This was the very first Surface tablet!

Through numerous struggles and billion-dollar write-downs, the Surface team has managed to gain the admiration and respect of the industry, something which is belied by the image above – a Surface prototype literally held together with duct tape.

Shared by Panos Panay on Instagram, he writes:

This is the first Surface model the team envisioned seven years ago. We had plastic, cardboard, duct tape, and a vision for something great. We didn’t know exactly where this vision would take us, but we believed.
Every time I see this model I think about what I’ve learned from this journey and I want to share that with you as we begin a new year…no matter what you’re doing or what you want to do…have a vision, know what’s important to you, be relentless, challenge yourself, and push for what you believe in. Your path will lead to something great.
Happy New Year to all!

The success of the Surface team parallels that of Microsoft as a whole over the last half-decade, with the team focussing down on enterprise customers and professional users, and dropping less powerful consumer models such as the Surface RT and Surface 3, and also releasing more conventional models such as the Surface Laptop.

I am not sure the current Surface line matches the vision of Steven Sinofsky, especially with the current poor Windows 10 tablet mode, but it does show that being adaptable, playing to your strengths and persevering can lead to success, which is as good a message as any to take into the new year.

Via Thurrott.com