Academic Airlift 2005
The start of another year heralds the beginning of another Microsoft business planning cycle which typically begins with Mid Year Review when Steve Ballmer and other key execs review how each of the different Microsoft subsidiaries are performing. It also coincides with an annual Academic Airlift in late January which sees 75+ Academic Programme managers (ADEs) from across the world coming together in Seattle to share best practices and to discuss plans for the remaining 6 months and the next fiscal year. It’s a great chance to catch up with ADEs from across the world and this year I finally got around to meeting some familiar faces from theSpoke such as Kevin, Alfred and Sam from the US; Daniel from Canada as well as a number of new additions to the team including Rob from Ireland, Chandar from India and Maarten from the Netherlands. Apart from the 4 days worth of back to back meetings there’s usually plenty of opportunity to interact socially and this year’s highlights included a private evening trip and dinner for the EMEA region to the Museum of Flight which has a cracking display of WW1 and WW2 planes plus also a trip to the Garage in Capitol Hill where I was forced to show off my diabolical bowling skills.
The Pacific Northwest
I really love coming to Seattle because besides the trip to the mother ship that is the Redmond campus there’s always something new to experience and this year was no exception. Post academic airlift I had intended to take a trip skiing to Whistler however due to the worst snowfall in 30 years Antonio, Mark and I headed off instead on a road trip skirting the coastline up towards the stunning city of Vancouver in British Columbia.
Vancouver is surrounded by water on all sides and at one end is dominated by Stanley Park which is a massive national park and rainforest stretching down to the waterline of English Bay and on the other side is the ski resort of Grouse Mountain which towers majestically above in the distance. Vancouver has a small town feel and some great shopping and it’s now firmly on my list of places to revisit.
The week ended with Kevin (new UK Academic Lead) and I taking the Underground Tour beneath Seattle as recommended by Dominic, a former Microsoft Student Partner and now a Software Design Engineer in Test in the Visual Studio Team System product group at Microsoft. I’ve visited Pioneer Square on many an occasion but had no idea that beneath it lies the neighbourhood as it was before it was raised and rebuilt after the Great Fire last century. It’s a really great and light hearted historical experience charting Seattle’s earliest history and origins before Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft and definitely ranks as one of the 10 best things to do in Seattle.
A trip to Seattle really wouldn’t be the same without a stay at the W Hotel sampling their Lemon Drops and Whatever Whenever experience. And I just love their new advertising slogan which I’m now going to formally adopt as my perfect New Year’s Resolution; “Dance through your dreams to where anything can happen”