Speaking from experience, innovation is VERY difficult to achieve from within the Microsoft organization. It's not impossible. It's just hard. Microsoft is a co

Speaking from experience, innovation is VERY difficult to achieve from within the Microsoft organization. It's not impossible. It's just hard. Microsoft is a collection of loosely related fiefdoms linked at the VP level, which is easily 8 or more reporting levels above the normal joe level of software engineers and PM's. You need to have the ear of some very important people to get things done, which just probably won't happen for most. Innovative organizations seem to be of two types: a) top down design leadership like Apple, or more likely b) bottom up environment that allows innovation to happen organically. SteveB and most of the VP's don't have the product design gifts Steve Jobs has, so A is out of the question. Unfortunately, Microsoft is so large and un-agile that B is impossible as well.