如诗的别离——品读TERRY的告别邮件

    今天一早，有朋友转发了来自微软的新闻，团队重组，Windows部门的领导者Terry Myerson将离开微软。

    刚好在3年前，也是在3月，在深圳的WinHEC大会上，不仅听了Terry的演讲，还在晚宴上多次看到他，并与他简短对话，在微博上还有一张当晚的照片，照片中间手拿着一个薄薄文件的就是Terry。

    在INTEL工作的十几年中，近距离接触过很多位大公司的高管，Terry给我留下非常好的印象，可以排在前几名。因为此，今早的新闻打动我心。

    浏览各大网站的有关消息，很快发现了Terry写给微软员工的告别邮件。邮件很长，但是写得有情有景，非常动人。白天忙碌，没能细读，晚上闲暇，禁不住又找到这封邮件，看Terry讲诉他的人生故事。

    1992年，Terry从Duke大学毕业，2年后（1994），他创建了名叫Inerse的互联网公司，1997年，他的公司被微软收购，他获得了价值1650万美金的股票。在告别邮件中，Terry回忆了1996年他到微软与Bill Gates的第一次见面。

    I remember discussing with Bill how caching impacted the logs. I remember us both drinking Diet Coke. I loved the discussion. I couldn’t believe the CEO would dig into details at this level. Our discussion left me really wanting to join the team, and it was the beginning of my love for designing great software with the people at Microsoft.  

    于是，Terry从一家小公司的CEO变成了微软的一个“Product Unit Manager”。虽然不再是老板，但好处是再也不用操心各种琐事。

    I had a boss. But wow, Microsoft opened the world to me. I left the country for the first time in my life, talking to customers in Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia about our work. My development team grew to over 100 people. I didn’t have to worry about real estate or health care. A team of people was there to help with recruiting. Microsoft provided an environment and the resources to dream big, like I had never experienced before. I was hooked.  

    他从硅谷搬到西雅图，并在那里收获了爱情。

    A short time after joining, while at a volunteer event for Seattle Works, I met Katie. She was teaching 1st grade to English as a 2nd language students. She was so honest, smart, beautiful, and fun. Luckily for me, she eventually agreed to be my wife. 

    2001年2008年，Terry工作在Exchange团队。在邮件中，他特别附加了一张开发Exchange 2003时的团队照片。

    Exchange 2003 was codenamed Titanium (aka Ti), and in my office today, my wall has a picture of the Exchange team on the fields in front of our building:

    在这段时间里，他收获了3个孩子。

    Katie and I had all 3 of our kids while I worked on Exchange.

    2008年秋天，Terry开始了在微软的新征程，成为Windows Phone团队的领导者，直到2013年。在邮件中，他总结了这段经历让他学习到的经验，并表达了他对Windows Phone失败原因的看法。

Looking back at this phase of my career, my biggest learnings were that success requires a special composition of business model, user experience, and technology. We had a differentiated experience, but it’s so clear in hindsight that the disruption in business model which Android represented was enormous, and that building our early versions of Windows Phone on an incomplete Windows CE platform, designed for small embedded systems, left us too hobbled to ever catch up.  

    成功需要商业模式、用户体验和技术三者的结合，微软有差异化的用户体验，但是在商业模式上不如Android，技术方面，基于为嵌入式系统设计的Windows CE平台也是导致落后的原因。

    2013年春天。Terry迎来了新的机遇和挑战。当时的CEO，Steve Ballmer，请他领导微软最重要的团队——Windows and Devices。

Then came spring 2013. At this time, despite the competitive challenges in the phone market, Windows Phone was doing relatively ok (which lead us to Nokia…) Ironically at that time, our biggest challenges were on the storied franchises of Windows (Windows 8) and Xbox. While meeting with Steve Ballmer on a Saturday in his office, he asked me to lead Xbox, Windows, and Windows Phone – and an incredible incubation now known as HoloLens. I was honored, and humbled to now be leading over 17,000 engineers and accountable for over $40B in revenue and $5B in operating income—but we had some real challenges.

