tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post116045194922277678..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Random October BitsWho da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1166721323071450562006-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:002006-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:00"As for the field Sales Districts they are all abo..."As for the field Sales Districts they are all about politics. People aren't rewarded on quality of work, they are rewarded on quality of suck-up. There was a highly succesful Sales rep I heard about last week for one of the largest OEM accounts that was being forced to voluntarily take a new position for some failure on his part (imagined anyway), then his replacement shows up at an offsite gets drunk and tells people, yeah I called my buddy told him I was tired of California so he's going to fire some guy and give me his job. Oracle now has a great Account Exec. A major Microsoft customer now has a new Account Exec and some yutz from California got to move. Yep. All upside."<BR/><BR/>Dear Anon: I was part of the game of telephone that led to your self-pitying buddy telling you this story. The "imagined" failure was a class-A f'up undermining big mgmt in front of the customer, and his mgr showed a lot of class trying to find him a place in MSFT where he couldn't hurt anything. I don't know the yutz from Cali, but good luck to the "great AE's" new mgmt at Oracle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1162786635308184322006-11-05T20:17:00.000-08:002006-11-05T20:17:00.000-08:00>>>> "Sir, your argument will carry a lot more wei...<I>>>>> "Sir, your argument will carry a lot more weight with some tangible evidence we can sink our teeths into."<BR/><BR/>>> ExtremeMSFTMakeover said:<BR/>Agree and it will arrive shortly via the quarterlies when we see how much buying MSFT has been doing.</I><BR/><BR/><BR/>Now that the quarterly is out, it's now obvious that <B>ExtremeMSFTMakeover</B> was barking up the wrong tree all along... Tsk, tsk...<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>>> MSFTExtremeMakeover, nice insight about the stock ticking green.<BR/><BR/>>>I assume you are wise and going short on MSFT...</I><BR/><BR/>That would have been quite expensive for MSFTExtremeMakeover...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161844524071944522006-10-25T23:35:00.000-07:002006-10-25T23:35:00.000-07:00MIT, Berkeley, Stanford and CMU are in a different...MIT, Berkeley, Stanford and CMU are in a different league from the rest of the top 10 CS schools like Maryland, Brown, GTech, UW, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161793606546025062006-10-25T09:26:00.000-07:002006-10-25T09:26:00.000-07:00Limit the influx of CSGs to FTEs, please. We can l...Limit the influx of CSGs to FTEs, please. We can let some of the top CSGs in if they can pass a real hiring loop, but no "wholesale" conversion. Please help keep our company as sane.<BR/><BR/>I have about 50 friends across the company. They work in Windows Core, DevDiv, Office, windows mobile, xbox groups.<BR/><BR/>Most of them are rock stars. And we all got graduate degrees from top engineering schools: MIT, Standford, Berkeley, CMU, UMich, UW-Madison, GeorgeTech, Maryland, Brown, etc. <BR/><BR/>Who said CMU graduates are not team players?? The number of CMU alumni I know --- they all rock and are great team players too. And now most of them are managers, of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161665407956779462006-10-23T21:50:00.000-07:002006-10-23T21:50:00.000-07:00Just can't stand it. I want to get in a reply to ...Just can't stand it. I want to get in a reply to this for blogsterity (blog posterity).<BR/><BR/>anonymous said...<BR/><I>In most cases, a confident & talented programmer would never want to be a contractor. They simply are not good enough to pass a real MS loop.<BR/></I><BR/>You're entitled to your opinion of course, but my experience differs. I'm sure back in the day, the decision to interview at MS was a no-brainer because of the near-certain potential for rewards. Guess what? No longer will 5 years at MS net you enough to retire or at least take some time off to enjoy life. There <I>are</I> better opportunities out there. One of our best CSGs has been banging on Google's door relentlessly for a year; he was offered a low-level grunt dev job there, but he's holding out for a lead position, and contracting at Microsoft in the interim. We've almost convinced him to <I>consider</I> Microsoft the next time our group has an FTE position open.<BR/><I><BR/>We all know how these CSG->FTE interview loops are like - a show loop for HR only... The truth is, these conversions mostly happen within the team where a CSG has been with for some time - and likely the only entry point a CSG can find to get blue badge.