tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post112908606101324019..comments2024-03-29T04:53:26.072-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Meeting with SteveSi, cat-fights, and then some.Who da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129218924597040392005-10-13T08:55:00.000-07:002005-10-13T08:55:00.000-07:00An oldie that now appears to have been prophetic:M...An oldie that now appears to have been prophetic:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/msapogee.html" REL="nofollow">Microsoft at Apogee</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129187215786387012005-10-13T00:06:00.000-07:002005-10-13T00:06:00.000-07:00(I_LOVE_MEETINGS)MSN is failing, and is mediocre, ...(I_LOVE_MEETINGS)<BR/><I>MSN is failing, and is mediocre, because it is staffed, for the most part, with mediocre people....</I><BR/><BR/>In reading this, i'm completely blown away. I can't believe that a person who has supposedly been at the company this long is so ignorant. Have you ever worked in MSN? I do and it's certainly not as you describe.<BR/><BR/>1. You are generalizing all of MSN to be one team, because we are in Redwest?! That's like someone lumping all of main campus as the same team.<BR/><BR/>2. Nearly all your comments are cheap shots with no evidence to back it up. <BR/><BR/>You claim that our monitors are filled with HDTVs? Not in my building. <BR/><BR/>Somehow we play Halo2 all the time and disguise it with BVT results? Sorry, i guess the pool tables and foozball tables on main campus are the preferred way to waste time (this is my own cheapshot to prove a point). We do not play Halo2 every second of the day.. not sure if I_LOVE_MEETINGS has a cocaine addiction or something more severe.<BR/><BR/>You criticize morale events and near-death teams.. hmm.. Maybe I should start picking on a complete waste of company money on insane morale events taking teams to Las Vegas and Hawaii? Those trips didn't happen out of MSN. And let's not play the "we make money" game, because either way, it's not a responsible use of money. Let's not forget the wonderful Microsoft Bob product that came out of main campus. <BR/><BR/><B>Facts:</B><BR/>1. MSN is not one team. It is made up of dozens of teams each with a different culture, set of employees and management.<BR/><BR/>2. The whole notion of "Redvest" and cheapshots at MSN being a retiring place for execs is simply bogus. Walk around the Redwest campus and look at the age of the folks around you. Do majority of them even look older than 30yrs?<BR/><BR/>3. MSN teams ship products all the time. We're not on 3-6 year ship cycles like our friends over in Windows and Office. We ship often, innovate regularly and are making money.<BR/> <BR/>Let's really see where all the press coverage and fanfare comes from for Microsoft in the next 6-12 months. Sure Vista will release and that will get the obligatory press coverage, but MSN's offerings in the next 12 months will blow people away. If people really think google is the competitor to beat, do you really think Windows and Office are what is going to do it and that's it? You gotta wonder why MSN has funding from the very top most level of the company for all of it's offerings from email, communication, identity, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129171266601397582005-10-12T19:41:00.000-07:002005-10-12T19:41:00.000-07:00who wants to work for a company that is *feared*? ...who wants to work for a company that is *feared*? i dunno, ask the people in Bentonville, Ark. <BR/><BR/>lots of people work there, and the company is feared. i've worked with them on different occassions, and the OrgB that is implemented there creates a certain type of person, or burns them out.<BR/><BR/>And frankly, I wouldnt want to be that type of a person, no matter how lucrative the reward.<BR/><BR/>who knows, maybe thats why microsoft's new CFO came from wally world, to try and implement a WalMart like Software Organization.<BR/><BR/>But, really... Do you want to be known as the WalMart of software?<BR/><BR/>I've noticed that the MSFT obsession with "more features" seems to be like WalMart's "Commitment to Everyday Low Prices". <BR/><BR/>Sometimes, customers dont want the absolute cheapest widget out there, they want something that is higher quality, and a fair price.<BR/><BR/>And sometimes, end users dont want more features, they want a more streamlined application thats easier to use and gives tehm only what they need.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129169419467313322005-10-12T19:10:00.000-07:002005-10-12T19:10:00.000-07:00"Many love us, and many fear us."Who the fuck want..."Many love us, and many fear us."<BR/><BR/>Who the fuck wants to work for a company that is feared? Loved, sure. Respected, definitely. Being feared doesn't mean that you are good. It means that you are a jerk.<BR/><BR/>It is exactly that attitude amongst the management at MSFT that has made every nice person I know get stuck in their level and position while their least talented but most jerky peers are given increasingly more influence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129169382120856452005-10-12T19:09:00.000-07:002005-10-12T19:09:00.000-07:00Mark my words.Write it down in your calendar.This ...