Break out the 2.5s

To all Microsoft Managers: looking at those 3.0s on your team you're about to send up to the big model in the sky, you have to ask yourself: do they deserve 3.0? Should they really get 2.5?

Now more than ever, it's time to stop letting poor-achievers slip by and start smacking them on the butt with a well deserved 2.5. Smack! And don't let the door-knob hit ya where the dog shoulda bit ya!

For those that don't know, a 2.5 is effectively the career-ending kiss of death. It means: I'm going to fire you unless you make sudden, startling change for the better, which I'm about to detail at great length. This has to be change that I believe you'll continue for the long-term, not just for the short-term that you're scared to death of getting fired.

Thing is, we have some bad folk in Microsoft. They got hired during the Big Boom before the bubble's pop. And baby, they are holding onto their jobs now with the big Microsoft like nobody's business. And they're just causing harm. Doing enough to get by, writing crappy code, doing crappy testing, and designing crappy features.

And holding Microsoft down as we try to get by with good-enough people.

While giving a 2.5 might complicate your life in the short-term, in the long-term it is the absolutely best thing to do. Just do it. 2.5!!!