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2012-07-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Microsoft’s Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant

by Vanity Fair

12:00 AM, JULY 3 2012

Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, on January 9.

Analyzing one of American corporate history’s greatest mysteries—the lost decade of Microsoft—two-time George Polk Award winner (and V.F.’s newest contributing editor) Kurt Eichenwald traces the “astonishingly foolish management decisions” at the company that “could serve as a business-school case study on the pitfalls of success.” Relying on dozens of interviews and internal corporate records—including e-mails between executives at the company’s highest ranks—Eichenwald offers an unprecedented view of life inside Microsoft during the reign of its current chief executive, Steve Ballmer, in the August issue. Today, a single Apple product—the iPhone—generates more revenue than all of Microsoft’s wares combined.

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Eichenwald’s conversations reveal that a management system known as “stack ranking”—a program that forces every unit to declare a certain percentage of employees as top performers, good performers, average, and poor—effectively crippled Microsoft’s ability to innovate. “Every current and former Microsoft employee I interviewed—every one—cited stack ranking as the most destructive process inside of Microsoft, something that drove out untold numbers of employees,” Eichenwald writes. “If you were on a team of 10 people, you walked in the first day knowing that, no matter how good everyone was, 2 people were going to get a great review, 7 were going to get mediocre reviews, and 1 was going to get a terrible review,” says a former software developer. “It leads to employees focusing on competing with each other rather than competing with other companies.”

When Eichenwald asks Brian Cody, a former Microsoft engineer, whether a review of him was ever based on the quality of his work, Cody says, “It was always much less about how I could become a better engineer and much more about my need to improve my visibility among other managers.” Ed McCahill, who worked at Microsoft as a marketing manager for 16 years, says, “You look at the Windows Phone and you can’t help but wonder, How did Microsoft squander the lead they had with the Windows CE devices? They had a great lead, they were years ahead. And they completely blew it. And they completely blew it because of the bureaucracy.”

According to Eichenwald, Microsoft had a prototype e-reader ready to go in 1998, but when the technology group presented it to Bill Gates he promptly gave it a thumbs-down, saying it wasn’t right for Microsoft. “He didn’t like the user interface, because it didn’t look like Windows,” a programmer involved in the project recalls.

“The group working on the initiative was removed from a reporting line to Gates and folded into the major-product group dedicated to software for Office,” Eichenwald reports. “Immediately, the technology unit was reclassified from one charged with dreaming up and producing new ideas to one required to report profits and losses right away.” “Our entire plan had to be moved forward three to four years from 2003–04, and we had to ship a product in 1999,” says Steve Stone, a founder of the technology group. “We couldn’t be focused anymore on developing technology that was effective for consumers. Instead, all of a sudden we had to look at this and say, ‘How are we going to use this to make money?’”

A former official in Microsoft’s Office division tells Eichenwald that the death of the e-reader effort was not simply the consequence of a desire for immediate profits. The real problem for his colleagues was the touch screen: “Office is designed to inputting with a keyboard, not a stylus or a finger,” the official says. “There were all kinds of personal prejudices at work.” According to Microsoft executives, the company’s loyalty to Windows and Office repeatedly kept them from jumping on emerging technologies. “Windows was the god—everything had to work with Windows,” Stone tells Eichenwald. “Ideas about mobile computing with a user experience that was cleaner than with a P.C. were deemed unimportant by a few powerful people in that division, and they managed to kill the effort.”

When one of the young developers of MSN Messenger noticed college kids giving status updates on AOL’s AIM, he saw what Microsoft’s product lacked. “That was the beginning of the trend toward Facebook, people having somewhere to put their thoughts, a continuous stream of consciousness,” he tells Eichenwald. “The main purpose of AIM wasn’t to chat, but to give you the chance to log in at any time and check out what your friends were doing.” When he pointed out to his boss that Messenger lacked a short-message feature, the older man dismissed his concerns; he couldn’t see why young people would care about putting up a few words. “He didn’t get it,” the developer says. “And because he didn’t know or didn’t believe how young people were using messenger programs, we didn’t do anything.”

“I see Microsoft as technology’s answer to Sears,” said Kurt Massey, a former senior marketing manager. “In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Sears had it nailed. It was top-notch, but now it’s just a barren wasteland. And that’s Microsoft. The company just isn’t cool anymore.”

