about the idea of nomination for a few blog posts I had done. And the rest is history.  Putting together content and resources to help others in the technology field learn or better do their jobs is a great way to be considered for the program… and rest assured, someone from Microsoft is likely paying attention.

To NDA or Not to NDA

Many companies do not guard their intellectual property with a formal Non-Disclosure Agreement.  Many other companies do.  I guess the nature of the business and the information that an employee has access to determines the need for an NDA.  Basically the document outlines things that cannot be discussed and at what lengths they cannot be discussed outside the agreement. 

For MVPs this means talking about unreleased Microsoft items and other things they learn as part of the program.  For dealings with other organizations this might mean discussing trade secrets or even the future of an athlete as pertaining to a team.

Before the MVP program I wasn’t sure about NDAs in general.  Maybe because I blog and feel that there is a reason to share things with those who read or want to read it.  Since teh MVP program I am able to see the need for them and have learned to err on the side of quiet.  If it is something I’m not sure about, I keep it to myself and ask someone to clarify.  If their answer is grey and I’m still confused; it stays off the Internet.

Thankfully the existence of the MVP program is not something MS wants to keep quiet.  They value the MVPs more than I can explain (and even if I could, it would end up something like War and Peace; long and unwieldy for most).

The bottom line

I hope that you will make an effort to make more contributions to your technical communities, even if that is just helping your neighbor get his Wireless working.  Trust me the visibility is icing on the cake, but being able to help those who might need it, is worth its weight in gold.

Working primarily in a support role for the past few years has taught me a thing or two.  One of the things I learned was about helping others and this is the focus for this post.

When providing support it is essential that you deal with other people, it is also essential that you try to avoid the blame game as much as possible, however it is unreasonable to think that one will never fall into the “he said she said” blaming of others.

Another think I have noticed, perhaps recently (and maybe far too late), is that matching the level of politeness and patience can go along way, but being polite regardless of the other end of the conversation is a home run.  Working on this takes time, frustration, and possibly some conversations with yourself during the ride home from work.

Being helpful and able beats being right

There are times when it is fun to be right.  For example, when the colts beat the saints on Sunday it will be fun to have been right (although this isn’t guaranteed) and maybe even bring in a few bucks for me.

When doing technical support, being helpful is more important than being right, no matter the situation or the reason.  Imagine if you will a relative who asks you to look at their computer because the Internet doesn’t work.  Sometimes it is an inconvenience, sometimes it is happening again, but think about how much better it feels to help than to complain or refuse. 

I will admit that I have to eat my own dog food here and can surely improve this, but I am confident that I can.

Helping with purchasing decisions

There are many organizations where a purchasing department places the orders for the needs of the company and handles all of that, but from time to time they will ask another department for help.  Sure they could get help from the vendor, and maybe they’ll need to anyway, but when asked providing the information you can might save extra work for these individuals.

For other systems, like when Aunt Mary asks what computer to buy, probe a bit and discover the ultimate use of the system and provide your opinion.  Be honest when asked “what would you do?” but make sure you let them know that you are providing an opinion about a system.  This way if they shop around or ask others as well, they wont feel like they are stepping on your feet.

Remember it is OK to ask for help

Along these lines, when you are asked to help someone solve a problem, you may need to ask for help from a colleague or co-worker or even an outside party.  If this is the case, make sure you let the person who asked you for help know you need to get assistance so they do not feel you are blowing them off.

Thinking about these few items in relation to the support calls and requests you receive might make your day a bit less stressful because helping someone just for the sake of helping them, can be rewarding sometimes.

Working in an IT shop of any size boils down to helping people with computer issues.  This simplification bothered me for a while because there were many different avenues that support or IT related activities could take, but helping people has been a root function of IT shops probably since the dawn of IT.

I still find myself cringing at some email subject lines or voicemail messages, or I did until recently.  Sure sometimes it still happens, but it is very rare as of late.

Community service, in both the technical and non-technical communities, has been floating around my brain for a while now and seems to be a good way to both give back to the community and to put the helping people portion of IT pro work back on the front page of the agenda.

Surely all of you who read this are glad that it is the 22nd of July so the sticky post about the Seminar I am participating in can hide from view, but it is this seminar that got me thinking for this post.  It is funny to admit that I haven’t been in this good a mood about giving a presentation ever.  Putting this seminar together and participating in the class to help attendees create (or update) their resume has been a great experience.  I have met and gotten to work with some great people and am in the hopes that tonight’s class goes well enough for future workshops to be discussed.

Is community service or pro-bono work a huge effort?  Yes.  Does it help to change your perspective on helping others?  Absolutely.  I hope to not only help those attending the class, but change the way I work with others at my job to help make their experiences better as well.

One event will not likely change all these things or improve all my typical IT faults but it is a star.  Not to mention, helping others just because you can, feels pretty good.

As an IT Manager, community service is a great thing to look for in a staff member.  Suggesting this to employees will likely cut into some time for other things, but can be worthwhile for all involved.  It might even become something you or your staff members begin to enjoy and look forward to.

Have a meeting with your team and discuss the possibility of community service if you aren’t doing so already.  The experience may improve more than your standing in the community.