<I>Mark my words.<BR/>Write it down in your calendar.<BR/>This blog will collapse on its own weight and success</I><BR/><BR/>True. This blog has started to resemble slashdot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129164801609595082005-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:002005-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:00Mark my words.Write it down in your calendar.This ...<B> Mark my words.<BR/>Write it down in your calendar.<BR/>This blog will collapse on its own weight and success </B><BR/><BR/>I have been reading this blog since the BW article. Frankly, people are ONLY interested in <I>grinding </I> the same topic over and over.<BR/><BR/>You know the problem with people like you is that you have clearly proven that you are not competent to work for MS and you bastards wont quit.<BR/><BR/>How the fuck do you justify some engineer saying that he worked for 5-6 years, calls himself a solid performer and yet gets only a 3.0-3.5 score? Come on man, just because you got through the gruelling interview process, doesnt make you all that smart.<BR/><BR/><BR/>What I see in MS is not a process-driven company, but a company with non-process oriented folks. <BR/><BR/><B><I><BR/>Children, grow up<BR/></B></I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129160931059773152005-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:002005-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:00Fair enough, but I'm not sure that I really deserv...Fair enough, but I'm not sure that I really deserved to be called a "disgusting, chauvinist low-life" for stating my opinion. I'm not really sure how someone calling me those names was a "value-add", especially when grossly misrepresenting what I said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129160251054667602005-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:002005-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:00"Or are you speaking to the person (me) who was in..."Or are you speaking to the person (me) who was in no way offensive or insulting until insulted? If the former, I agree. If the latter, why the double standard?"<BR/><BR/>You knew - or should have - that you were going to take a shot for posting what you did about maternity leave and women taking time off. Personally, I'd just move on. You said what you believed and others will agree or disagree. Getting into a name calling session, regardless of whether you were provoked, doesn't prove anything and actually just detracts from you and your message - not to mention this forum generally. Time to move on. JMHO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129159743389443322005-10-12T16:29:00.000-07:002005-10-12T16:29:00.000-07:00Are you speaking to the person who was offensive a...Are you speaking to the person who was offensive and insulting first that said:<BR/><BR/>"Picking on pregnant women is a disgusting chauvanistic trait."<BR/><BR/>"...seriously, picking on pregnant women? what a low-life."<BR/><BR/>Or are you speaking to the person (me) who was in no way offensive or insulting until insulted? If the former, I agree. If the latter, why the double standard?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129158305386722012005-10-12T16:05:00.000-07:002005-10-12T16:05:00.000-07:00Poster a couple of posts back: if you can't strin...Poster a couple of posts back: if you can't string together a cogent argument AND do so without being offensive, take it somewhere else. You're a non-value-add, and we have enough of those around here. And no, I'm not female.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129156801228040372005-10-12T15:40:00.000-07:002005-10-12T15:40:00.000-07:00"But why would Google want to get involved in pedd..."But why would Google want to get involved in peddling office suites?"<BR/><BR/>Pretty obviously they don't. I think the hope on their part is they can simply redirect their large IB of eyeballs to someone else offering low/no cost Office replacements in hopes that this either hurts MSFT's biggest cash cow (from a profitability perspective) and/or causes MSFT to expend extra cycles ensuring that doesn't happen. Either way, that's good for GOOG. Unfortunately for GOOG, making a dent in Office is likely going to take a whole lot more than simply highlighting OpenOffice - or more likely StarOffice since that's the only one that MSFT can't sue for infringement. But hey, it certainly was ballsy and as the impact on MSFT stock showed, combo of confidence in them and lack of confidence in MSFT made people at least worry it could work...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129156256924536392005-10-12T15:30:00.000-07:002005-10-12T15:30:00.000-07:00"seriously, picking on pregnant women? what a low-..."seriously, picking on pregnant women? what a low-life."