Wow, re-organising the company by function. They're going all in on copying Apple. Who knows if it will work, but it's a fascinating experiment.
Is Apple the first company to have done that? I highly doubt it.
Microsoft reorganizes
131–140 of 283 posts
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
I honestly think he doesn't realize that he's the problem and people around him won't tell him the truth. Ballmer is a very intimidating guy both in physical size and attitude and is always ready to be combative. This make it very difficult to have a open dialog with him. Him remaining still as the CEO is not his fault its the boards fault they should have made moves to genteelly replace him a long time ago.
>"Ballmer is a very intimidating guy both in physical size and attitude and is always ready to be combative." As larger than average person I'm fascinated/frustrated by the way physical presence affects people. Most troublesome for me have been people who apparently feel intimidated and project it back as something intentional, as I'm trying to intimidate them or have intimidated others into agreement with me.
I don't know if intimidated is the right word, but I'm pretty average height - 5'11'', and I've personally observed over time that I feel much more insecure around bigger people. I'm not sure how common it is but it's something I've become consciously aware of and try to correct myself on. But even being aware of it, it's really hard to ignore. For example, I find I gain a lot of self-confidence when I sit at a conference table talking to someone, putting us on "equal" footing. But if standing where I'm looking up at someone I suddenly feel like a small boy talking out of place to a grown-up. It's silly but it's an overwhelmingly noticeable sensation that drives me crazy.
I suspect it could have evolved out of having a physically intimidating older brother growing up (I grew out of a lot of insecurities when I became taller than he was, but maybe not all).
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#133Azure will not catch AWS because it's not a first class division. It's an offering in a broader context. Contrast with Amazon who has an SVP of AWS (and he's considered one of the "more important" SVPs). Any chance I had of considering Azure just evaporated. And there's nothing that screams "ownership" like having a VP's reports "dotted-line" report into someone else, and to have that called out in a company-wide ema…
A bit more coordination would do them some good, releasing the Surface without Office was a stupid error IMHO
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
>"Ballmer is a very intimidating guy both in physical size and attitude and is always ready to be combative." As larger than average person I'm fascinated/frustrated by the way physical presence affects people. Most troublesome for me have been people who apparently feel intimidated and project it back as something intentional, as I'm trying to intimidate them or have intimidated others into agreement with me.
>Most troublesome for me have been people who apparently feel intimidated and project it back as something intentional, as I'm trying to intimidate them I am 6'7" tall and weigh 220 pounds. I've also been in IT for about 20 years in a corporate setting. Are you bigger than I am? I ask because I have never had anyone say that I intimidated them nor have I heard of anyone telling me that someone else is intimidated by…
I'm not as tall as you, just 6'2" but I take the precaution of sitting when talking seriously to people (mostly students, I'm a teacher, I just carry a chair round the classroom). The result is less challenging behaviour from students (UK)
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reminds me of this: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-10-30/
Just a few comics later, he has this gem about "dotted-line" management. Frightening how relevant Dilbert is to this memo. http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-11-01/
This was the first thing I thought of when I saw the "Dotted Line" bit. Sad that this thing was already parodied almost two decades ago!
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#136Can there be a "one more thing" where Ballmer retires, please?
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#137I almost choked when I read Microsoft's new mission statement: "our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most." In other words, Ballmer wants the company to "focus" on being everything to everyone! Not a good sign for the business. -- PS. Compare Ballmer's long,…
I couldn't get over this masterpiece:
We will allocate resources and build devices and services that provide compelling, integrated experiences across the many screens in our lives, with maximum return to shareholders.
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#138I almost choked when I read Microsoft's new mission statement: "our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most." In other words, Ballmer wants the company to "focus" on being everything to everyone! Not a good sign for the business. -- PS. Compare Ballmer's long,…
> "our strategy will focus on creating ... bla bla bla.
I parse this as follows: PC sales are declining and selling Windows & Office licenses is not going to make it; now the option is either to focus on - Windows Server and cloud services OR - copying Apple; go for closed gadgets/tracking devices with a processor
Copying Apple is a bad choice, very crowded space here / everybody wants to make an IPhone.
In the end this means bad news for Windows Server, however who cares ...
see "PC sales see 'longest decline' in history" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23251285
(On the other hand modern laptops nowadays look like tables, they have a touchscreen and detachable keyboards; there is some convergence here, so it is all very confusing)
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another way of interpreting this would be "Microsoft wants to get out of your way, it wants to be a (ubiquitous) platform so you can focus on what you're actually trying to do rather than on your OS or your device." Doesn't sound that awful to me.
...says the company who brought you the UAC popups :)
Do you prefer sudo or just to login as root directly?
Re: Microsoft reorganizes
#140I almost choked when I read Microsoft's new mission statement: "our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most." In other words, Ballmer wants the company to "focus" on being everything to everyone! Not a good sign for the business. -- PS. Compare Ballmer's long,…
A better strategy for Microsoft today would be to become to tech what Disney is to family entertainment.
For their mission statement to be: "We want to be a significant part of everyone's technology experience".
Now that would be audacious... to re-gain some of what they've lost to Apple and Android, to be there within entertainment, automotive, health and government.
They already are in a lot of those places, but this statement would be a strong signal that they are going to fight every front.