<BR/></I><BR/>Now THAT is true. If your degree is not from a top-10 engineering school, and you don't have a famous former employer, you'll likely never get through the HR resume screen in my part of Microsoft. Going CSG for a while brings you to the attention of people who otherwise wouldn't know you from Adam. I got my first request to do an FTE interview loop less than two months into my contract. But regards to CSG->FTE interviews being all show, I know at least one <I>very</I> high quality contributor who didn't get through his loop, because he drew a set of interviewers that didn't mesh well with his more-reserved personality. I know another CSG from our group who interviewed in a different group and didn't get an offer. This worked out well for us, as we had never intended for another group to get first choice on a candidate we were interested in; we subsequently interviewed and hired him, and all were happy.<BR/><I><BR/>As a long timer, my personal observation is that the vast majority of these converted from CSGs are nowhere near the quality of an industry or a college hire.<BR/><BR/>There are some exceptions, but very rare.<BR/></I><BR/>It depends on the quality of CSG you bring in. Some groups are good at it. Most groups aren't, or perhaps they have different goals than ours does. We're pickier about our CSGs than I think many groups are. Our group has exec visibility to the Ray Ozzie level and we work on some of the "next big things." Plus, we have a recruiter who's good at turning over rocks. Consequently, we seem to engage talented CSGs most of the time, many of whom are Valley refugees like myself. This is not usual, but is proof that it can be done IF that's the best thing for your group.<BR/><BR/>I'm weary of the whining that industry hires, particularly those that come in initially as CSGs, are not as good as CMU newbies. That just isn't the case. I find that industry hires have more realistic expectations, less arrogance and more of a team-player mentality than the recent CMU and Cambridge grads our group has hired. The latter come with great aptitude and credentials, but also a disturbing sense of entitlement that's almost completely not present in CSGs.<BR/><BR/>Isn't that same type of entitlement mentality one of the most disturbing things about The 900?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161473432019240432006-10-21T16:30:00.000-07:002006-10-21T16:30:00.000-07:00In most cases, a confident & talented programmer w...In most cases, a confident & talented programmer would never want to be a contractor. They simply are not good enough to pass a real MS loop.<BR/><BR/>We all know how these CSG->FTE interview loops are like - a show loop for HR only... The truth is, these conversions mostly happen within the team where a CSG has been with for some time - and likely the only entry point a CSG can find to get blue badge.<BR/><BR/>As a long timer, my personal observation is that the vast majority of these converted from CSGs are nowhere near the quality of an industry or a college hire.<BR/><BR/>There are some exceptions, but very rare.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161460259724509062006-10-21T12:50:00.000-07:002006-10-21T12:50:00.000-07:00"I can't wait to see the look on the faces of all ...<I>"I can't wait to see the look on the faces of all those who bailed out of Microsoft when the going got rough, but who will now want a piece of the action once things take off. It will be poetic justice for those of us who toughed it out through the dark hours."</I><BR/><BR/>As one of those who bailed out <B>twice</B> during those dark years, I can tell you that this is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. If I was ever to come back to MSFT for a third time (and don't think the recruiters haven't been calling), I'd walk in with wages far exceeding what I would have been able to get if I'd stuck around getting 4.0s and not being able to beat the increases in the cost of living with my crappy raises.<BR/><BR/>Microsoft won't reward your loyalty. Microsoft is a company. A company with a zillion people working for it. Microsoft doesn't care that you stuck around. The minute that money can be saved by not having you around, you'll be gone. Ask an STE if you can find one of them around since most of that work got moved to China and India.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161454494111180872006-10-21T11:14:00.000-07:002006-10-21T11:14:00.000-07:00>> If your team is counting on people converted >>...>> If your team is counting on people converted <BR/>>> from contractors to succeed..blah blah blah<BR/><BR/>As opposed to people who were lucky enough to know the right answers to questions they were asked during an interview loop? Besides, contractors go through the same five hour interview loop when converting to FTE as everyone else. It's not like they just get "converted" somehow.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I've seen some GREAT contractors turn FTE, particularly in Test (I've never seen an SDE contractor). Before they're even given an opportunity to go through a loop, their MSFT managers will look long and hard on how well they know their shit. <BR/><BR/>In other words, I don't see how a contractor-turned-FTE is any worse than a brand new FTE off the street.