<BR/><BR/>Dumbass:<BR/><BR/>I wasn't picking on pregnant women at all, if you bothered to read my post (and you weren't a stupid fuck-tard) you'd realize that I'm picking on the fact that HR doesn't simply remove them from the stack ranking process. Give them all 4.5's for all I care, as long as it doesn't impact my score. Men wouldn't look sympathetic to a judge or jury if they sucked at their job, took three months off and then got a bad review score. Your post proves that anyone doing anything bad to a pregnant woman immediately puts them squarely in the bad guy camp (even though you weren't smart enough to understand what I said). So if they sucked at their job and had a baby, after taking several months of paid time and several more months of unpaid time they come back and get a 3.5 or 4.0 they didn't deserve in the first place. Do you think it's fair that someone in their org, who has been working their ass off all year, will get a lesser score because HR is too stupid to realize it's unfair. I'm not picking on pregnant women at all, I'm pointing out that the policy of judging them with other people is stupid, and morons like you make sure that nothing stupid ever changes. Good job you dimwit. And try fucking reading for once.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129155775290899282005-10-12T15:22:00.000-07:002005-10-12T15:22:00.000-07:00Interesting. With all the bitching going on, nobod...Interesting. With all the bitching going on, nobody is bringing up the design of our products (and the PMs who do the designing). This, in my opinion, is the root cause of our product slips and general awfulness.<BR/><BR/>There are SO MANY **OBVIOUS** ways to improve Windows, Office, MSN, and all our other products that I have no idea why we have PMs at all. Instead of spending our time addressing the annoyances that make computing a pain in the ass, we work overtime to deliver grandiose "strategies" of questionable value. Maybe when the Windows org figures out how to alphabetically sort my Start menu and display it in less than 10 seconds, we can let them move on to WinFS or Avalon or whatever other incomprehensible "pillar" they have lined up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129154695373193582005-10-12T15:04:00.000-07:002005-10-12T15:04:00.000-07:00Maybe one day you'll get married, and understand t...<I>Maybe one day you'll get married, and understand the sacrifices that women go through to have a baby, and worrying that work is going to screw them because they wanted to take care of their babies is a horrible, disgusting choice to force on anyone.</I><BR/><BR/>Maybe one day you will realize that it's pretty sucky to be the employee picking up the slack of the one on maternity/paternity leave. The job is still there to do, and it's not fair to say "I *deserve* this because I choose to have a baby!"<BR/><BR/>No. That is your choice. No one was picking, simply pointing out that women who get knocked up get an edge. I'd think that you would be pleased with that. <BR/><BR/>... and that's not even touching on the women that get the job to get the benefits, get knocked up, suck it for all it's worth, and then quit at the end of their maternity leave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129152003871351982005-10-12T14:20:00.000-07:002005-10-12T14:20:00.000-07:00Why Google Shouldn't Attack Microsoft It makes n...Why Google Shouldn't Attack Microsoft <BR/> <BR/> <BR/>It makes no sense for Google to try to compete with Microsoft on the desktop, and any sign that Google is getting into that business would be evidence that Google has jumped the shark. <BR/><BR/>As all good couch potatoes know, "jumping the shark" is what happens when a good television show goes bad. The name comes from an episode of the 1970s sitcom "Happy Days," where teen idol Fonzie does a waterski jump over a tank full of sharks, to demonstrate how courageous and cool he was. As if that wasn't ridiculous enough, he did it wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket and T-shirt (because nothing says "cool" like a guy wearing swim trunks with a leather jacket). <BR/><BR/>Like TV shows, software companies can jump the shark. It starts happening when the upstart company attracts cheerleaders that say the upstart is the company that's going to take Microsoft down. Microsoft starts believing the hype, and begins to target its massive resources on destroying the upstart. Eventually, the upstart itself believes the hype--and that's the beginning of the end. The software company loses focus on its customers, and instead starts focusing on beating Microsoft. Eventually, the company gets fat and bloated, hemorrhage money, loses market share and customers and--in the final stage--top management bails out, often accompanied by the company being acquired. It happened to Borland, Novell, and, most famously, Netscape. <BR/><BR/>So now Google is acquiring its "Kill Bill" cheerleaders. As reported in this week's InformationWeek, Google cut a deal with Sun to offer Java combined with the Google Toolbar. Prior to the announcement, there was widespread speculation in the blogosphere that Google might be offering Sun's OpenOffice.org, and the two companies fueled that speculation by saying their deal included joint marketing and development of technologies including that office package. <BR/><BR/>One question for those who think Google will offer an office package to compete with Microsoft:<BR/><BR/>Why?