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Satya Nadella becomes Microsoft's new CEO - will things change?

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40hz:
Food for thought as the new StarFleet captain arrives on the bridge



Lessons From Ballmer's Microsoft
As a new CEO takes charge, a look back at Ballmer’s era provides key tech management lessons.
February 4, 2014 - By Rob Enderle   


Now that Satya Nadella has been announced as Steve Ballmer’s replacement, many of us are focused on both retrospectives and outlooks based on Ballmer’s reign and Satya’s skillset.  But focus appears to be more on the events – not on the foundations for them, so the lessons tend to be lost in the rhetoric of blame, particularly for the failures.  

However, the causes for things like Zune and Windows Vista had little to do with Steve and a lot to do with the organizational structure of Microsoft, particularly the loss of key human assets like Bill Gates, Brad Chase, and Brad Silverberg.  They also had to do with an early decision by Steve Ballmer to stop being Microsoft’s cheerleader and instead become kind of a Stepford CEO.  

Let’s talk about the “why” behind Microsoft’s decade slide...
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Read the full article here.

wraith808:
How To Succeed In Business (Without Really Being Satya Nadella)

40hz:
@Wraith - thx for that link! Also an excellent article. :Thmbsup:

wraith808:
My favorite parts -
(1) he's nice.
(2) he requested advice from Bill in order to succeed.

I think the telling part is actually the second part, though I just like that someone can get to that lofty level, and still retain basic respect for others.  Ballmer always seemed to try to distance himself from Gates.  I always thought that was a losing proposition.  Nadella seems to realize this.

40hz:
My favorite parts -
(1) he's nice.
-wraith808 (February 05, 2014, 02:50 PM)
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+1! :Thmbsup:

I know from first hand experience that 'nice' is an approach that works. 8)

Having worked for GE, I'm also glad somebody finally called bullshit on the "Forced Ranking" process mentioned in that first article. Rob Enderle got it spot on the sugar. It was yet another blunt-instrument "Neutron Jack" solution to a unique problem at GE. Unfortunately, it was adopted - and then became institutionalized - in far too many other places. With predictable results.
 :-\

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