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Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

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Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#71

Post by psychotik »

barista wrote: post #66
psychotik wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was always polarizing and that his stock was rising is equally contentious, IMO. Windows 8 was late, Surface seems to be underwhelming and his inability to be a real team player are all likely factors here, as is his rumored disagreement with Ballmer (though I had Ballmer on the losing end of that one). You're right that this will change Microsoft at a deep level, but I think odds are good that it's a change for t…

I don't get this point. Windows 8 is probably the most connected windows ever. The store, Skydrive ads, all are driven by services behind the OS. I don't think that Sinofsky opposed or didn't get services.

And Windows 7 had none of the services that it should. It's 2012, don't you think it's a bit late already?

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#72

Post by w1ntermute »

randomfool wrote: post #59
sriramk wrote: post #35

This is a stunning development and most of MSFT is probably in shock right now. It's hard to overstate the scope and influence Sinofsky had at MSFT. This was a man widely expected to be the next CEO and he had impact way outside his organization (the 'Sinofsky-ization of teams'). Also, his stock was rising inside MSFT (when you stay inside the company long enough, you can sense which executives are in trouble and whi…

In 2009, Microsoft had 5 Presidents- Sinofsky, Stephen Elop, Robbie Bach, Qi Lu and Bob Muglia. All but Qi Lu are now gone. Not a good sign of Ballmer's ability to choose leaders.

Here's Ballmer's letter about Sinofsky's departure: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/12/3638174/steve-ballmers-le...

Edit:

Sources inside Microsoft say a clash of personalities led to Sinofsky's departure: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/12/3638340/microsoft-steven-...

Steven Sinofsky's letter to Microsoft employees explaining his departure: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/12/3638770/steven-sinofskys-...

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#73

Post by kineticflow »

psychotik wrote: post #71
barista wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get this point. Windows 8 is probably the most connected windows ever. The store, Skydrive ads, all are driven by services behind the OS. I don't think that Sinofsky opposed or didn't get services.

And Windows 7 had none of the services that it should. It's 2012, don't you think it's a bit late already?

Probably because Microsoft was deathly afraid of being accused of "bundling".

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#74

Post by notJim »

sliverstorm wrote: post #53
benihana wrote: post #23

So I've always wondered what happens to you as a human when you're effectively fired from a high level, high visibility position. How does Sinofsky feel right now, emotionally? How does he feel professionally? Is this something someone shakes off as differences between opinionated guys in an organization? Or is this something that rocks him to his core? Does he go for another job right away? Or does he write a book a…

is this something that rocks him to his core I would guess most of the time, the answer is "no". Forget the circumstances, human beings have a tendency to look for failings in others to explain their own misfortune. It can be difficult to look past your own hubris to recognize what are in truth your own failings. So, it's really going to come down to the individual- but I would default to "no".

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. It seems like successful people would be able to recognize their faults and mistakes. That whole maxim we sometimes talk about here where if you aren't failing a lot, you're not trying hard enough doesn't really work if you're not able to learn from your mistakes.

Now, I've never heard of this guy until now, but I wouldn't be so quick to assume he's unable to evaluate himself.

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#75

Post by dthunt »

potatolicious wrote: post #46
xibernetik wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The PM role is not at all about finance or marketing. PMs at Microsoft are expected to be technically competent and depending where they're stationed, may regularly contribute code. Julie Larson-Green is noted for her expertise in UI/UX. If anything, this exemplifies a shift to focusing on the end-user.

> "PMs at Microsoft are expected to be technically competent" That has most certainly not been my experience with Microsoft PMs when I lived in Seattle. There were more than a few who had zero experience writing code in-industry, and many who I wouldn't trust with a product at all.

My experiences with PMs were universally good; these are people who would look at ideas in-the-baking and find ways to improve them, run interference for a number of projects, put together decision-guiding research, and generally somehow manage to bring things together.

There are bad apples in every bunch. The reason MSFT has so many PMs is not that they are under-competent; I suspect it has a lot more to do with the fact that it is a large organization that is often unable to silo teams from each other effectively.

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#77

Post by seanmcdirmid »

mikecane wrote: post #17

Surface RT selling modestly due to limited distribution and poor reviews for RT itself. The hardware seems solid (I finally tried one tonight with both covers), but popping into the Desktop ruins the experience for people who only want Metro. (Me, I want full Win 8, so it matters a bit less to me... but breaking the Metro experience is still jarring.) OTOH, although I've heard of Metro app numbers increasing, there's…

From what I understand, Surface RT has been completely sold out for a week or two now at all the Microsoft stores. Not sure what that means though...

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#78

Post by kineticflow »

sriramk wrote: post #68
barista wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Courier : J Allard :: Surface : Sinofsky Both of them equally sad departures. The latter more so.

Courier didn't cause J's departure and neither did Surface SteveSi's. Besides, Surface has been out for a week.

... and before anyone quotes that the Surface sold "modestly", please cite the source because the original article making rounds this morning was corrected since the quote was taken out of context.

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#79

Post by MBCook »

GuiA wrote: post #58
j_baker wrote: post #22

Sinofsky, though seen as highly talented, was viewed at the top levels as not the kind of team player that the company was looking for. Dear lord. This sounds like something from Office Space. What exactly is the kind of "team player" the company is looking for?

Sounds like a PC way of saying that he was not a team player.

I wonder what "team player" means here.

Now I know absolutely nothing about internal MS politics. My immediate suspicion, based on how MS seems to operate, is that's code for "won't bow down to Windows/Office".

I really hope that's not the reason. There have been so many times Microsoft seems to be unable to get out of its own way because they have integrate Windows/Office into something somehow. Maybe he was part of that problem, but the fact us was involved in Windows 8 makes me doubt it since they were willing to make radical changes (good or bad).

If I had to guess, I'd put money on the lukewarm Surface reception being a final straw. The timing seems too perfect.

Re: Steven Sinofsky to Leave Microsoft

#80

Post by abhimishra »

randomfool wrote: post #36
benihana wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was his idea of an ideal organization?

He was a big fan of the triad- Dev, Test & PM, at every level. From what I experienced, at every level you'd have to get sign-off from all 3 for any features to be implemented. That, combined with Microsoft's incredibly deep org structure created a massive number of 'committees' to go through to get signoff for any work to be done. He was also one to dictate things from up above and it was extremely difficult to unde…

IMO the sign-off culture would be a problem at MS with or without triads. When you have such a large middle-layer (especially ones with ranks like 'partner' who seem to mostly be faking it) there are going to be loads of people whose chief role is to be a gatekeeper who needs to 'sign-off' on something. There are going to be layers of management who want to perform that filtering and relaying you mention, even though it does nothing for the company. And until some kind of purging happens, that won't change.
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