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161452478871015552006-10-21T10:41:00.000-07:002006-10-21T10:41:00.000-07:00Regarding "A"s hire "A"s, "B"s hire "C"s:Do you kn...Regarding "A"s hire "A"s, "B"s hire "C"s:<BR/><BR/>Do you know the pushback I get when I opt to give a candidate a no-hire, even after I've been right twice? And yes, that implies that twice, I was the only no-hire, and we've got two deadwoods now that I'd warned against.<BR/><BR/>See, apparently outside the ivory tower there are these unfortunate things in the real world called headcount budgets. And managers are sometimes told that open headcount that is not filled will be going away as of a certain date. When that happens, they do what they have to do, and hope that the person they hire will take at least SOME work off existing staff, even if they don't take a full person's work off existing staff. The theory is that SOME help is better than none.<BR/><BR/>In one of the two cases I mention above, it backfired. The person requires a substantial amount of help from other staff, to such an extent that we probably would be better off without him around. The manager is reluctant to get rid of him, as that would look bad for the manager, so instead he's told us to find simple, repetitive things we can explain to this person and then have them do.<BR/><BR/>This particular individual was in fact a contractor for our team before being hired full time. He has a pedigree from one of those Great Schools (TM). And after 8 months FTE, he is still not cutting it.<BR/><BR/>Conversely: our team also has 5 great FTE's who started out as contractors. The team's allotment of exceeded/outstanding's this year went to two of them. Here's how we do it. Our team has a policy of having one high-potential CSG at all times, so that if need be, that person can step in at a moment's notice, in a more critical role. (People go on parental leave, have 4 weeks of leave to use up even during Vista ship times, and the like. It's useful to have spare talent on the technical bench, and a CSG is the easiest way we've found to get it.) Our team is, overall, a good one. Also we apparently have our Volt rep trained on the caliber of CSG we want. So frequently these CSGs convert to FTE around the 10th month. We've had good luck for the most part.<BR/><BR/>So I disagree that it's the CSG -> FTE path that's the problem everywhere.<BR/><BR/>In some places, like ours, it's the pressure to hire before the req expires that causes difficulty. As too many of us know, it's just not as easy to get the good candidates as it used to be. I'm a former CSG. Yes, I'm one of the two exceeded/outstandings. A SillyValley startup kind of guy, I never would have dreamed of working for a company as huge as Microsoft until I took a contract on a lark 5 years ago and found out (to my surprise, to be honest) that the team I was assigned to was full of engineers as talented as those I'd worked with at other companies. The company never could have hired me WITHOUT the CSG program, because a one-day interview would not have been enough to convince me that Microsoft can be a great place for that top 3-5% or so of technical standouts, as well as Jim Gray and Anders -level top 0.001% superstars.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161407877658290432006-10-20T22:17:00.000-07:002006-10-20T22:17:00.000-07:00If anyone hasn't visited the internal blog from Li...If anyone hasn't visited the internal blog from LisaB you should do so. Only one topic post up there, but a huge amount of comments. And I am STUNNED at the candor in the comments. Nobody is pulling any punches. I don't see double posts from here, but I do see similar themes. It's sort of like Mini is shaking a champagne bottle and aiming at the internal blog before popping the cork. Funny stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161406339070759482006-10-20T21:52:00.000-07:002006-10-20T21:52:00.000-07:00Today's Microsoft needs top talents more than ever...Today's Microsoft needs top talents more than ever before. One of the above posts said it well: <BR/><BR/>"A"s hire "A"s, "B"s hire "C"s.<BR/><BR/>If your team is counting on people converted from contractors to succeed, then ms will be better served by handing your team/project over to Volt. Probably your team's management needs some training in hiring and managing projects.