tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post115915203064108576..comments2024-03-18T12:52:48.117-07:00Comments on Mini-Microsoft: Beyond Redmond Product GroupsWho da'Punkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1162706984811036142006-11-04T22:09:00.000-08:002006-11-04T22:09:00.000-08:00Cronyism does exist in PSS as it does in any other...Cronyism does exist in PSS as it does in any other part of the company. I was taken back in a few posts on how some of the other MSFT people from Redmond perceive those in the support. Some of the Support Engineers, Support Escalation Engineers and especially the Escalation Engineers do make well over 100 grand a year with levels 65 and higher. As an example I had an ACPI issue which I used KD>AMLI to resolve which took several days, Spent two days tracking down a SQL database corruption, turned out to be a third party multipath I\O problem. By end of my week I worked on several User Mode problems. How many developers or testers are so flexible? I’m talking about the entire process from narrowing down the customer’s problem. Fielding through the sea of tams and secretaries turned enterprise admin because they could type well. To trying out potential workarounds that might work based on their unique environment and needs. Then to start debugging from scratch with no knowledge other than it looks to be in a certain component. Once I’ve narrowed it down and find out the affected code crosses in and out of a couple of dev's boundaries, this means outside their own code, my requests for assistance is generally greeted with blank stares and I don't know it’s not my code. Even though they called a function outside from their stack? Maybe they assume it’ll always comeback with a valid pointer and not null or assume no one steps onto their turf. Maybe they should learn the Windows architecture before taking on writing drivers. Many times, we learn how the entire component works in order to effectively debug and identify a fix which can take days to resolve. What I'm trying to convey is PSS or our new name CSS is filled with bright and talented people. We eagerly work with our biggest partners to keep PC production lines rolling so we all enjoy that royalty income to supporting your grandmother or relative in how to properly connect their mobile phone to their wireless provider’s service because you were too busy at your weekly campus kegger to take the call. PSS is truly a 24x7 shop with people talented enough to fill development seats but many of us see that life as less rewarding. I could never see myself caveman coding on one component no matter how large and complex. Solving an enterprise level issue involving several operating systems, third party apps and accompanying corral of clueless people lead by the daunting “I hate Microsoft” groupie leading the charge is much more challenging and rewarding. CSS is a great place to work but is fraught with many of the perils this website exposes. Let’s not segregate based on where a blue badge works but on the intellectual horsepower and creativity they bring to the company. Reward those people and no one can argue that wisdom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1162319222337024032006-10-31T10:27:00.000-08:002006-10-31T10:27:00.000-08:00MCS#2: Unlike IBM, MCS' key purpose is to help sel...<I>MCS#2: Unlike IBM, MCS' key purpose is to help sell software. Service revenue is secondary. Once you lose sight of this, you lose sight of your role in Team-Microsoft.</I><BR/><BR/>Clearly not posted by someone who has just been given a 120% revenue growth target or bothered to listen to Rick Devenuti before he announced his retirement. Those days are over - Services is absolutely a revenue source for the company now. <BR/><BR/>And it's being driven in a way that we care less about selling emerging products (i.e. Vista and Office 2007) and more about just getting anything we can going with the customers with any ol' junk we've got lying about. This short-term 'make the numbers or else' mentality scares the sh!t out of me, to be totally honest.<BR/><BR/>I'm a Services Programme Manager in the UK; I've got a 41% billable utilization target and a 120% revenue growth target from last year. Don't tell me I don't contribute. And I know for a fact people in the exact same role as me in other subs in the US make FAR more money than I do even after the exchange rates and car allowance, doing the same job with much smaller targets. Not only that, but people hired AFTER me are likewise making more money than I am out of the box. Any chance of me getting re-levelled or promoted? Hollow laugh - that's for the self-promoting "superstars" and darlings of management, which I ain't.<BR/><BR/>Before you PG-types all start bitching about how the outside-US subs have it all because we've got good views in far-away lands that you'd like to visit some day and company cars, realize that our salaries are taxed like you wouldn't believe (especially the car allowance or company car, which is a 'benefit in kind' and taxed to the hilt) and there seems to be no effort anywhere in HR to even make a passing attempt to keep up with cost of living increases which rises much higher much faster in Europe than in the US. I'm effectively making 10% LESS than I was last year, with a merit increase of only 3.5%. Combine that with the already mentioned cronyism, incompetence, and leftover mid-level management idiots from Mr. Sinneck's attempt to turn MCS into IBM Global Services Lite (TM) with fat positions for all his former co-workers, and it's not all that pleasant to stick around here anymore.<BR/><BR/>That said, I'm agressively looking elsewhere (both internally and externally), and one way or another I plan to run screaming out of MCS just as soon as I possibly can and <I>never</I> look back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1160360863134191562006-10-08T19:27:00.000-07:002006-10-08T19:27:00.000-07:00".NET 3.0 (aka WinFX, Indigo, Avalon, et al) is ge...".NET 3.0 (aka WinFX, Indigo, Avalon, et al) is generating a lot of buzz."<BR/><BR/><BR/>That's the problem with Microsoft today: Buzz. All buzz no productivity. If I hear one more time how "cool" a half-baked, buggy, undocumented feature is going to be I swear I'm leaving the industry. <BR/><BR/>The newly named .NET 3.0 library is one of the most incomplete libraries ever. The documentation is full of "insert text here". We are on Release Candidate 1. "RELEASE", not Alpha, yet, just try to connect a WorkflowView to a Workflow object. No one needs that kind of brain damage. It is nearly impossible. So much so that search the Internet, there isn't much talk about it, just people wondering how the Hell is works.