A little over three years ago Robert became a close member of my family. Since then I consider myself one of the lucky to be able to work so closely with him and to watch him grow.  Inch by inch he has grown from blogger to one of the voices of transparency for our company.  There’s a lot of coverage out on the net about Robert’s new adventure, but I think Marc Orchant covered it best in his post by referencing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life.

Lives of great men all remind us
 We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
 Footprints on the sands of time.

Very few people get to be a part of the creation something magical like Robert and I.  Robert has definitely left his footprints on my team and our company.  I still remember the day Lenn and I handed Robert and Charles cameras and asking them to interview people inside Microsoft.  Who would have know we’d be where are today and the rest as they say is history. 

So as I reflect on today, I’m sad to see Robert move on, but deep down as a Dad I’m happy that he’ll be able to spend more time with Patrick and his family in the valley.