Hello from Amsterdam!

It's official. I've joined SDL Product Management and moved the family and dogs to Holland (well, the Netherlands really, but see this video to grok the difference*).

Here's a quick recap of my first month here and what's next.

Week 1: Arrival

Arriving mid-week on the 2 September, I had three days of paperwork and applications. The order was roughly:

1. HR and IT orientations at work
2. Register with the city and complete immigration at the Expat center
3. Get a bank account

Big thanks to the colleagues that helped us get over, from flights to passport information to tips and advice on Dutch culture, food, and where to live. Maybe a very helpful person in HR may start a blog someday. ;-)

Week 2: Presentation Preparation

I prepared for workshops for the SDL Open House, continued working on blog posts about SDL Web 8, finished an introductory slide deck, and prepped for the Tridion Developer Summit.

I also got acquainted with the team and started attending Product-related meetings, which have a different feel than client meetings and workshops.

Week 3: Open House. Open Community.

Last week was all about the open house and Tridion Developer Summit. Great job to the presenters, attendees, and especially Robert Curlette for braving a second year.

I particularly liked the impromptu session where you provided ideas for extensions, which I'm asking participants to list on Tridion StackExchange Meta.

Week 4: Connections

This past week I posted part 2 of our series on SDL Web 8. If the posts sound bigger and look nicer than what I usually post it's because they are. My boss asked me to work with my colleagues and even let me use our official materials as input into parts 1 and 2.

I've also had a chance to meet even more colleagues, answer questions, research, philosophize, and conduct other Product Manager-related activities.

What's next? I'm next working to clarify my role in the "new" team**. We'll spend time looking at what SDL Web 8 includes and what we should focus on in SDL Web 9. So if I ping you with a question or to introduce you to someone that has a question, please respond like I invented the Midas Rule (I did). And by the Midas Rule, you'll probably want to get your feedback in for the next release. ;-)

**Bart Koopman and I were introduced to the team as the new old guys, considering we have roughly two decades of Tridion experience between us and our combined ages make us 80 years old.

*Oh and if you think the Holland vs. Netherlands video was confusing, see another video from CGP Grey on the United States.