“They used to point their finger at IBM and laugh,” said Bill Hill, a former Microsoft manager. “Now they’ve become the thing they despised.”

Source : Vanity Fair

2011-11-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

Digvijay and his antics to destroy the Anti-corruption movement

Every other morning we pick up the newspaper and we have come across some statement by Ex. Madhya Pradesh C.M. and Congress leader Sri Digvijay Singh. Most of the times we discuss these comments as just blabber but if you see closely you will see what Mr. Singh is aiming for and has partly achieved success in doing.

At first he aimed guns at Baba Ramdev and with help of other party leaders destroyed Baba's movement as well as his reputation. One day he praised Baba and the next day he called him a 'Thug' (Con). Soon after police forces flushed out around 50,000 peaceful protesters from Ramlila ground document after document started to tumble out of unknown sources. Baba's Ayurveda business, through which he has treated tens of thousands was targeted. His associate Bal Krishna was targeted. Donations to Baba were targeted. In all, he was pushed around and targeted until his anti Black money movement became secondary and giving explanation to the allegation became primary.

Then it was Anna Hazare's turn. The same Anna whom Digvijay has been photographed touching feet of became corrupt and RSS aligned overnight when his anti-corruption movement caught imagination of the country. Digvijay called Anna a mask of the RSS and BJP and even questioned Anna's decision making capability by saying that he is guided by others.

What did Digvijay Singh achieve by this?

Nothing, many would say.

But by making these allegations and forcing Anna and his team to explain things he did achieve something.

Digvijay made sure that all those people who had risen above party and other lines to take part in the anti-corruption movement once again got cut off with the movement. Digvijay made sure that even if the movement is against Congress for the time being (as it holds the power at the center) no RSS or BJP aligned person takes part in it. Not even to get his head counted in the crowd.

Isn't that a loss for the movement? It is a big loss I would say.

In the same way when after April's fast of Anna some property tax evasion charges were leveled against the Bhushan's by Digvijay Singh this time there have been charges against Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Like the last time when the tax notice miraculously appeared in Digvijay's hand this time also the whole file of travel expenses of Kiran Bedi somehow found it's way to office of a specific anti-movement newspaper. Co-incidence did anyone say?

Digvijay has nothing to lose. He knows that the way things are going the future of Congress is already dark due to the not-so-good deeds of it's leaders. And he has been successful to some extent I would say.

However this is not the first time when some Government is going after people who have shown the resolve to stand against it. The same happened to all the people involved in Tehelka sting operation. All of them were hunted down and their professional lives destroyed.

Now Digvijay has turned his mouth-canon towards Sri Sri Ravishankar. A mistake I would say because Anna and his team are not down and out yet. May be it is the single biggest mistake that Digvijay has made in this game of politics that he is playing. It might prove very tough for him to deal with two equally influential and morally strong anti-corruption groups at the same time.

Mr. Singh, may be this time you bit more than you can swallow! The people of India may not prove to be as foolish as you make them out to be. Come elections and you and your party will get a fitting reply.

2011-06-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Anna ji...its time for a different approach!!

The Lokpal Bill movement and debate are now turning out to be a war of words. The Congress has called Anna Hazare an 'unelected dictator' who is raking up issues that are a "threat" to democratic institutions. Can issues concerning bribes and corruption become a threat to democratic institutions? Well, only Congress party spokesperson Manish Tiwari can clarify his statement.

The Congress has also called Anna a BJP-RSS agent. "When someone says that had he continued his fast for three more days, the central government would have collapsed, the message is clear," said party spokesperson Manish Tiwari on Monday.

The day before, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ticked off Anna saying "nobody can guarantee that the parliament shall pass the Lokpal bill as per the August 15 deadline set by Hazare."

Mukherjee made it very loud and clear that Team Anna can give suggestions, not command or coerce the government through fasts or street-side rabble-rousing agitations. Team Anna cannot set deadlines to parliament on passing the Lokpal Bill. In other words, the Parliament can take another 40 odd years to get a Bill through. Mark Mukherjee's his words: "Nobody can give a guarantee as to how long Parliament is going to take to pass the Bill or when it will be passed. Parliament is Supreme."