    某种程度来说，Windows代表着微软，Windows的成功，成就了微软，让微软做了很多年的“第一大软件公司”。不过时过境迁，今天的Windows，已经充满内忧外患......Terry在邮件中列了一大串人名，鸣谢与他一起挑重担的兄弟姐妹：

Panos Panay, Phil Spencer, Alex Kipman, Roanne Sones, Dave Treadwell, Mike Fortin, Eric Lockard, Kudo Tsunoda, Nick Parker, Brad Anderson, Don Box, Gabe Aul, Kevin Dallas, Stevie Bathiche, Brett Ostrum, Yusuf Mehdi, Ilan Spillinger, Linda Averett, Mike Zintel, Mike Ybarra, David Hufford, Kareem Choudhry, Chuck Chan, Bonnie Ross, Matt Booty, Jeff Johnson, Lydia Winters, and so many other leaders stand out for me during this phase of my journey.  

  还附加了一张类似风格的团队照片。       

     他特别提到Windows Insider Program，感谢Windows的开发者和爱好者。

 One of my deeply held lessons from my Exchange days was the importance of that feedback loop with customers and fans, and that’s why we created the Windows Insider Program so we could build Windows 10 led by your feedback. Now with 15 million members, you continue to make our product and our team better each and every day. Thank you.  

    对于领导Windows团队的经验和教训，他总结了三条。

1. Technology really can empower people to do great things. While that may just sound like a soundbite, the last few years I have felt it in new and meaningful ways, making me a real optimist about our future. Amongst so many other things, Windows has been a platform to consider basic human creativity, how students will learn in the future, how surgeons can will operate in the future, and how people who are blind can use their device without a display.  

2. Broadly define who is on your team. The passion, commitment, and sheer brilliance of the people across Microsoft has kept me inspired for 21 years. I am so proud of the teams I have had the honor to lead. Windows has taught me to appreciate that some of my best teammates are at other companies like Intel, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, AMD, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Samsung, Best Buy, Adobe, Autodesk, Activision, Electronic Arts, and so many others. We have worked together to move the industry forward, creating opportunity for so many along the way.  

3. Have fun with it. My Microsoft journey has included some challenging days, but I barely remember them. Looking at a photo collection today, I see so many self-deprecating moments where our leaders have had some real fun. I have dressed up as Big Bird, a clown (a few times), Captain Kirk (twice), and Santa. I’ve been thrown in a lake (a few times). I have dressed as Braveheart’s William Wallace and ridden a live horse into a team meeting (once). I have laughed so hard I’ve cried (many times). I will cherish these memories of sheer fun with the team as much as anything else I take away from my 21 years at Microsoft.

    在邮件的末尾，Terry说了他离职后的心愿。

So after working fulltime pretty much nonstop since I was 18, missing many a kids birthday while traveling for work, I’m ready for a break. I will now take some time to train for a half Ironman, learn to play the piano or guitar (my daughter is voting guitar, but having listened to Joe Belfiore and Chuck Friedman play piano on so many late nights, I’m leaning that way), learning more about genomics and robotics which fascinate me, and spending some overdue quality time with Katie and our kids. I couldn’t be more appreciative of the support which Katie has shown me while I’ve been giving my all to Microsoft, and now I am excited to spend some unrushed time together.

    在邮件结束后，还有一个补充，记录了他做为Windows团队老大与Bill Gates的最后一次会谈。

ps. I’m editing this post today, the day before I will publish. I’m sitting down next to Bill Gates for my last scheduled meeting as leader of Windows and Devices at Microsoft. My team is debating with him the future of Project Rome and Windows Timeline. The conversation is smart, insightful and invigorating – and we’re both drinking Diet Cokes – just like that first meeting 21 years ago. A great bookend to over two amazing decades with Microsoft.

    21年的职业生涯，从与比尔盖茨的会议开始，又以与比尔盖茨的会议结束，2个时代的与微软共舞完美收场。

    [邮件原文来自微软发布在Linkedin上的Terry邮件，链接为https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thank-you-21-years-onto-next-chapter-terry-myerson/]

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