Moving to Seattle and Microsoft – The Transition

I recently accepted a new position at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington and my first official day is tomorrow Monday (April 20th) while my last day was this past Friday (the 17th).  I have had the weekend as “transition time”, though in the past several weeks I worked hard to both wrap things up at Dilithium (and make sure things were transitioned there in a good way) and also to come up to speed quickly on the new position.

I really appreciated my four years at Dilithium and was (is) a wonderful company to be part of.  When I first started there after leaving Ericsson in 2005 (and moving back to the states), video and 3G were still in their early days.  Since then, almost 20% of wireless subscribers are on 3G and mobile & broadband video has massively taken off since the past two years with the advent of YouTube and smartphones (iPhone e.g.) – and the company has established themselves as true market leaders in the converged video space.

It’s always hard to leave a company where you have a good relationship with your boss, management team and people throughout the organization – especially in a fast growing company where resources are in so many places (including India).  I know the company will continue to flourish and feel that in my own groups they are in good hands with the people that have come in as part of a succession plan.

On the other side, I’m extremely excited about the Microsoft opportunity.  I’ve worked very hard (in my “spare time”) to both learn as much as I can about what I’m going into (WW Marketing for Communications Sector) and establish a baseline plan about what the first hours, days, weeks and months will be.  I’ve been fortunate so far to have great support from MSFT and a number of calls to get situated and get off to a running start.

The amount of material I’m currently going through is massive, and I’m focused on three main areas: people, product and process.  Doing everything in the first two weeks to get to know and establish lasting relationships with mine and peer groups (and to assess strengths and opportunities).  A huge area is the product portfolio that we offer to service providers, media & entertainment and hosting companies.  Working to understand deeply both strategies and solutions, and have a goal to be as technically deep as quickly as possible.  From a process perspective, I’m looking to know how things are done and how to get things done in a decisive yet judicious manner.

My first days are at the NAB (Natonal Association of Broadcasters) show in Las Vegas with my new boss and team.  This will be a great opportunity to meet customers and partners, see how our products are demo’d and presented and spend quality time with new colleagues.  I’ll go straight from there back to Seattle/Redmond and the first few days (and week) are well laid out and orchestrated for maximum effectiveness.

I was also pleased to get a book sent to me from HR (“First 90 Days, Critical Success Factors for New Leaders at All Levels”, by Michael Watkins.).  It’s been great reading and well structured and has given me lots of things to think about.  I was so inspired by the book that I ordered and got two additional books on the same subject (“Right from the Start” and “First 100 Days”), and have started reading these also.  The first weeks and months are so critically important to establish credibility and set the tone for your (my) entire tenure at the company.

During this time, I’m looking to both get some quick wins and focus more and more externally (customers and partners) to help meet our sales goals and provide the support to the field and have deep knowledge of our market.  The next P’s will be about Partners and Promotion.

So during these last hours of transition, I think about the relevance to climbing and running (both of which I will have less time for, but will need to make time to find local runs before or after work).  I think about how after any of the races I’ve done, I’ve always been looking for the next challenge.  Finishing a marathon was not enough, but getting to the Seven Continents was (and was accomplished).  After doing a 50k, I set out to do a 50m and was able to pull that off a few weeks ago.  Every mountain summitted leaves another peak to climb.

I’ve written previously about “why we run and why we climb” and how relevant skills in the business environment are to climbing and running (preparation, teamwork, mind strength, going the distance and celebrating success) – and at the same time overcoming obstacles and unknown circumstances while staying focused on the goals at hand.

I was able to get my last run in here for awhile yesterday (8.5 miles) and enjoyed the sunshine, flowers and views while giving me some space to think about the what is to come and how to get there.

Looking forward to a great run now with a great company!