Work Life and "3 chords" -- They Tattoo You

We all work, but sometimes the collaboration of teamwork leads to something bigger, something life-changing for everyone involved in it.

When I was at Microsoft I was part of one such life event. Every year, Microsoft holds a big conference the attendees all call "Field Day" -- it is basically a get-together of all of Microsoft's field operations: Support, Education and Consulting. Anyway, Microsoft was about 50,000 people back in the day, and getting even just the field organizations together was enough to fill a stadium.

So, in 1997 or so the event was held in Charlotte, and a stadium we did fill -- the old Charlotte Civic Center. Steve Ballmer came in and fired up the troops, and following Ballmer's "Field! Field! Field!" presentation everything got quiet, as we waited for whatever was coming next.

What we got next was this:

Imagine just 3 chords, at modest volume - you could clearly hear them, but it wasn't loud enough to shake anybody up. All the same, the effect was electric -- but not because of the artist, or the volume.

The effect was electric because The Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" was used by Microsoft with the launch of Windows 95 - and everybody in the crowd who'd been part of that launch had a frisson of recollection -- you could literally see the ripple of memory move through a crowd of maybe 5,000 people.

We were all part of it. It was part of all of their lives, and would never be forgotten.
And the best part of the launch was that it created a life experience and memories so vivid ... so vivid that you could see it.

The presentation that followed "Start Me Up" was pretty cool too, but the moment was already made....