RSSMicrosoft Confessions: 'Killed over politics'
By Joe Wilcox | Published February 5, 2010, 3:47 AM
Yesterday's Dick Brass commentary, "Microsoft's Creative Destruction," the company's response to the op-ed and Tuesday's Don Dodge pro-Mac post have put Microsoft in the hot seat. The blogosphere is abuzz about the extent of Microsoft innovations. More former Microsofties are ready to speak out, and they will get their chance here at Betanews.
After the last round of Microsoft layoffs, I asked former employees to tell their stories. I got plenty of responses and not just from people recently leaving the company. No identities will be revealed, although I have verified each one. Two main reasons: Either the former employees still work in the technology industry and don't want to risk their current jobs; or they're receiving severance from Microsoft and don't want to risk losing it. Some of these people have returned to working for Microsoft as contractors, which is another reason to remain anonymous.
Over the next three days, I will present some of the stories in different ways. We start with a first-hand account, and it's more stream-of-conscious than the others I received. Please expect more first-hand accounts and some others strung together as narratives.
What's most surprising about the stories received: Whether they left by will or layoff, most of the former Microsofties worked for the company for a long time, typically no less than eight years. This first account comes from a senior manager who willingly left Microsoft during the last decade after nearly 20 years:
When I left, I told Steve [Ballmer] my reasons. Microsoft [had] lost its competitive edge. Too much politics, too much BS, too much 'what can I do to you today, to make myself look better tomorrow.'The strength of Microsoft has always been small, heavily empowered teams. Teams that could move fast, make lighting quick decisions and trust the people that made them -- and actually create real schedules, not what management wants you to tell them.
In early 2000, and towards the end of Y2K, the corporate landscape was changing. All the small teams were being eaten up by these uber teams -- complete with politics, backstabbing and posturing. I wanted no part of it. Even today MS is mostly Windows, mobile and Office. Decisions I used to make in 10 minutes, took weeks in Office.
I watched a revolutionary product killed over politics. The moment someone mentioned in a high level-meeting we were better than one of MS's cash cows, I told my [general manager] we were screwed. He didn't believe until the team was disbanded and moved where? Into that cash cow. Where 90 percent of the functionality was cut.
I've watched over the years, [as] poor managers work their way up the ladder, merely because they could play the game. They didn't want the truth, they wanted the answer they wanted to hear.
When Bill Gates first started the 'aggressive schedule' mantra to get people to work harder, [it was] tell folks we only had 2 months left, when we knew it was six. How could I as a manager look my people in the face and seriously tell them we're two months from shipping -- work your ass off -- knowing the bug count was high, the find rate was high and undercover dev work was still being completed?
I finally had enough when my last reorg had me put under a brand new manager, with less weeks experience than I had years doing his job, telling me I wasn't doing my job properly. I asked him how many products he shipped. A couple was the answer. Meanwhile, I had three full Lucite blocks packed with ship-it awards on my desk. At that point, I gave my notice.
How many [Microsoft] reorgs have ever benefited anyone except the folks on top? In all my reorgs, I only ever had one that actually benefited the troops; and that was a super good manager that said if you take me, you take my team. He was one of the best I'd ever worked for -- and, of course, he is no longer at MS either. To me, that speaks volumes.
The people that need to be cut at MS are the managers that don't support their teams and only support their own careers. I've watched countless super visionary managers get bogged in politics and leave.
While I love Steve [Ballmer] to no end, he's too removed from what's really happening, and only gets info from the politically motivated ass kissers that just want to keep their jobs, not do the right thing.
Other stories in this series of confessionals:
- 'Deeply dysfunctional family'
- 'Poor worker bees'
- 'There were a ton of bozos'
- Why former Microsoft employees say Microsoft can't innovate
I'm still collecting stories. Please e-mail joewilcox at live dot com. Stories can be anonymous, but I will need to verify identities.
Bottom line, no one cares. America is second rate and we will always support a second rate product. You can say Apple creates a better OS than MS and people will attack you. Mainly, because it's true and they can't afford Apple's prices for their quality products. Even Hackintosh, if you get it working correctly on PC, runs better than Windows (both Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard). What's that... XP? Let me looking around and see how many laptops I have to fix with XP... many. Let me count the Macs.... 0. Also, wasn't it even reported at one time that Windows 7 ran better on a Mac? Microsoft creates good products, don't get me wrong, but they let it out of the oven before it's golden brown. Then they pop it back in and sale the finish product for the same price or more.
