Today marks both a sad and exciting opportunity for me and the team. We are in the process of interviewing for a new manager, and it’s clear to me the impact an individual can make on the team (personally and professionally), the business and our customers.

For those that know me well, know I’m persistent, tenacious and focused on delivering strong results for our customers and our business. The attitude and success of our team has been a reflection of the leadership, guidance and persistence of our now former manager. We all deal with change in a variety of ways - a change in leadership is an opportunity for us to grow more as individuals (look inward) as well as a team and to re-evaluate the way we’ve worked in the past, and consider how we should/could work in the present and future. I’m always extremely excited for those MSFTers that move off shore, and somewhat envious of the opportunity ahead for them. Kiwis always punch well above their weight and this is largely driven by our passion and enthusiasm for the company and our customers as well as our diverse skill sets in terms of being jack of all trades, master of none. The challenge is always the threat of becoming disconnected from reality (the field); however there are plenty of people around to keep you grounded with the continuous cycle of feedback.

As we work through this current economic climate, we need to be focused more than ever on doing the right thing by our customers by delivering high value solutions, services, products and making sure we listen to what is really important. So the page has turned for the team, onto the next chapter. :-)