<BR/><BR/>Oh, sure, I know why you want it. You hate Microsoft, or at least you want to see some competition for the big ol' monopolist. But why would Google want to get involved in peddling office suites? It's a tough business, requiring companies to maintain and update large amounts of complex code. Moreoever, that code resides on users' desktops, outside of the vendor's control. And getting aggressively into the desktop software business violates one of the secrets to Google's success: the code for its strategic products resides on servers owned and operated by Google, where the company can more easily update and maintain it.<BR/><BR/>Yes, I know that Google offers Google Desktop, a search tool that resides on the user's desktop. But that's the exception; the company's strategic products reside safe and sound on its own servers. <BR/><BR/>If Google gets into the desktop software business in a big way, it'll be competing with Microsoft at Microsoft's own game. Microsoft has nearly a 15-year head start on Google in offering office suites, and Office is the worldwide standard. Yet, even Microsoft is finding the office business to be a tough one. Microsoft's Information Worker business unit, which includes Office, grew revenue only 2% in fiscal 2005, compared with 17% the year before.<BR/><BR/>Nonetheless, the rumors about Google becoming a desktop vendor persist. An article I wrote about the subject in April, 2004 still holds up. In it, I quote blogger Jason Kottke, who says: "Google is building a huge computer with a custom operating system that everyone on earth can have an account on." Kottke said more than 2-1/2 years ago: "Google's money won't be made with search. That's small peanuts compared to selling access to the world's biggest, best, and most cleverly-utilized map of the web."<BR/><BR/>Kottke's prediction then jumps the shark when he speculates about Google selling cheap PCs running Gnome and Linux, tailored to take advantage of the Google service, running their own office suite with built-in Internet collaboration, and priced cheap, cheap, cheap. <BR/><BR/>Why on Earth would Google want to do that, given that Microsoft, Apple, and various desktop Linux vendors, are already supplying desktops for Google users, and assuming all the R&D and support costs without costing Google a penny? <BR/><BR/>If Google is smart--and they do appear to be very smart indeeed--Google will stick to the server-based software model that it's built its success on. If Google is smart, they'll let Microsoft continue in the increasingly-difficult business model of licensing software that users install and run on their own machines. Microsoft is having problems on its 30th birthday; the best thing you can do when your enemy is having problems is just stand back and watch.<BR/><BR/>For an example of Google doing what it does best, see Google Reader, Google's Web-based feed reader for RSS and Atom feeds. I thought I was addicted to feeds before, but since the product was introduced Friday, I've been spending more time than I care to think about just sitting at my desk, tapping the J on my keyboard (which moves the Reader's focus from one item to the next), and browsing my collection of 237 feeds. Behavioral psychologists teach us that the best way to re-enforce repetitive behavior is to offer rewards at random intervals, and that's how Google Reader works. You sit there tapping that J key, and you see interesting articles (the reward) mixed in with boring ones, to create that random re-enforcement. <BR/><BR/>Google needs to stick with innovative, server-based technology like Google Reader. If it decides to get aggressively in the desktop software market ... well, can I suggest that Google's own Froogle service would be a good place to shop for waterskis, swim trunks, and a leather jacket?<BR/><BR/>By the way, for a photo of the Fonz making his death-defying leap, see here. The Jump the Shark site that started the catchphrase is here, and makes for hours of time-wasting browsing fun. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the subject here. Wikipedia writes that the phrase "is used to describe the moment when a television show or similar episodic medium is in retrospect judged to have passed its 'peak' and shows a noticeable decline in quality, or when it has undergone too many changes that take away the original charm and interest of the show" (emphasis added).<BR/><BR/>Posted by Mitch Wagner on Oct 10, 2005 at 05:26 PMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129151614679234362005-10-12T14:13:00.000-07:002005-10-12T14:13:00.000-07:00yes, god forbid that a pregnant woman be given a f...yes, god forbid that a pregnant woman be given a fair shake.