From little things, big things grow
I have had to make a big decision recently.
One that impacts many many people, including my family.
I have decided to leave Microsoft Australia and head back to Microsoft Corporate.
This means packing up the house, selling the cars, taking the kids out of school and moving across the world.
It means leaving a group I have been with since 2001.
It also means leaving behind a great team of people that I have hired, including a bunch of newbies that have just come on board in the last few months.
So, why have I done this? Is it just a case of my midlife crisis? Am I doing this to be noteworty for Wikipedia? Is it in protest over the lack of Tech.Ed Flair?
To be honest, it hasn't been one thing, but rather a number of different aspects of my life aligning.
It all started with a management training thing I did back in February. Part of the exercise required I get people to provide words to describe me. One word really hit me - 'wasted'. Was I in a comfortable place, doing a good job, but maybe not doing an excellent job. Was I striving for mediocrity??
It got me thinking. A seed has been planted.
I then had a trip to the US, which involved interactions with lots of people, lots of teams, and a realization that maybe I could make a difference.
However, I needed to know if my family were up for a move. My wife was supportive, so we hatched a plan. A couple of weeks later, we were in Disneyland, and then we spent some time in Seattle. The kids were sold.
The desire was there, the support was there - time to find a job.
This bit happened pretty quickly. Conversations turned into a series of interviews, which turned into a job offer.
Time for that big decision.
I have accepted a new role which is still with DPE, but as part of the Field Strategy Group. It's an internal focused role which acts as the business operation team for DPE. It's purpose is to assist all the DPE teams around the world to 'win hearts and minds' of all the different technical audiences we work with, such as Developers, Designers, Architects and IT Professionals.
From a timing perspective, the time is as good as it good be. All positions in the group are filled. The Australia team has had a series of good (and in some cases world leading) results. We have a pretty healthy developer community in Australia, great community leaders, active user groups. Things are in good shape. I wont say the job is done, but the foundation is there for the team to build on.
This is the week when the news gets out. I have already told me team, as well as my manager and the people I work with on a regular basis. I have also been dropping hints on Twitter over the past few weeks and some folks have started to piece it all together - I guess letting folks know that my house was for sale was a bit of a give away.
I am looking to Tech.Ed on the Gold Coast as my final Australian commitment. Tech.Ed is going to be a blast and for me it will be a special time to catch up with members of the Australian Technical Community on last time.
After Tech.Ed the family and I will head over to Seattle to start our new life. That's just 5 weeks away. It will come quick. very quick.
From the seed being planted in February, to making the move in August, it's been a life changing 6 months.
I guess Paul Kelly says it best:
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
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Frank Arrigo