People always want to jump on Apple, when they invent and RELEASE great products(Not saying all products by Apple Mac since..iPod Shuffle). Like the iPod, which millions tried to copy. Then the iPhone and we all know the stories and bulls*** iPhone killers, which 'till this day haven't seen one iPhone killer. Also, I love how companies always have to use iPhone killer to sell there rubbish copycat products. Now, the iPad! I wonder how many iPad killers, lol, will come out. Also, HP and Dell, stop trying to copy the iMacs and Macbooks.
Also, looks at these Multi-Touch mouse prototypes coming -> http://www.engadget.com/...itouch-mouse-prototypes/
oh wait.... Apple already created and released theirs and it works -> http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/
Face it! Apple kicks major a$$ at creating products and even though the others copy, they still can't beat Apple.
Also, I'm not a Apple, Microsoft or Linux Fanboy. I'm a Tech Fanboy.
I would say that no company is better than the other, because they all create something that someone wants. Still, if we had to determine a winner at this point in time... you've guessed it... Apple.
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|Come on. Microsoft is doing very well. They even got their own ISO/IEC OOXML standard. The presented a better product than Apple. They understand software better than google and they make a whole lot of money. And that is all their shareholders are after.
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|A walk in the park compared to the way things were handled behind the scenes at Commodore years ago. A read through 'On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore' will make you wonder how the hell we even got to where we are today.
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|Something to comment:
The issues you mentioned is not politics, it's culture. and it's not just in MS, it's in the whole US. That's my viewpoint, who work in IT for 20 years in Vietnam, yes, Vietnam. I've found that and now I am happy to be born in Vietnam. Except some big issues, like you and any one in the world.
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|from what I have been told by people who work/worked for MS that things started going down hill behind the scenes when gates started to step back and let others manage things for him......MBA's vs the geeks who understand whats really going on.
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|Apple and Google is what killed Microsoft.
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|Yeah....they've really got 'em on the ropes, boy. Phew! Your capacity for self-delusion seems to know no bounds.
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|@belarathon - Apple makes the best mobile operating system ever created. Who wants to run the equivalent of Windows 3.1 on a mobile phone when they can run Unix? Microsoft also wasted time creating a competing format to OpenOffice's OpenDocument that hardly anyone uses. Even Microsoft realized this and added support for OpenDocument in Wordpad in Windows 7.
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|Anti-trust killed Microsoft. Isn't this what we all wanted? Remember when everybody wanted the mighty giant to fall? Last I checked Microsoft is a huge company, they would deserve a gold star if they were able to keep all their employees happy!
Come on lets talk about how modern media is killing off the geeks and the real tech companies by promoting the flashy stories with no real tech meat. Give Microsoft more respect then this, where would the tech world be today without Microsoft?
Hey apple guys remember the good old days? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxOp5mBY9IY
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|So true, you just stated something that i havent been able to put my finger on. How "google-ad-supported" media is really watering down the techology news. Its probably happening in other news niches too, but tech is my main focus.
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|Anti-trust didn't kill Microsoft. In hindsight, Microsoft would have been better off if it had been chopped up into 2 or 3 smaller companies. Each of those companies would have been more focused on what it is doing, and each would be more innovative, as they wouldn't be living off the fat of the desktop monopoly.
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|Yes, you might be right. Antitrust killed Microsoft by not going that far as split it into different companies. That was the most sensible option and of course didn't happen. Guess it wasn't that weird to do it as it grew to be a problem for themselves and they recognize it as so.
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|I don't know if I'm getting you right IT advisor but, you know that the desktop is not a real cash cow but MS Office instead?
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|This sounds like where I work.
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|Actually, it sounds like any medium to large company in the world.
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|That's the same reason we all find Dilbert so amusing. We can see these infinite truths in all of our jobs.
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|True, not a unique workplace environment unfortunately...
Some years back I developed code that entirely automated several data entry tasks that were being done manually (Essentially 1 weeks work could be done in under an hour), my reward ? 2 managers killed it & I was told to keep quiet about it so their budget wouldn't be cut.
I resigned for a better job a few months later, leaving a nice parting document for HR / higher management detailing all my suggestions & how certain managers ignored / failed to act on them. All but 1 of them have been fired since I left there :)
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|Good job, really, you showed those a******s! :)
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|So let me see if I understand this correctly:
A VP leaves Microsoft after failing to make ebook readers and tablet computers popular.
6 years later Amazon makes ebook readers and Apple makes tablet computers popular.
