Since 1995, Microsoft has given the MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award as its highest honor. Brien Posey is one of the honorees. In the first part of our interview, we discovered what Mr. Posey enjoys doing in his spare time. To access the first part of the interview, click here. Who is the MVP award winner’s greatest source of inspiration? What was his most formative experience in the past, and what future projects does he have planned? All of this and much more can be found in the second part of our interview.
Interview – Part 2
How did you get your focus at Microsoft? Why this area?
As a teenager, my uncle got me a job as a network administrator at a large insurance company and I began acquiring various Microsoft certifications through that job. After a couple of years in that position, Microsoft announced the upcoming release of Windows 95. Shortly thereafter, someone from The Cobb Group contacted me and asked me if I would write their soon to be released journal called Windows 95 Professional. I took the job and have been writing about Microsoft in at least some capacity ever since.
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What were your most important projects in the past?
It’s tough to say what my most important projects have been because there have been so many. For example, I once owned an antivirus company and I also once helped start a security research company. I don’t know if it was my most important project, but the project that was the most memorable was that I built the Windows network for the telephone company on an island in the south Pacific. That project meant working onsite for an extended period of time and coping with language barriers and other logistical challenges. It ended up being a very fulfilling project and I absolutely loved spending so much time on a tropical island.
What projects do you have planned for the future, and can you tell us a bit about them?
I don’t have any major IT projects scheduled at the moment. I stay so busy with writing, speaking, and training to go to space that I tend not to take on a lot of hands on IT projects. Every once in a while though, I will do a project if it is something really interesting.
Are you actually in contact with other MVPs in the world?
I think that the answer to this question would have to be both yes and no. There are a small number of MVPs who I consider to be friends and who I communicate with on a semi-regular basis. Aside from that, there are MVP email groups and because I am subscribed to some of those mailing lists, I see messages from numerous MVPs every day. I tend not to be super involved in those email lists just because there are only so many hours in a day, but certainly have the ability to participate or to reach out to the other MVPs on the list.
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What advice would you give to a new MVP award winner?
When you become an MVP, there are numerous resources that are made available to you. Microsoft hosts NDA calls with the various product groups and there are several such calls each week. There are also the aforementioned mailing lists and group chats, as well as in person MVP activities. The advice that I would give to a new MVP is to try out all of the available resources to see what is most useful to you. Ultimately, you probably won’t end up using everything that Microsoft makes available to you, but it is important to know the resources that are available.
Meet Brien Posey on social media:
As odd as it may sound, I don’t really do social media. You can find me on LinkedIn and my own personal Website is at BrienPosey.com
Thank you so much for your time and sharing your journey as an MVP!
Aline & the Lookeen team
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