 Hey everybody, this is Christian Buckley with another MVP Buzz Chat and I'm talking today with Andreas. Hello. Hi, Christian. Nice to meet you. Well, why not? For folks that don't know who you are, what you tell us who you are, where you are and what you do. Yeah, so first of all, because I'm from Germany, my English is not the best, so I have to try to get it fluent, like the fluent UI, but I will try my best. So my name is Andreas. I'm coming from Germany. I'm a freelancer for Microsoft 365 cloud services since many, many years and my passion is the process management, digitize the processes in the corporations and bring the tools, Microsoft 365 to get the usage, the more usage for the tools, not only WordX and PowerPoint, that's what I do. Well, there's no shortage of that kind of work. In fact, one of the most common questions, in fact, I just got an email this morning from a partner that's like, well, you know, how can you help us do more? So it's very much like that envisioning discussion. Help me see the potential of the technology and what's actually possible. And so how do you work with clients? As an independent, like what is your process with a client? When they say something generic, like, come help us be more collaborative. So what do you actually do? Yeah, that's the starting point to say, okay, we come from the generic side. And then I look at the company, how they work, what are their processes, and then I tell them, well, you already bought Microsoft 365, so then fucking use it. So not only WordX and PowerPoint, so let us take a look, what are your processes and how can we engage the tools, Microsoft, you already bought by Microsoft, so how can we use it and make your processes smarter and more digital or more automated? And that's what I do. I go in the companies, look, what is your process? And then I have to understand, really have to understand how the process is. And then my goal is to present a solution, how you could do that with tools from Microsoft 365, mostly in the standard, not premium, because you already have the standard. So this is our goal to get the maximum out of your license you already bought. That's always, I know it's frustrating when Microsoft goes and talks about all these cool things and capabilities. And then when you look under the there's always that first question as well, how much is this with the standard license? Right. Do I need to go buy additional licensing for this? And so it's great to have an expert, because you need to have deep experience with it to understand what Microsoft demonstrated at Build or Ignite. That was with the EFI licenses. And here's what you would have to go and do. But here's what you can go and do today. So it's great to have that discussion. Absolutely. Yeah, because not every company will buy the EFI license. So mostly you have the E3 or something like that or Business Premium. And they have a lot of stuff in this license, but they do not really know what they can do with it. And that's my point to start in the companies and say, so let's have a look how we can make your work smarter. Yeah, it was a lot of, so I was initially a SharePoint MVP and a lot of SharePoint discussions really started with, all right, you know how to log in, you know how to upload and check in and check out documents in the old versions of this. You know, but were you aware of, and so I did this set of presentations which were really started to help customers understand basic features, like, and I would say, well, here's 20 different things that you can do for productivity inside of SharePoint, working with the Office Suite and start showing them, they'd be like, I know that one, I know that one. What is that? They'd always surprise them that like, I had no idea that you could do this. It's like Excel. You know, most people scratch the surface of the capabilities of what Excel is. And when you understand what they're trying, the customers actually trying to do is say, let's go look at this whole other layer of features and capabilities. And they're just the eyes get big. They get very excited about that. Or in my case, that's a good example. In my case, you have a customer who uses Excel for getting information in a structured way. And this Excel will be transferred to the next sales person who has to make other things with this Excel. So in my case, I will go to the person and say, okay, why do you make these structured information in the Excel? Because the other has to get it out of the Excel. Let us take a Microsoft Forms formula so you can get your structured information. But in the end, we have a Power Automate who will present the data directly to your colleague who will need it in another way. So we do not need another Excel. And this is the eye opener if they understand what the difference is not to focus on the tool you have to get more in a solution way. And that's what I do. I try to do. That's right. You try to do. Well, that's another thing I was going to ask you about is like, so how often do you run into resistance where customers are asking for your help? You're presenting to them. Hey, here's the things that you can do. I mean, in my experience, I know others have run into this where then companies are resistant to that change no matter how much they're asking for help. They then push back on your guidance and your advice. Yeah, I know that this is this is the hard part. I think it's if they, the customer doesn't see the benefit of the solution. He won't get it. So, I try to push up the benefit they have if we change the way they work now. And mostly, it's successful what I do. So they are, if they transform the process and will make it the other way, it's a very, very fast return on investment. So, and that's the financial side. So, if you have a big Roy, so you will get it. That's, isn't that true with everything I'm a marketing guy and you can spend endless dollars on marketing things but if you're not working towards specific conversion activities and have the metrics in place, so that you're seeing the business return ROI, then, yeah, you just keep spending money and wonder will I this marketing stuff doesn't work no dumb marketing doesn't work. So, yeah, it's exactly the same way it's it's great to go. It's like with any new deployment of technology and companies generally will go and turn on every feature it's like we'll wait a second. So, go in and pilot this out and understand what are we actually trying to achieve. And does this help us do it faster more comprehensively with more people involved, are we more compliant, are we delivering product and services faster I mean, what are the metrics that drive your business and by moving forward this new plan does it help you do it more better more efficiently kind of all those measurements. But my goal is in the companies is not to get the only one big process to transform and change. Mostly the greatest impact out the small things you can tell the people who work who make the everyday work like my my favorite feature for using power automate at everybody is the function in Microsoft teams remind me later. That's a very, very cool small power automate flow. But if you if you get the benefits for the user to have the possibility to remind you later from the chat or a channel message, everybody loves it. So, and about this way, the small things but the big impact that's what I try to implement in the companies. That's very cool. So, how long have you had your MVP now. December 21. Okay, yeah, so you so six months in so very exciting and yeah. Oh, it's the third one in. No, three months, or three December. Oh, that's right. See that's time is irrelevant in anymore it's like I sit