<BR/><BR/>A much better choice: go to the top engineering schools and get some master/phd graduates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161396553476844372006-10-20T19:09:00.000-07:002006-10-20T19:09:00.000-07:00RE: My exposure has been within the PSS/CSS org w...RE: My exposure has been within the PSS/CSS org where the time as CSG has frequently been considered a 1-year job interview. <BR/><BR/>I see this as a great hiring strategy if it is used more widely. A couple of the worst people on my team are people who were hired recently based solely on their interviews. It would have been great to have had a trial period with these people so we could have let them go after seeing how they work. Now, they are just part of the accumulating deadwood at Microsoft. A couple of the CSGs we have hired recently however have been awesome and we knew that they would be in advance of converting them to FTEs. Something to think about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161367403237607602006-10-20T11:03:00.000-07:002006-10-20T11:03:00.000-07:00I work in the field. In MCS. As an engagement mana...<I>I work in the field. In MCS. As an engagement manager.<BR/><BR/>Oh I feel a fake...<BR/><BR/>There isn't necessarily a huge difference between the bonus for a high performing consultant and a high performing TS. Both are in the 40-50% arena.<BR/><BR/>Definitely a fake. Move on, nothing to see here.</I><BR/><BR/>I guess we'll have to agree to differ. My comments definitely aren't fake. It's tough to prove otherwise on an anonymous blog. I know my own facts for my own performance and those of some DR's - maybe it's widely different across regions. I dunno. What would I have to achieve by lying, huh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161323510009666942006-10-19T22:51:00.000-07:002006-10-19T22:51:00.000-07:00>Having a CS degree is a more stringent requiremen...>Having a CS degree is a more stringent requirement than for PM, sadly enough. I know PMs with degrees in English and History (these ppl should be fired btw).<BR/><BR/>Christ, yes. I'm tired of dealing with PMs who have to be explicitly told what they should be doing and yet still manage to drop the ball.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161313020840303342006-10-19T19:57:00.000-07:002006-10-19T19:57:00.000-07:00I work in the field. In MCS. As an engagement mana...<I> I work in the field. In MCS. As an engagement manager.</I><BR/><BR/>Oh I feel a fake...<BR/><BR/><I>There isn't necessarily a huge difference between the bonus for a high performing consultant and a high performing TS. <B>Both are in the 40-50% arena.</B></I><BR/><BR/>Definitely a fake. Move on, nothing to see here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161312360197763402006-10-19T19:46:00.000-07:002006-10-19T19:46:00.000-07:00Wellll clicky there. Looks like the new internal H...<B>Wellll</B> clicky there. Looks like the new internal HR-leadership sponsored blog has launched (<I>10/20/06 Micronews</I>).<BR/><BR/>Any initial impressions? Are you likely to participate now? Or later?<BR/><BR/>I'm going to have to think about the quarterly meetings to improve Microsofties "blogging savvy." <BR/><BR/>Microsoft is the most blog savvy company there is. <B>Period</B>. What exactly is broke that needs fixing?Who da'Punkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161299457599040012006-10-19T16:10:00.000-07:002006-10-19T16:10:00.000-07:00"You get what you wished for. A flat and leaner or..."You get what you wished for. A flat and leaner organization in many places. GMs, PUMs and Directots all got reassigned (read "demoted") to take on "real world" roles. They were kicked but not fired. Most of the managers stepped down to be a lead or IC. Dev leads turn into tech leads or ICs."<BR/><BR/>That's flatter. How is it leaner? Sounds like just another attempt at pretending to enforce true accountability. Until the price for failure is that you're gone not merely reassigned or demoted, then by and large it's just ineffectual business as usual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161298918136570672006-10-19T16:01:00.000-07:002006-10-19T16:01:00.000-07:00"Let's see how those top level VPs/Directors could..."Let's see how those top level VPs/Directors could change the world post Vista."<BR/><BR/>Why don't we start with some less lofty goals - like say, shipping the product and maybe generating some earnings acceleration to justify their recent $1B bonus?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161275435320666962006-10-19T09:30:00.000-07:002006-10-19T09:30:00.000-07:00There isn't necessarily a huge difference between ...<I>There isn't necessarily a huge difference between the bonus for a high performing consultant and a high performing TS. Both are in the 40-50% arena. </I><BR/><BR/>BS.<BR/><BR/>Outstanding/Strong + level up.<BR/><BR/>Bonus 20% + Promo 5%<BR/><BR/>It's fact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161274030154872312006-10-19T09:07:00.000-07:002006-10-19T09:07:00.000-07:00Somebody asked: "There's been a lot of talk here a...Somebody asked: "There's been a lot of talk here about a RIF right after Vista.<BR/><BR/>Does anyone know which groups will be impacted?"<BR/><BR/>Ballmer just increased our R&D budget by 20 percent. I do not see 20% salary/perks increase. So obviously the extra R&D budget will be spent on paying salary to more people unless this extra 20% is just SPSA grant of one billion dollars.