I was asked to comment on the shakeup at Microsoft and this post in the New Yorker.
So, here are a few bullet points of my initial thoughts…
- Fear snuffs out creativity.
- Taking smart even brilliant people and having them compete to avoid failure breaks every rule of how to build motivation and morale.
- It is obvious that Microsoft didn’t know how to build effective working teams — either in the management of the enterprise or the the creation of ideas to make the enterprise competitive.
- Brilliance without heart is not sustainable.
- Steve Jobs was, at times tyrannical, but he had a sense of the team, of how to motivate and challenge individuals.
I could go on and on.
Just because you’re intelligent doesn’t mean you’re smart – whether you’re an individual, or a organization.
My Thoughts & Theories 
How did Ballmer get to be CEO? He must have shown something special to get there. Jobs was ousted by Apple, at least Ballmer is going out on his own terms.
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I like that assessment Rod!
Bob Brock VP of Legal and Managed Services Office 704-227-7758 Mobile 704-502-7471
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Interesting and provocative assessment to be sure Rod. How to institutionalize more responsive, creative and daring leadership in large corporations — particularly with most stakeholders (i.e., investors) primarily interested in ROI, however pretty or ugly that might be — is the question, is it not? That’s probably more than a simple, if obvious, shift in perspective. Or a simple matter of education. How do you approach such a thing at the institutional level Rod??
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