08-27-2013, 04:05 PM | #46 |
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08-27-2013, 04:37 PM | #47 |
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I don't get the point of this type of comment that I see from time to time. It's not a question of whether Microsoft has managed to stay afloat, or make XX dollars in revenue, the question is whether a better CEO would have made a difference in comparison to Ballmer? Apparently the board thinks so, and I agree. Ballmer is not in the same league as the top tier, like Musk, Bezos, etc. Ballmer is a shouting, sweaty, salesman. That might have worked in the 70s and 80s, but not anymore.
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08-27-2013, 04:38 PM | #48 | |
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BOb |
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08-27-2013, 04:42 PM | #49 |
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You know, it's funny how everyone clamps on to a single incident to judge a person or a single product to judge a company, etc.
For example, you hear people all the time saying, Microsoft doesn't innovate. Yet, when the release Windows 8 everyone complained and said they were sticking with Windows XP? Really? You can't have it both ways. I'm not saying Balmer is the perfect CEO, but MS DID make money... that was the point of Microsoft and the CEOs job. Did they make products people didn't like? Erm... sure. Also, there is no way to go back 10 years, plop a different CEO in place and see if MS does better. So, "would someone have done better" is 100% speculation. BOb |
08-27-2013, 05:29 PM | #50 | |
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http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...ace_RT_debacle http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08...mer_time_to_go |
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08-27-2013, 06:04 PM | #51 | |
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Microsoft customers are more interested in productivity than coolness or philosophical purity so they're less likely to be emotionally invested in the products or the company. That makes neither the product nor the company inferior to their competitors, merely quietly effective and slow to counter product libel. Would a hype-master have been more effective in selling Microsoft products to the masses, maybe. But corporate IT rarely buys into hype-fests; witness the limited success of Apple in the corporate world, even when they tried under Jobs. Whatever the masses may think, Ballmer knows account control. |
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08-29-2013, 05:18 AM | #52 | |
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08-29-2013, 07:20 AM | #53 | |
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Those are long term commitments and recurring revenue generators. One "sale" doesn't generate a few dollars or even a few hundred dollars in profit but thousands to millions. And, because of the interlocking synergy of their offerings, selling a customer on one of their corporate products brings along, sooner or later, sales of the others. It is a very stable business to be in and MS has managed it extremely well, beating off all challengers for 20 years and counting. And Ballmer had at least a bit to do with it. |
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08-29-2013, 08:05 AM | #54 |
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He has a bit to do with it, because he sits in the CEO chair while MS exploits their monopolistic position. He's been a placeholder, and the board wants him gone.
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08-29-2013, 12:13 PM | #55 |
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I'm pretty sure it is analyst Patrick Morehead that is saying this. It is supposition only from some interpretation of his farewell email and how closely it coincides with the $900 million write down on Surface RT units.
However, correlation does not mean causation. I'm not saying it wasn't the boards choice, but when there was a Balmer vs Sinofsky spat you see who came out on top, mostly due to Gates supporting Balmer all the way. I'm not saying it isn't a boards decision, but that certainly isn't what the official communication is saying. BOb |
08-31-2013, 08:39 AM | #56 |
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Here's a pretty interesting article on Ballmer and his behaviour at Microsoft:
http://www.kernelmag.com/comment/ana...t-it-too-much/ |
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