Microsoft is a mature business. Which gives it the same advantages and disadvantages that mature people have. They know a lot. But they become stodgy and set in their ways. Mature people, who want to shed weight, exercise and experiment with diets. Mature businesses cut payroll and experiment with business strategies. Some people succeed, some corporations fail.Because there is no fountain of corporate youth.
Some companies – General Electric springs to mind – seem to retain a vibrancy as they age. Most companies die. Will Microsoft? I don’t know. But to this layman, it seems they are invested in an LP business, while living in a digital world.
A clue to the direction of Microsoft’s future lies in a “State of the Company” memo written by its current CEO, Satya Nadella. In it, he says that everyone at Microsoft must find ways to simplify, work faster and more efficiently. But the memo itself belies the message. It is 3,100 words long. And includes such gems as:
“We will create more natural human-computing interfaces that empower all individuals.” - (In English) “We’ll make it easier to use our products.”
“We will increase the fluidity of information and ideas by taking actions to flatten the organization and develop leaner business processes. Culture change means we will do things differently.” - “We’ll fire half the administration”.
“We think about productivity for people, teams and the business processes of entire organizations as one interconnected digital substrate. We also think about interconnected platforms for individuals, IT and developers. This comprehensive view enables us to solve the more complex, nuanced and real-world day-to-day challenges in an increasingly digital world.” - “We’ll think of everything.”
My suggestion to Mr. Nadella is to try again. To help him out I have written a new draft.
“Dear fellow Microsofters,
Things are so-so with the company. To do better we need a leaner company, building better products. If you have game, you’ll keep your job.
We must remember that we can only be successful if we put the customer first. And give him products that he can understand; that work with the other stuff she owns; and that work well at work and home.
We want the big stuff to work with the little stuff and still be secure. We must make stuff that generates profits for business and an income for the individual.
And don’t forget the gaming – Xbox is huge.
We’ll make production quicker. And educate the staff.
To all of you that remain after the purge, I look forward to a better year. Or we’ll have to do this again.
Best, Satya
PS. I was going to use, “Think Different” - but I was told me that someone already had.
(146 words)
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