On a bright Wednesday in early fall, Phil Sorgen stood on a grassy patch in the centre of a low-income housing development in Toronto's north end with 600 other business folk and waited for the starter's signal. When it came, the president of Microsoft Canada—in charge of running a $1.5-billion business for the American software behemoth—ran to his post and started painting; others spread out on the empty field and began working with hammers and shovels. And eight hours later, the unkempt space was transformed into a children's playground—with swings for big and little kids, a bright purple play structure with slides and a climbing wall, and a handful of other features to ride, sit or climb on.
"The best part was that the kids left for school to the same old field, and came home to the finished playground," Sorgen says, his excitement a little infectious. "You could hear them squealing when they got off the bus."
Sorgen volunteers—that's his thing. Calling it "his thing" would cause him to clench his jaw slightly in a way he does when he's on guard, because calling attention to himself isn't his thing at all. This particular project was organized by Volunteer Canada—he participated as a member of the Corporate Council on Volunteering. "I've done Habitat for Humanity and other projects like that, but never one that was finished in a day," he says, standing in the middle of the playground a few months later. "I do know it makes a difference to have a hand in it—hammer a nail or deliver a toy, rather than just make a donation."
We're making this visit during school hours, so the playground, now filled with sculptural evidence of innocence and possibility, is kid-free. But as he shows me where a massive pile of wood chips was dumped ("the kids thought that was pretty cool"), Sorgen also points out chalk markings on some of the play structures—evidence that the place is well used. He maintains that the playground is also evidence of something else: "This project is a great example of the partnerships that work well—the city, companies and volunteers."
It may be a lucky accident—or karmic design—that the New York-born, Texas-raised Sorgen finds himself at Microsoft Canada, where a serious volunteer program was already in place when he arrived in January, 2006. It works simply: The company allows every employee up to 40 hours of paid time for volunteer work annually, for a total of 10,000 hours in the past 2 1/2 years.
Sorgen says he learned early in life the importance of giving: "I had a family that believed in helping others and taught me those values." And he believes that in the same way parents pass on lessons to their children, visionary leaders can imbue a corporation with such an ethos. He cites Bill Gates as the best example, recalling a speech he heard the Microsoft founder give in 1994 at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. "It really connected with me. I looked at the way they believed they could fundamentally change the world, and it was amazing." Since then, Sorgen has gone on to organize volunteer initiatives that have included, most memorably, a toy drive so successful that two Marine Corps trucks were required to transport the donated items.
At 40, Sorgen is young to be running Microsoft's Canadian operations. "I remember when I arrived here people were surprised I was joining the company soccer team," he says with a smile, though he admits age is beginning to tell. But he's still agile enough to be an asset to the Microsoft team, and this year helped launch a new soccer tournament to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network.
It's tempting to conclude that Microsoft is grooming Sorgen for bigger things. He started his professional life at National Cash Register (later acquired by AT&T) and moved to Microsoft's Dallas office in 1996, specializing in sales to the oil and gas sector. After proving himself at the regional level, Microsoft promoted him to head of enterprise sales for the United States. His current stint looks like a professional detour on the way back to head office and a senior executive's job. But the baby-faced Sorgen isn't focused on climbing ladders—unless it's the ones at the playground.
"I don't like to think of this as a pit stop," he says. "This is a destination—and a fulfilling one. When I got here, I remember a lot of people asked, 'How long are you here?' and I would reply, 'I'm here, and I'm completely committed to being here.' "
At least part of that commitment is tied to his family, the source of Sorgen's grounded state of mind. His wife and school-aged daughter are also both Texans—but they've taken to their new home in Oakville, Ontario, and it was important to Sorgen that he establish a sense of permanence so they could set down roots. "I learned a long time ago that no matter what else is going on, your home life had better be solid."
One of the first in his family to attend university, and the first to receive a post-graduate university degree—an MBA from the University of North Texas—Sorgen speaks with an erudite air and a Texan's warmth. One of the subjects he likes to evangelize about is the "return on investment" of corporate volunteer efforts. While the net benefits may not be tangible, Sorgen defends the idea that "good corporate citizenship," to use the lexicon du jour, enhances a firm's performance. "All the research I've read shows that students coming out of school these days don't rate companies on pay and benefits alone," but on feel-good criteria as well. "Especially for Canadians working for a company based in the U.S.—they want us to be doing work in our local communities."
This is a critical time for Microsoft as it launches the consumer version of its Vista operating system (the program was released to business customers last November). "This is the first time we've split the launch," he says. So far, much of the attention on the new software has been on its delays. It's been a gruelling period for Sorgen, but then again, it's the kind of project—one that requires almost equal measures of leadership and teamwork—that he enjoys. And in some ways, not unlike the project that unfolded in this field back in September, only minus the screaming kids.
ET CETERA...
What was your first job? Cashier at Target
What's your current bedtime reading? Switching between Emerald Fairways and Foam-Flecked Seas: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to the Courses of Ireland by James W. Finegan and The Hidden Power of Social Networks by Rob Cross
What's your hidden talent? Scrabble—my late grandmother challenged me every time we got together from when I was a child until my adult years
What's your guilty pleasure? A cheeseburger, French fries and a chocolate shake
What extravagance do you allow yourself when travelling? A round of golf or two or three
Where would you live, if you could live anywhere? Pebble Beach, Florida
Have you ever been in a fight? I fight with my dog every night for my side of the bed
What were you afraid of when you were a kid? The dentist
Where would you like to go that you haven't been? Australia and New Zealand
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