That bitter former MS exec writes op-ed in New York Times bashing MS because of his own failures and making huge assumptions and sweeping generalities about a company he hasn't worked for for YEARS.
Betanews starts a series where they pile on to the MS bashing by asking FIRED ex-MS employees their feelings about the company who fired them.
What fired/laid-off employee ever has anything good to say about their former employers? This is journalism? Now if a recent exec left on their own accord after having been a key participant in something that actually succeeded and wrote a critical opinion piece about their former employer I'd be far more interested.
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|Interesting ...
While MS apologists are chiming in that this is an example of "corporate politics as usual", and they would have a point, the political inefficiencies are self evident by the fact that MS has stumbled on a number of fronts - Vista, WinMobile, MSN, just to name a few.
MS management should read this stuff with an open mind, and learn from it. Otherwise they risk many more defeats down the line, facing hungrier, leaner, more efficient, more nimble competitors. Dismissing it all as "ah, it's just the usual corporate politics" is plain stupid.
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|Exactly, but what manager is eager to see that things are not all roses in their garden. It's easier to feed into the status quo, and just playing CYA, letting the crap roll down hill to the little guys who actually are trying to do their job to the best of their ability, all the while being hamstrung by fat wallets cutting budgets to make their wallets all the fatter.
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|you can switch "Microsoft" to almost any other big companies, like "Apple", "Intel", "AMD", and I'm pretty sure the story won't change much.
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|It's not just the tech industry either. There is so much politics where I work I wonder how the company even makes a profit.
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|Finally, a real bit of journalism from Mr. W. This series should be highly enlightening.
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|it is hard for an employee to conceal their identity when that speak about their conversations/concerns with management, ie balmer.
clearly, management would remember which employees had the issues described herein.
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|Ah, corporate politics. All the back stabbing and the survival of the fittest. Let the drama begin! But seriously these kind of managers are every where looking to climb the corporate ladder, how do we know that this story is not biased or over exaggerated?
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|ask those who've been Fired, laid off from any job how they feel about said employer, 95% of the time you're gonna get negative responses
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|@artfuldodga He resigned.
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|i've just been laid off but i feel ok with them anyway. but i've been the only one to feel that way after a couple batches. :/
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|Its funny, I see a negative headline on Beta News now days and immediately know Joe Wilcox wrote it. You have to read anything he writes with a grain of salt. Putting a negative spin on everything you write about isn't real journalism Joe.
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|I am starting to believe that he's having near orgasm experience when he writes a story bashing Microsoft.
Cannot believe that there are still people out there reading his articles.
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|"Putting a negative spin on everything you write about isn't real journalism Joe"
Umm...he's quoting the former MS employee...
I haven't been overly impressed with some of Joe's articles in the past, but you guys are starting to attack this article just because it says "By Joe Wilcox" at the top. If it had said Scott, Nate, or someone else we would actually be discussing the article. If you didn't like Joe's articles so much you wouldn't be commenting at the bottom either. This appears to be a legitimate issue to discuss. If this was the "only" employee Joe interviewed it'd be one thing, but he says there are more coming. I'm interested in what former MS employees have to say, personally.
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|This just in, only a very small population of normal people read "the blogsphere" about silly techno-religious banter. No one is actually "a buzz" about about whether Microsoft innovates or not.
I know you probably love your job. But this is a little over dramatic!
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|If this is "News", then I want no part of it. To those of you who insist that "pay" sites are not worth it, this is what we end up with - rumor mongering and sensationalism. Neither of which is "journalism".
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|I'm not convinced that if I pay for it I will get better information.
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|And what news agency does Joe Wilcox work for exactly?
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|While I do agree with the fact that paid doesn't always mean better, I can't ignore the sentiment that Betanews doesn't happen to be a great site for only news. If you check out every week in review, almost half of the articles seem to be opinion type pieces (obviously not all Joe Wilcox of course but I'd be lying if he wasn't a major contributor) while some of the other related material seem not so news worthy such as "Things we stuck tetris on." At least the opinion pieces this week were a bit more spot on such as the interviews with former MS employees which could be news worthy if there wasn't a slightly antiMS bias message right before the interview blurb. The other happened to be based on Engadget and their comments but with the community here, I'm not sure if Carmi should be commenting seeing as you also have random negative scoring on comments based on opinion rather than fact and relevancy. At least he acknowledges the slant towards Apple and doesn't try to hide the fact which says a lot about the current readership from the top.
For those who could care less reading about the weekly pissing contest between Microsoft and Apple, there -are- other sites not so focused on the two companies. Incoming negative score?
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