A time for thanks to share with you
As this Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. has been approaching, I have spent some time reflecting back on this past year and realizing all of the things that I truly have to be thankful for and the thanks that I owe to many people, including all of you. So here are just some of my, “Thank you’s,” through some Thanksgiving thoughts as a reflection on this year in addition to sharing my Thanksgiving wishes for you.
- Although being a transplant from the Midwest to Washington, we are very fortunate to be spending today at our house with not only some family that has traveled out here for the holiday but also many of our new friends we have out here now. Hopefully many of you are spending the day relaxing and enjoying time with your friends and family practicing Life/Work balance to its fullest. For that, I am thankful.
- Throughout this past year again, I have had the privilege to take part in many in-person conferences, presentations, and other forums (including online through things like the Blog, User Group, or even Facebook) where I have had the opportunity to visit and speak with many of you, our Partners. Some of you I have come to know and have worked with for years as well as many more that I did not know prior. While we have met through our job functions, I do consider many of you that I have had the fortune to get to know very well over the years as friends, regardless of our jobs. For that, I am thankful.
- Although I made the choice to move on from my position on the U.S. Team at Microsoft, it was an incredible opportunity to be a part of that team and to lead such an incredible group as the Partner Community Managers (PCMs). Since starting the PCM Team almost four years ago, there have been many amazing people that have filled those roles and each of them I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have worked with as a friend and co-worker. For each of them, I am thankful.
- For the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in my new role, working with all of you, our Partners across the globe, to understand how we best work together, Microsoft and you, to jointly grow our businesses and build our partnership together. For that, I am thankful.
- For my family, both here and far away. Any of you who know me know what they mean to me. For them, I am thankful.
- For continued health and well being of friends, family, and colleagues, especially in times as challenging as the current market can be. For that, I am thankful.
- For all of the great effort and hard work that all of you do every day to serve the needs of your clients, including the work you do to help them get the most from our technologies. For that, I thank you.
- For the little things, such as the “Set Publish Date” feature in Windows Live Writer that allows me to type this message tonight and have it go live in the morning tomorrow so I can spend the time with my family at breakfast instead of at the computer yet still get this message of thanks out to you. (See, Life/Work balance in action)
- Finally, thank you in advance for your forgiveness, understanding, and partnership. As Alexander Pope once said, "To err is human, to forgive, divine." The fact that we are all human (contrary to any rumors you’ve heard about me based on my sleep patterns) means that at some point over this next year there are bound to be times where something we say or do will upset or confuse you (and I am sure it will happen in reverse as well). When this happens, I simply ask you to connect and work with us to address the problems and to understand how we can work to avoid these items in the future. After all, that is part of what my new role is designed to do, to strengthen and grow our partnership together.
So a sincere, “Thank you,” to all of you from me as we look back on one great year and look forward to another great year together as well as bountiful “Happy Thanksgiving,” wishes for you and those near and dear to you.
Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day,
Eric Ligman
Global Partner Experience Lead
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group
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