in my basement. Is it light outside I'm not sure. Is it still winter or do we have something I don't know. I don't know. But the dog barks I go out, but I'm usually have headphones in. I'm either on a call, or I've listened to a podcast. I'm not really paying attention which is a sad state. I don't know. I'm in this cocoon. So you so you've had the MVP for three months. What was your path to becoming an MVP like how did like what yeah what was your journey how did you get here. I have a, I'm very passive painting in the Microsoft community in Germany in LinkedIn. And I know very, or many colleagues from the community and doing very much stuff in the community. So, the MVP, Alexander Eggers, the teams MVP nominated me because he thought my work is good. And yeah, that was the starting point to to get to try to get the MVP. No, that's not right. I, I always said to everybody and especially to Alexander. I don't want to get, I don't want to get really MVP because I think it's a it's an award. It's, it's special. So I don't want to to work or make all my work only to get MVP. So, I said, okay, I will try that and if it's enough. It's fine. If not, okay. So, but it should be enough. So now I'm MVP and I'm very honest. It's very, very good. But it's still a little bit overwhelmed what with this MVP stuff all is you have to manage and get and everything, but I will get the first MVP summit. I will get that. I just wish that it were in person and not virtual again, but yeah, it's because I think it's the best. It's the top benefit of being an MVP is that once a year, travel to Seattle, participate, meet the product teams. You know, the product owners across Microsoft interact with fellow MVPs. I mean, you develop relationships that are just, I mean, and for being someone that's been in collaboration technology most of my career. It's so difficult to build relationships without occasionally seeing actual faces, like you need to have the human connections there. I mean, there's a lot that you can do. Like I was, you know, well, so I joined I took my job almost 15 months ago. I had already known the executive team I knew people for years and years and years. So it made it for a very easy transition. I kept talking seeing all these other new hires interacting with them, and who had never been out, never been to headquarters had never met all the other team members. And how hard that must be to connect. And it's certainly true with with community so I'm looking forward to things slowly opening back up and events that are starting to happen and it's great to see so hopefully we'll see you out. I know that we're doing a virtual this year it's is it next week. Two weeks. I don't have it in my mind. Yeah, yeah, so it's it's it's coming up quick, but then hopefully next year we'll be back to normal and be doing things in person. So yeah, yeah, it's a great benefit. But, well, yeah, it's, it's, I mean, it's your your path forward I like what you said about it's, I've heard this from another MVP's and I felt the same way to is that look I'm doing the community activities and sharing of content ideas, not because I'm trying to achieve something that's out there. It's just it's built into my DNA. It's part of the way that I work, you know the work out loud transparent what I do sharing my knowledge and information. I mean I remember I've been around long enough that when I started in it in the early 90s. It was still very much the idea that power and influence came from hoarding information, keeping yourself and being that go to expert. And that was your job security, and it's completely flipped job security comes from who do we want to work with who sharing, who is motivating other people, encouraging people and experimenting and sharing the results of those experiments. That's what companies want. That's the people I want to hang out with that are sharing information. So, you have to be open minded and sharing is caring is one of my favorite hashtags in my in my blog and all the content, the stuff I share in LinkedIn or on my blog. So, absolutely. Community rocks and sharing is caring these are my two hashtags I have in my DNA DNA. I tweeted that out yesterday to somebody in response to something on Twitter, and I did the sharing is caring yeah because I agree it's. Yeah, you can tell a lot about a person and one of the other things, and I'll put this out there for anybody that's watching this to MVPs are approachable. I've been told throughout my career it's like, Christian, you get the little intense people don't feel comfortable like that they can approach you it's like, we're at MVPs in general, are very approachable, like, so ask questions reach out. If we don't know the answer, like, I don't know how you handle that when you don't know the answer what do you do. I asked my community and anybody knows it. Yeah, anybody knows. People shouldn't be shy, ask questions, get involved. It's, it's all right to have a goal to become an MVP and understand what the process is, but that it needs to be genuine that it needs to be authentic in the contributions and your, your, your participation within the community, because I know a lot of people that like to ride the coattails and aren't really contributed they're there they're active, but they're not really giving to the community. Yeah, and, and so that's something that just like be aware of like you actually need to be in there contributing building, doing something not just existing within the community to be considered. Yeah, so we here in Germany, you know that we have a very big community here in Germany for Microsoft stuff and it's like a big family so everybody cares for the for the other. And so, I don't, for me, I will ever share my knowledge and contribute for the community so I think that will be the next year's my, my holy grail. Well, it's a, it's a great way to kind of organize yourself and and to participate, you know, and. Yeah, and is to help other people I think that's that's how we're we're all going to tell we get back to something more normal when we're able to travel and see each other in person. You know, I think we all need to, you know, help each other a little bit more look for those opportunities to, you know, to help others. I just I think we're, hey, I'm a big believe that the true happiness comes through service, not through anything else, it's through service, whether it's to your family to your community, you know, whatever it is at some level. And, and so if you want to you could be very unhappy have a rough day and go out and do a service project, it will completely change the way that your perspective for the day, and a lot of community activity is exactly like that. So, well, thank you for your time. It's been great to get to know you. Hopefully I will see you at one of these events, I may actually be in your neck of the woods later this year. So I'm coming over to Europe for in mid year. So in June, and I may extend my trip and come down and with a goal of visiting France and potentially Germany so I'll let everybody know, I'll let people know when it happens if that happens because I want to try and tap into, and that's another great thing about MVP community like what else is going on what user groups are happening. Can we put together like a, you know, drinks or dinner with people and just get together and Absolutely. So, I'll let you know, I will try to follow. And if I know where you are, maybe you're in the near Germany so we can meet us at the community event. Well, you'll see it in my social streams, but I'll definitely reach out so Andrea as well was great getting to know you thank you so much for your time and have a great weekend.