A Time To Reflect

In lieu of the typical post I wanted to take today to say an extra special thanks to the great folks I work with at Microsoft.  I don’t normally talk about personal matters on my blog these days but I’m going to make an exception today.

About three weeks ago my mom suffered a heart condition known as bradycardia which is a slowing down of the heart.  Fortunately she was at a church meeting and one of her friends noticed something was wrong.  They were able to call emergency services in time to resuscitate her. She was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. Ultimately she was outfitted with a pacemaker and just last Friday was moved to a regular room where she can begin physical therapy.

When I received the call from the hospital I was in San Antonio with a customer. I immediately got on a plane and went to look after her.  I just got back home last night. The entire time I was away I received ongoing support from my co-workers at Microsoft. Not once was I asked about a dropped email or a missed meeting--the only thing on their mind was the health and well-being of my mother.  I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize some of those special folks by name:

Mike Azocar

Chris Menegay

Kristee Dicicco

John Gilmour

Randy Pagels

Jeff Fattic

Raj Krishnan

Jacquelyn Crowhurst

I think, sometimes, people tend to see Microsoft as an entity rather than a collection of people.  I thought this might be a good time to reflect on the human side of where you work and to appreciate those around you.  Also, if you haven’t told your mom that you love her today then take some time right now to do it even if you are busy.  I’ll leave you with a quote my first manager at Microsoft always had on his email signature:

“Never let the urgent crowd out the important.”

-- Kelly Catlin Walker