2+ Decades @ Microsoft: A Retrospective
I joined Microsoft in November of 1998. During black history month in 2022, I sent out an email to my friends and colleagues giving a brief summary of my time at the company, my own personal “black history”. Over the past year, I’ve been engaged in some personal brand evolution, and I thought blogging is good for long form communications. So here, I’m going to repeat some of that Microsoft history as a way to set the stage for the future. So, here, almost unedited, is the missive I shared with various people as a reflection on black history month, 2022.
Hello,
If you’re receiving this, you’re probably no stranger to receiving missives from me on occasion.
Here we are at the end of black history month.
I am black, and my recent history is 24 years of service at Microsoft.
I’ve done a lot in those years from delivering core technology (XML), to creating Engineering Excellence in India (2006 – 2009), to dev managing the early Access Control and Service Bus components of the earliest incarnation of Azure.
I’ve also had the pleasure of creating the LEAP program, which is helping to make our industry more inclusive, and helped to establish Kevin Scott in the freshly re-birthed Office of the CTO. While in OCTO, inspired and guided by a young African engineer, I had the pleasure of supporting the push into our African dev centers (Kenya and Nigeria), which now number around 650 employees.
My current push is to hire folks in the Caribbean, yet another relatively untapped talent market.
This past couple of years have been particularly charged/poignant, with the dual of covid, and various events leading to the emergence of “Black Lives Matter”.
Throughout the arc of the 24 years I have spent in the company, I have gone from “I’m just here to do a job”, to “There is a job I MUST do to support my black community”. I have been happy that the company has given me the leeway to do what I do, while occasionally participating in bread and butter activities.
I am encouraged to see and interact with a lot more melanin enhanced people from around the world, and in the US specifically. We have a long road to go, but we are in fact making progress.
Over the past year, I have thought about what I can do, how I can leverage my 35+ years of experience in tech, to empower even more people, and enable the next generation to leapfrog my own achievements. To that end, I’ve started speaking out, starting ventures, providing support, beyond the confines of our corporate walls. I have appeared on several podcasts over the past couple of months, and will continue to appear in a lot more. This year I will be making appearances at conferences, writing a book, etc.
If you’re interested in following along, and getting some insights about this guy that pesters you in email on occasion, you can check out my web site, which is growing and evolving.
William A Adams (william-a-adams.com)
William A Adams Podcast Guest Appearances
At the bottom of the media page (the second link), you’ll see a piece by the computer history museum in silicon valley. Some have already seen it, but there’s actually a blog the museum did that goes along with it. It’s one of those retrospectives of a couple of black OGs in tech (me and my brother) from the earlier days in silicon valley, up to the present.
And so it goes. We have spent another month reflecting on blackness in America. We are making positive strides, and have so much more to achieve. I am grateful for the company that I keep, and the continued support that I enjoy in these endeavors.
Don’t be surprised if I ask you to come and give a talk somewhere in the Caribbean within the coming year. We are transforming whole communities with the simple acts of being mindful, intentional, and present.
William
And with that, dear reader, welcome back to my blog, wherein I will be a regular contributor, sharing thoughts in long form, sometimes revisiting topics of old, and mostly exploring topics anew.