Guest post by Paulette Suddarth, MVP global events marketing manager
We’ve come a long way since 34 MVPs gathered at the first MVP Summit nearly two decades ago.
Next week Microsoft will welcome at least 1,500 MVPs from 80 countries, speaking 39 languages.
Back then, we held seven feedback sessions with the Microsoft product groups. This year, we’ll hold 700.
Just as the MVP community has evolved, so has this event. And largely for the same reason—the commitment of everyone involved with this community to continual improvement.
Each year, I ask MVPs, members of Microsoft’s product groups, and the MVP Award team to tell me how things went at the MVP Global Summit. From food to feedback sessions, from shirts to shuttles--that input helps make the next MVP Global Summit that much better.
For instance, one of the things MVPs tell us they value enormously about coming to the MVP Global Summit is having the opportunity to share best practices and swap war stories with other MVPs—many of whom they see just this one time a year. So this year we created MVP Summit Connect, a platform which enables scheduling ad hoc networking opportunities, and a whopping 90% of MVP attendees have already signed up.
We’ve also enhanced the amount of time MVPs and product group teams get to spend together, opening up some sessions beyond specific areas of technology expertise and offering business-focused sessions that align with scenario and ecosystem tracks.
I even got valuable feedback on this year’s trademark MVP Global Summit shirt—which may seem like a small thing, but not if it’s too small! A number of MVPs volunteered as a screening committee, and the shirt made its way from one to the other, through the mail, to get hands-on reviews.
It’s that level of engagement and commitment to improvement that makes this such a great community to work with. Thank you to everyone—and I’m looking forward to seeing you next week!