Yesterday morning I accepted a job at Microsoft.

SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 29: (FILES) Buttons wi...
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My new title will be Social Media Marketing Manager on the Windows team.  I’ll be starting in Redmond in early July.

Yesterday I also spent a good portion of the day shitting my pants as I made the rounds to tell people.  That catholic guilt runs deep.  I got a lot of good questions about why I’m leaving and it comes down to the most thoughtful comments I received (from one of the most thoughtful leaders I’ve worked with).

“You hope that you can make people happy in the work they do and they stay at Best Buy.  But sometimes you can’t.  Then you have to ask will the move make the person happy.  If it does, you support the person.  And then you hope that you find a way to work together down the road.”

So the simple answer is yes, the move will make me happy.  I’ll be working for one of the best companies in the world on one of its most important product launches.  We’ll be close to my wife’s family.  And we get to live in Seattle (love that town).

I’m happy yes- but also thankful for the last 4 years at Best Buy.  They invested heavily in me, trusted me, and gave me opportunities that I didn’t think were possible at large corporations.  I don’t take that lightly and owe them a lot.  I’m walking out of here after 4 years a very different person then when I came in.

So a few highlights of what I’ve learned….

  • Lots of small ideas are better than big ones
  • Its ok to fail (and you should fail small and often)
  • Actions are more important than anything you tell me
  • Your method defines you- not the projects you work on
  • You need to stay connected to the outside- too much self think will make you slow, irrelevant, and predictable
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