SharePoint is like Big Wave Surfing

SharePoint by design is collaborative. Winning in SharePoint is NOT a Zero Sum Game. Or at least it shouldn't be. Winning in SharePoint is seeing each other succeed and sharing knowledge. At the end of each session … it’s all smiles.

SharePoint is like Big Wave Surfing

Big wave surfers are an independent lot. Just like a lot of SharePoint consultants. However, just like Big Wave Surfers sharing their knowledge of the water conditions there are a lot of SharePoint community members sharing what they know. Sharing their tribal knowledge. As evidenced by all the SharePoint events.

SharePoint is NOT about beating each other. It’s about sharing knowledge, best practices, trials and tribulations and victories.

The best SharePoint community members know this and exude this.

Sure, there are companies that compete against each other, but it is the people that make up the SharePoint community. The people I have met in the SharePoint community are genuinely caring and sharing individuals.

Is this an overly simplified view of the world?
Sure, but we can dream and we can work together, share and collaborate.

I say the SharePoint Community (which includes the people and the product) is about seeing each other succeed and working on the next project or event together. Where they will focus on catching the next wave and learning how to ride it … together.

Just like in Big Wave Surfing

There is a karmic effect in play.

Give to Get

There is a lot of giving in the SharePoint community. I hope it continues for a long time. From what I've seen it will.

Like all communities they must morph and grow. I'm happy to say that I have seen the community continue to grow. One of the most refreshing things I have seen is the embrace of new people into the community. Welcoming new members into the community is what will keep it vibrant and growing.

Getting Wet Behind the Ears Together

This is why SharePoint is like Big Wave surfing. At the end of the day the community comes together to share their stories (warts and all) and to share a pint.

As an added bonus … it’s not often a community member gets to save a life, but that’s exactly what happened in this Big Wave Session in Portugal. Carlos Burle rescued Maya Gabriel after a fall (watch the video). Then he went back out for another one.

His Karma … A 100 foot wave!

Source: CBS This Morning on Oct 29 – Talking about Big Wave Surfing in Portugal. For the full story click here

Jeff Shuey is a veteran in the Enterprise Content Management industry. Over the past 20 years he has worked with customers and partners to design, develop and deploy solutions around the world. Jeff is currently the Director of Strategic Alliances at Winshuttle. He has worked for Microsoft, FileNet, K2, Captaris, Open Text, Kofax and Kodak. He speaks and blogs about ECM and the Intersection between Social, Mobile and Cloud Computing.

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