<BR/><BR/>i know, lets go back to the old days when women were fired when they got pregnant, thats better. Barefoot and pregnant at home in the kitchen.<BR/><BR/>You do know, that men can take paternity leave, too, right? Do you have a problem with that?<BR/><BR/>Picking on pregnant women is a disgusting chauvanistic trait. Maybe one day you'll get married, and understand the sacrifices that women go through to have a baby, and worrying that work is going to screw them because they wanted to take care of their babies is a horrible, disgusting choice to force on anyone.<BR/><BR/>seriously, picking on pregnant women? what a low-life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129150873670712352005-10-12T14:01:00.000-07:002005-10-12T14:01:00.000-07:00Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh. But then again, ...Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh. But then again, if management at Microsoft were doing it's job I wouldn't feel the need to be. The interesting thing is, I haven't suffered from most of the things I listed, but I've seen so many that have it's painful to think about. The worst part is, no one can say "this is crap, that girl was gone for six months having a baby and I was working my ass off". God forbid they simply remove pregnant women from the curve/review process while they're gone. They're still part of t he stack rank. This company is truly going downhill, most of the people who were worth anything left. I think I speak for most of the company when I say to SteveB "thanks for the speech at the Company Meeting, yada, yada, keep giving me a paycheck while I search for a better job online during the day".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129150212869733362005-10-12T13:50:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:50:00.000-07:00"* Rephrase other peoples suggestions and comment ..."* Rephrase other peoples suggestions and comment on them positively if they are well received, negatively if they are not (I've met people who are simply masters at this, it generally serves them well)."<BR/><BR/>Found your comments pretty harsh overall but this one is accurate. On a related note, I had a totally useless mgr for three years who never had one orginal idea in that entire time (of course, now he's a Director). His strategy? Answer every question with "I don't know, what do you think?". Sure, it frustrated the crap out of all the performers on the team - we even started referring to him privately by that phrase since he used it so often. But his mgrs and weaker performers ATE IT UP - it made them feel powerful and appreciated. Try it - guaranteed to earn you at least one rating level higher or money refunded! Such is the stupidity of getting ahead at MSFT.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129149913964329762005-10-12T13:45:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:45:00.000-07:00"f you guys don't like your managers....LEAVE. And..."f you guys don't like your managers....LEAVE. And go work at the companies you might enjoy. Or stick it out at Microsoft and hope for the best."<BR/><BR/>That is exactly what I did. It is not just about your manager..it is the corporate culture that has turned software development /technology into a 'popularity contest'.<BR/><BR/>Quotes like this "This is a business, and you need to become a businessman to succeed." are ingrained in MS management...and as long as this remains as the core value in a technology company , you are going to be on the receiving end of antitrust cases and a follower in the innovation space with nothing to take credit for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129148946044575942005-10-12T13:29:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:29:00.000-07:00"A couple further points about this...* Don't EVER..."A couple further points about this...<BR/>* Don't EVER ...<BR/>* Don't ever ...<BR/>* Making your boss ...<BR/>* Make other people ..."<BR/><BR/>Let me add a few -<BR/><BR/>* Be a girl. Microsoft values diversity, so your chances for a good review score. On top of that it can't hurt to be attractive and work for a dev or test manager who is male and single. You can actually get away with doing next to nothing and still get good review scores.<BR/>* This is a corollary of the first point. If you're a girl, get pregnant. I was in a group where virtually every girl on the team had a baby in the same year and took the max time out. All of them got great review scores, even if they sucked before they left. When you have the baby take off as much of the year as possible, then you'll get a good review score (even if you don't deserve it) because the company knows you'll sue them if you don't claiming it's because you had to take time off for the baby.<BR/>* Stab people in the back. The fact is, you can't work at Microsoft and get ahead without stabbing other undeserving people in the back. People who claim you can are either liars or in denial.<BR/>* Disagree with your peers all you like, but don't disagree with anyone in your management chain or their peers.