4 ms·

I admit to not liking Ballmer from what I've seen, but how much can one person really control a company? Would Ballmer walking out tomorrow really change enoug

I admit to not liking Ballmer from what I've seen, but how much can one person really control a company? Would Ballmer walking out tomorrow really change enough? If products really are uninspiring enough to employees, etc. then that has to be the fault of a more general group of people: at least spanning several executives, managers of product teams, and the behavior of many employees. To some extent many of Microsoft's senior employees are now reaping what they have sown in recent years. Ballmer will surely be blamed, and isn't blameless, but a lot more would have to change to make a difference.

jameskilton 15y ago
I wouldn't say Ballmer isn't to blame, it's probably a half-and-half situation. There's so many stories of back-stabbing and politics taking precedence over great products that it's no surprise the company has completely stagnated. On the Ballmer front it is telling that the stock price hasn't grown since Gates stepped down, but it's impossible to prove if that's correlation or causation.
ed209 15y ago
what you say is probably true, but setting the tone of a company starts at the top. If a certain culture has filtered its way through the company then of course that will not change overnight with a new boss, but that's where it would start.
ytNumbers 15y ago
At such a huge company, can one man really turn things around? Sure. When it's the right man. They just need a leader like Steve Jobs.
lonnyk 15y ago
IMO everything is top down. If Sr. Execs and Managers are the problem then it is the CEOs job to notice the problem and ensure it gets fixed.
rbanffy 15y ago
> how much can one person really control a company? If he isn't in control, then who is?
bradleyland 15y ago
"...how much can one person really control a company?" Swap "control" with "lead", and you've got a valid question. Leadership is job #1 for a CEO. You must have the confidence of your employees if you want to lead. I can't understand how anyone could have confidence in Ballmer at this point. He's called it so incredibly wrong in so many cases. I'm not saying that Microsoft should adjust their business strategy to match that of their competitors, but Ballmer just so completely misunderstands his competitor's successes that I can't see how he can be expected to formulate a counter-strategy. Not only was he wrong, but he was utterly confident in his assessment. How does a guy like that lead anyone who has a clue?

jameskilton 15y ago

I wouldn't say Ballmer isn't to blame, it's probably a half-and-half situation. There's so many stories of back-stabbing and politics taking precedence over great products that it's no surprise the company has completely stagnated. On the Ballmer front it is telling that the stock price hasn't grown since Gates stepped down, but it's impossible to prove if that's correlation or causation.

ed209 15y ago

what you say is probably true, but setting the tone of a company starts at the top. If a certain culture has filtered its way through the company then of course that will not change overnight with a new boss, but that's where it would start.

ytNumbers 15y ago

At such a huge company, can one man really turn things around? Sure. When it's the right man. They just need a leader like Steve Jobs.

lonnyk 15y ago

IMO everything is top down. If Sr. Execs and Managers are the problem then it is the CEOs job to notice the problem and ensure it gets fixed.

rbanffy 15y ago

> how much can one person really control a company? If he isn't in control, then who is?

bradleyland 15y ago

"...how much can one person really control a company?" Swap "control" with "lead", and you've got a valid question. Leadership is job #1 for a CEO. You must have the confidence of your employees if you want to lead. I can't understand how anyone could have confidence in Ballmer at this point. He's called it so incredibly wrong in so many cases. I'm not saying that Microsoft should adjust their business strategy to match that of their competitors, but Ballmer just so completely misunderstands his competitor's successes that I can't see how he can be expected to formulate a counter-strategy. Not only was he wrong, but he was utterly confident in his assessment. How does a guy like that lead anyone who has a clue?