All these war of words are carefully calibrated to divert the focus of Anna Hazare and needle him to commit a blunder - just as Baba Ramdev wanted to raise an army of youths. Unfortunately, Anna, the Gandhian, has started responding by calling some MPs liars. This is not what he should do; this is not what Gandhiji would have done. Instead of word for word and barb for barb, Anna should change his tactics. The government has made it clear that it will not allow anyone to go on fast in Delhi. So what? Anna should employ the next tool in Gandhiji's armoury - padayatra.

Yes, Team Anna should galvanise India, especially in the rural areas where people are reeling under corruption and have no option but to pay bribes. The anti-corruption movement should not be kept as a Delhi phenomenon or a movement of the elite.

In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi went on a padayatra -- the famous Salt march to Dandi -- to bring the British government to its knees. Over two decades later, Vinoba Bhave went on a padayatra for the Bhoodan movement.

After Vinoba Bhave, there were not been many padayatras for a national cause. I admit that young turk and former prime minister Chandrasekhar also went on a padayatra from Kanyakumari to Rajghat covering a distance of nearly 4260 kms from January 6, 1983 to June 25, 1983 to connect with the masses and to understand their problems.

Time for a padayatra against corruption Anna Hazareji.

2011-05-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Is even one of our institutions world class?

If it is world class, it must be in top 100,150 institutions in the world. That is not evident

-Kapil Sibal, Union HRD Minister

It was unfortunate to hear such statements from our own representatives. But wait...don't you think there is a need to read over the above statement once again? Specially "it must be in top 100,150 institutions in the world".

The IIT's and IIM's, regarded as the top class institutions "in INDIA" have no place in the top 150?

Yes, the stats are true, these institutions have no place in the top 150. No use of battling over the issue, but let's think of how to place them in the top 150!...?

Point wise approach

1) In India the primary problem is excessive bureaucratic control in higher education.

2) A centralised process of faculty recruitment combined with fixed salaries has entrenched complacency.

3) With little initiative to pilot high end research, industry too misses out on levaraging university research to solve practical problems.

4) We search for "quality" universities in the US for higher education...and do you know the demand from the massive annual outflow of foreign exchange?

A storming $10 billion.

5) Our neighbors, Malaysia and Singapore have research hubs, whereas Indian institutions are back of making their own institutions/university No.1

For example: The regular fight between Narayana and Sri Chaitanya Jr.Colleges.

We have to have a hub of research "institutions", the word "INSTITUTIONS" itself states unity.

Finally tweaking of government policies to provide more autonomy to institutions, thus allowing private investment in education.

So let's soon, expect the IIT's and IIM's in the top 150.

Come and follow the world of Wings...

G.S.Wings

Did you identify yourself...!?

2011-02-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

Hmmm answer these questions first...

WHO ARE YOU?

WHY ARE YOU BORN?

WHAT IS SUCCESS TO YOU?

You need not read through the article if you know the answers to the above...But if you don't...lemme help you get them...

Famous quotes from parents...

"My son is going to be a DOCTOR"...

"My son is going to be a ENGINEER"...

You people would have never heard such statements from them...because they say such statements when you are just on your mom's tummy(ha ha as soon as you are born).I guess its hard to understand then...so you will never hear them...

It is not what that they want us to be...but it is what you want yourself to be...

hmmm i know this is a regular statement...now lemme advance...now how do you identify what you wanna be???

The Answer:

it may take a second,minute,hour,day(s),month(s),year(s) or even a lifetime to identify the answer...but you will surely find it before you die...!!!

There will be a a minute when you experience the extreme amounts of the word called SATISFACTION.You will not be able to distinguish your heart and mind then.

lemme quote an example...i experienced this word at the age of 18 on July25th...it was a reult of giving a poor old lady a small amount of food mixed with love...and the looks that i got in return were un explainable...aaaah that is the satisfaction point....and then that i realized the objective of my life...

come on people...do not deceive yourselves by moving in the tide that some one else is pouring over you...i bet you will never get satisfied.Identify tat satisfaction point and follow your world...

that one minute before you die would be so happy...sooooo happy that you will never experience such happiness ever....

So come on guys and gals...experience and identify yourself in the world of wings...

G.S.Wings

Come in...U'll understand the world of Wings

2010-01-21T19:34:00.001-08:00

Wings...

Something very interesting !!!

This blog will get you to the world of FREEDOM and AMBITIONS...