<BR/>* Rephrase other peoples suggestions and comment on them positively if they are well received, negatively if they are not (I've met people who are simply masters at this, it generally serves them well).<BR/>* If you ever get a 3.0 from a manager and you worked hard, get out. Always. Trust me, that manager will screw you every possible opportunity they have.<BR/>* If you ever find yourself in a position where you're most likely going to be let go (like you're being "performance managed" wait until you're really being nitpicked, act really stressed out and get a doctor to write a note explaining that you need three months off because of the stress. It's basically a paid vacation and the company will grant it (if they didn't, they'd get sued).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129148618955679242005-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00MSN a bunch of coasters? Maybe that's why we can't...MSN a bunch of coasters? Maybe that's why we can't get anything done. Hmm. I always thought it had more to do with the general corp strategy which seems to be spend huge money on marketing and as little possible on building something great. MSN has plenty of problems - it IS mediocre and a flailing business - but it is not because the people here don't work hard. Hell, most are so new they wouldn't know a stock option if it bit them in the ass. Nope, MSN is full of people who are just like you poor souls stuck on main campus. We all mean well and have love - we just don't know what to do with it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129148324963984522005-10-12T13:18:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:18:00.000-07:00MSN has either the lame ass folks doing the rest v...MSN has either the lame ass folks doing the rest vest, or hugely arrogant punks thinking no end of themselves.<BR/><BR/>KenMo's SEARCH folks are alright but act elitist and wont hire people. I have been a dev in windows for five years (with no review below 3.5) and interviewed with four teams and got offers from three, the Search team dinged me for technical ability. The first time in my career I have been told that I dont meet the technical bar - yeah right. <BR/><BR/>They want to f***ing compete with google and dont have a tenth of the devs good luck with that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129147466248691592005-10-12T13:04:00.000-07:002005-10-12T13:04:00.000-07:00Visibility... in a nutshell, that's what the probl...<I>Visibility... in a nutshell, that's what the problem with our career model is. </I><BR/><BR/>It isnt a problem thats unique to the software industry, self-promotion is a necessary skill in any profession.<BR/><BR/>You need to market yourself, and make yourself visible. Did you have an opportunity that directly generated significant revenue? Toot that damn horn! <BR/><BR/>Caught architecture problems? Make sure that you take credit for it, and that your superiors know it? Caught extra bugs? Make sure that your name is on them.<BR/><BR/>Stayed all night to finish a feature? Send out an email to everyone that cares at 4am before you go home.<BR/><BR/>You must self-promote. Yes, it would be great if everything is a meritocracy, but it sure as hell isn't, and its not going to change.<BR/><BR/>A couple further points about this...<BR/>* Don't EVER take credit for someone else's work. Ever. If someone helps you, go out of your way to include them in your promotion.<BR/>* Don't ever let someone take credit for your work. <BR/>* Making your boss look good makes you look good. <BR/>* Make other people on your team look good. They should reciprocate, and you will be building up a power base.<BR/><BR/>THis is a business, and you need to become a businessman to succeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129145593319720992005-10-12T12:33:00.000-07:002005-10-12T12:33:00.000-07:00I agree with the previous comment - instead of inn...I agree with the previous comment - instead of innovation, MS people are talking about how "to lick an ass, sorry, be visible", how to make your manager happy, devs vs. testers fighting, groups fighting, department (Win vs. MSN) fighting and etc. Instead of focusing what's going outside and why you are losing more and more every day, you simply don't understand the point. You hate Google but I bet that, at least, the half of MSN dept. uses it for search at work. You don't understand that you become followers more and more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1129144503429188662005-10-12T12:15:00.000-07:002005-10-12T12:15:00.000-07:00While you guys discuss your poor managers, Apple i...While you guys discuss your poor managers, Apple is changing the world of digital media (today was mind-blowing...Apple's 6-button remote compared to Media Center's 40...bye-bye Microsoft in the living room) while Google changes the online world of search and the web.<BR/><BR/>If you guys don't like your managers....LEAVE. And go work at the companies you might enjoy. Or stick it out at Microsoft and hope for the best.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com