<BR/><BR/>Bottomline: see some more hiring because of increased budget.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161272720408224752006-10-19T08:45:00.000-07:002006-10-19T08:45:00.000-07:00Anonymous said:> I stopped contributing when my ye...Anonymous said:<BR/>> I stopped contributing when my year over year raise fell below inflation, without problems.<BR/><BR/>For a minute, I thought "good for you", but then I realized you were talking about charitable contribution, and not your work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161262678555919982006-10-19T05:57:00.000-07:002006-10-19T05:57:00.000-07:00"I guess you are mentally stressful now since it h...<I>"I guess you are mentally stressful now since it hits you like a firestorm. You never expect that St***Si will be so determined and insensitive, right? In the next few weeks, we shall know that whether you still have your job at Microsoft. I won;t be surprise that you follow Scoble's footstep."</I><BR/><BR/>IMO, Mini's dreams are about the human spirit, Scoble's about the excitement of the marketplace and innovation. Mini's a caregiver, Scoble a caretaker. Scoble left because his dreams weren't coming true; Mini stays because, his dreams...are.<BR/><BR/>Min'll go back to his desk; in fact, he doesn't want to leave it. But, he'll still be true to his mantra: "Chastise me, please, should I stumble into falsehoods. But not for shinning a light and remarking, "whoa, that stinks!""<BR/><BR/>Microsofties, trust me, you do not want Mini to leave. And, trust me, he won't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161253672346457872006-10-19T03:27:00.000-07:002006-10-19T03:27:00.000-07:00"However, I've never heard of MCS promoting a cust...<I>"However, I've never heard of MCS promoting a custom dev solution when our products can achieve the same thing. Given that MCS costs roughly 1.5 to 2 times the cost of partners, and headcount is relatively low, it's tough to figure out how MCS could adopt this approach in reality."<BR/><BR/>Then you need to get out in the field more. And re costs, once the customer trusts MSFT, they often take MCS's words for things. If the engagement manager says this is the way to go, the rest normally becomes a price negotiation not a credibility confrontation. I would concede that this isn't just about billable $. In many cases, MCS just lacks the awareness of what else is out there (MS and especially 3rd pty). They're too busy just trying to meet their utilization rates billing for stuff they know, far less getting any in depth feel for what other options exist. This is not dissimilar from other consulting houses, but then MCS isn't meant to be just like the rest.</I><BR/><BR/>I posted the original "calling BS" comment. I work in the field. In MCS. As an engagement manager. I stand by my comment - in my region anyway. I can't speak for other parts of the globe.<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>From a role perspective, you should choose wisely whether you want to be a TS (Technical Specialist) or a consultant. As a TS, you are basically a salesperson, and you are compensated based upon that. A successful TS can get a much larger bonus than a consultant. As a consultant, you will be compensated based upon utilization, but only up to a certain point. The bonuses are very small, depend strongly on the success of your pratice over which you have 0 control, and your best bet for advancement is to get a promotion. But you'll get to do more technical work.</I><BR/><BR/>There isn't necessarily a huge difference between the bonus for a high performing consultant and a high performing TS. Both are in the 40-50% arena. For low performing consultants, the bonus pot is less than a low performing TS. But because the compensation plan differs, the MCS people get a higher base salary so it pretty much evens out for the lower performers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161243112852275622006-10-19T00:31:00.000-07:002006-10-19T00:31:00.000-07:00"In the case of testers at least, there, I have se..."In the case of testers at least, there, I have seen quite a few CSG's get in. Nowadays, it means that they need to have at the minimum a Computer Sciences degree. I have observed that in many cases, if they are among the Blessed Ones (righ color or "hispanics" whatever the hell this last one is), they'll get in withoug fail during or at the end of their first contract as "diversity hires"<BR/>----------------<BR/><BR/>Having a CS degree is a more stringent requirement than for PM, sadly enough. I know PMs with degrees in English and History (these ppl should be fired btw).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1161239009401417762006-10-18T23:23:00.000-07:002006-10-18T23:23:00.000-07:00************************************ Mini, they ca...***********************************<BR/>* Mini, they caught you right?<BR/>***********************************<BR/>--------<BR/><BR/>heh ... based upon what ..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com