In its August issue, Vanity Fair offers analysis of what the article describes as the “astonishingly foolish management decisions” at Microsoft that “could serve as a business-school case study on the pitfalls of success.”
According to the article, Microsoft’s “stack ranking” — where all employees are ranked as top performers, good performers, average, and poor — was “the most destructive process inside of Microsoft, something that drove out untold numbers of employees” and eventually “crippled Microsoft’s ability to innovate.”
The company’s focus on Windows and Office blinded them to opportunities in emerging technologies. “Ideas about mobile computing with a user experience that was cleaner than with a PC were deemed unimportant by a few powerful people in that division, and they managed to kill the effort,” suggests the article.
“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.”
Vanity Fair notes that today the Apple iPhone “generates more revenue than all of Microsoft’s wares combined.”
“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.”
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