Terms like evangelism are funny. Etymogically, evangelism
is about converting and teaching. Where most of us are used to hearing it in
the context of theology, technical evangelism is about teaching and converting in
the context of technology, most usually software development.
I am a Microsoft Evangelist. It’s my real title, and I
sometimes must show people my card before they believe me. As a Microsoft
Evangelist I am converting developers to Microsoft Technologies. I also teach, of
course, but it is a fundamental part of evangelism that teaching, though
important, is secondary.
Consider the haters. Every software developer has
preferences, but some idealize their own preferences while vilifying every
other. But that’s not the end of the story. That’s only the setup. You see, when
it comes to people, Evangelism is a secret weapon.
What isn’t evangelism?
Evangelism isn’t when I go speak at conferences. I do go
speak at conferences, though; it extends my reach into professionals. Evangelism
isn’t when I go speak at schools. I do go speak at schools, though; it extends my
reach into curriculum. Evangelism isn’t when I run a booth at a science fair. I
do run booths at science fairs, though: it extends my reach into students.
Speaking is important, yes, but it isn’t Evangelism – at least
not core evangelism.
There’s only one proven way to change the heart of a
hater. There’s only one proven way to influence the technical choice of a professional.
There’s only one proven way to change the major of a student. That is: meet them.
That’s because there is some wonder-working power in personal interaction.
I get in my car and I go to where they are. They will
never come to me. They will never read my documentation, my blog, or follow me
on Twitter. They hate Microsoft, and, to them, I am Microsoft. Worst yet, each hater
is an anti-evangelist, bloviating their opinion to whoever listens, personally.
They are not who you think.
Who are they? Well, haters surprise me. They are often
the most generous and contributing members of the development community: meetup
organizers, event speakers, even conference volunteers. The reason they feel
the way they do, the depth they do is unique to each one. But it’s generally somewhere
between some negative experience and a lack of direct exposure to the
technology.
Before you start, set in your mind the truth: First, they
aren’t bad, they just have an opinion. Second, they don’t hate you, they don’t
even hate the company, they hate the idea of it. And, third, you might not
change their mind. That last one is a rough one in our metrics-driven,
corporate reality.
A quick intervention goes something like this: a hater
might hate Microsoft, but do they hate Jerry (that’s me), right? Look, man, I’m
just a guy. Like you. I’m trying to be a good husband; I’m trying to be a good
dad; I want to do something right and get my mortgage paid each month. Honestly,
that usually does it. Putting a face to the faceless profoundly changes perception.
Usually, to the better.
Don’t make friends.
Quick aside: I do like making friends. ;-)
My goal is not to make friends. My goal is to lose
enemies. Let’s say their mantra today is “Microsoft sucks”. After some mindful
attention, if their mantra tomorrow is “Microsoft is okay for some people, but it’s
wrong for me”, that’s not just winning a battle, that’s winning the whole freaking
war.
It’s like stopping a leak. It impacts decisions. It
impacts sentiment. It impacts perception. It impacts adoption. And, honestly,
it impacts stock prices. When everyone around you is no longer trying to burn
down that bridge, you might just start investigating how to cross over it.
Google has Developer Advocates. Microsoft now has Cloud
Developer Advocates. These are good guys. But it’s worth teasing out the
difference between Advocates and Evangelists. I sum it up like this. Advocates
say: I’ll teach them to use it and hope to make a friend. Evangelists say: I’ll
make a friend then teach them to use what I ask them to use. These two are so
allied yet so different, it’s crazy.
Make it personal.
For me, it starts in my car. I must drive to get to
people. And, if I were completely honest, I don’t always like it. Meetups meet
at crazy times. I’m sick of eating so much pizza. Code camps are typically over
weekends. I have my own family. But if you don’t go where they are, they will
never come to you. Just remember that sometimes a single handshake is the butterfly
wing that changes everything.
When it comes to evangelism, it’s easy to dance around burnout.
Nobody is going to tell you to take time. Nobody is going to tell you to slow
down. And, most of us work from home: nobody is going to tell you to stop
working in the middle of the night. That said, time management and some aggressive
self-advocacy on your corporate calendar can be what holds the breaking point
at bay.
Evangelism is very rewarding, you see. The number of
people you meet. The inherent authority you carry with you. Your ability to truly
help people. It’s all the right side of how we all want to live. Speaking,
mingling, networking – and the real secret is that most evangelists are
introverts.
Only influence matters.
The fast-track to influence is inspiration. Sometimes I hear people insist evangelists must be excellent software developers. To be fair, I am a software developer. Sometimes, excellent. Their faulty reasoning usually reads like this: if you don’t have the technical chops then people will not listen to you.
But, have you ever listened to the most junior voice on
your team? Even the one without the technical chops? Of course, you have. Can
you only learn from a professor? Isn’t the nature of diversity a recognition
that every voice has unexpected value? Why would we assume developer audiences
are so shallow, are so myopic, and are so ridiculous that they can only hear
the words of Nobel prize winners and scholars?
If you have ever been to a meetup, you know the opposite
is true. They are the proving ground that lackluster speakers and mediocre
developers miraculously impact the hearts and minds of their personal community
in measurable ways. Please. I hope you don’t fall into the trap that an evangelist
must only be the best of the best. Only influence matters. Influence is a
byproduct of inspiration. And inspiration comes from people like us. People we
relate to. People who are good. People who may not be great.
Build a team
If I were building a team of evangelists, I would start every interview with one (silent) question about a person: Do I hate them? I mean it. If you couldn’t even go camping with a guy without wanting to kill him, how can we expect him to meaningfully inspire someone into action? The best I could hope for is that nobody would ever get to know him. And, how stupid is that?
Instead, the type of person I am looking for is the magnet.
You know the type. At dinner, everyone seems to be asking her all the
questions. At the bar, everyone seems to be standing in a circle around him. At
the meetup, she’s always got a line of people wanting to ask her a question. These
are the magnets. The ones that don’t have to ask to influence others, they are
being asked to do it.
Let’s step through a thought experiment: Who is the most
likely person to influence you? The person you like the most or the show off who
flies in to demo a product? Sometimes, it’s the latter. I know that. But, overall,
its your buddy: the one you like, the one you hang out with. If the goal of an
evangelist is to change the course of a decision, and it is, then you want an
evangelist that can do that.
Here’s a conundrum. What if all the influential people
are not engineers? I would never advocate someone who does not know software
development to be a Developer Evangelist. That’s lunacy. But I would never set
the bar of engineering higher than the bar of magnetism. And, since most
software developers have zero or no magnetism (some repel, I think) a great
engineer might even be a red flag.
But, what are the three pillars of evangelism?
Honestly, I forgot to get to those. Sort of chased a rabbit there. Next time, I guess. Sorry.