<BR/><BR/>(Hint, Microsoft: WorkflowView.Workflow = MyWorkflow; would be a good thing to produce instead of the undocumented 100 lines of code and 6 classes that it takes.)<BR/><BR/>Again, Microsoft is people building empires of "cool" features, not building products the industry can use.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1160253258408260102006-10-07T13:34:00.000-07:002006-10-07T13:34:00.000-07:00Having lived in the field for 6 years (first MCS, ...Having lived in the field for 6 years (first MCS, now sales), I can say that, from my experience, the more negative comments on this thread are the more accurate.<BR/><BR/>MCS is the biggest travesty. The comment above from the person who said that "MCS is about selling software and not generating revenue" is just completely out of touch with MCS management. Eespecially the new regime. MCS has strict marching orders under the current regime to be profitable, focus on growing the business (again - UGH!), and stick to big ($500k+) deals. They've gone so far that <2 week deals now require high level sign-off.<BR/><BR/>To keep the parter ecosystem from rebelling once again (like they did a few years back under Sineck), the message is to "work with partners". Great leadership. So once again, MCS is *not* about "selling software" but rather about competing with IGS. And once again this is *wrong* and *will* fail spectacularly and excellent ICs will be caught in the firestorm again.<BR/><BR/>On the sales side, the poster who said we know nothing about selling to the enterprise was DEAD ON. It has nothing to do with the skill of individual AEs and TSs. It has to do with the MSFT culture and short attention span driven by the incredible myopia in Redmond that still seems to think this is 1995.<BR/><BR/>I see it reflected in a lot of the corp posts on these feedback threads. There is just a complete disconnect between the ivory tower and reality. Our corporate culture prevents the cultivation of an effective enterprise sales force. We are all about very short term and putting up the numbers quarter over quarter within our fiscal years. <BR/><BR/>The process and mechanisms to take a long term account view and cultivate real penetration into the customers environment simply don't exist. Quite the opposite actually.<BR/><BR/>Account teams that have long tenure and are putting up great results year over year are the exception. And even in these accounts, I would ask what fractional percentage of the total customer IT software spend are we? Most of the time, we are 10% while Oracle, IBM and Sun get the lions share.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1160193085442106732006-10-06T20:51:00.000-07:002006-10-06T20:51:00.000-07:00>It amazes me that as a company we forget our part...>It amazes me that as a company we forget our partners so often.<BR/><BR/>Erm... Like how? I work with the SMS&P, DPE, and field sales teams and know that we are making a lot of investments in our partners specially around Vista and Office2007. Respectfully, sir, you are misguided.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159932660567435552006-10-03T20:31:00.000-07:002006-10-03T20:31:00.000-07:00I, an IC, speak from within Services & IT HQs and ...I, an IC, speak from within Services & IT HQs and I can say, having come from the MSFT field and from previous sales and consulting roles outside of Microsoft, HQs management is the worst I've seen in my 20 years of experience. <B>And like every 2 years, it is about to get flipped again... only to have the same events repeat themselves again in two years.</B><BR/><BR/>It is <I>manage up</I> by most directors.<BR/>It is look out for #1, and #1 is not the customer.<BR/>It is avoid decision making at all costs.<BR/>It is when avoidance fails, hire some company like Bain to do a half-ass job for double-ass pay. (Just a note here, never have I seen directors rely as much on outside consult as I do here in MSFT Services & IT... <B><I>they definitely don't trust themselves nor their people</B></I>)<BR/><BR/>Basically what is failing MSFT these days is a focus on People and not Process. I should really care less in most of this business if a Person left. But if a Process "left the company" I would be very worried. Problem is, we have few to no Processes here at MSFT. All we have are People. Personalities. And those manage up, play games, etc. Processes don't. Which is worst... our current set of Personalities or starting to formalize the business more with Processes to circumvent the Personalities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159670897349149992006-09-30T19:48:00.000-07:002006-09-30T19:48:00.000-07:00Great to see comments from some field folks as wel...Great to see comments from some field folks as well. I'm technically in the field, but in a corporate role in one of the subs. Strange combination of being corporate and field - but generally lumped into sales and marketing. It amazes me that as a company we forget our partners so often. They are our sales force - they're the ones dealing with customers day in and day out and they're the first to take the arrows on product issues. The slips in office and vista are mostly patched up but I hope to God and anyone else I can find that we ship on time and it's good stuff. People forget that while this is MSFT's H1 this is many of our partners' H2 and vista and office will hit in their Q4. Q4 - go time, run for the home plate of quota payout, do our die time - pick your favorite phrase. With so many of our partners at the end of their fiscal year with revenue targets to hit and a short time to get there - how much will they bet on office and vista? or will they wait until MSFT's Q3 / Q4 which is our partners' H1? No one knows for sure, but the arrows, bullets, and full-body-armor-required conversations I've had with many a partner following the product slips indicates they're skeptical but professing positive exuberance lest they bring on the rath of MSFT which surely isn't a good thing. So how fast will the revenue come? We'll see. The general lack of coordination around launch really worries me though. This has been classic MSFT - tons and tons of uncoordinated activity - some great stuff and lots of noise. I know a few key field people actively sifting through the noise and teeing up their partners to win and that is fantastic. I just wish we didn't make it so difficult for them to accomplish this and that is was simple and easy for our partners to engage with us. Because when our partners engage, amazing things happen including an upwardly mobile stock price.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159552564017326372006-09-29T10:56:00.000-07:002006-09-29T10:56:00.000-07:00Good thing you mentioned "revenue" and not "profit...<I>Good thing you mentioned "revenue" and not "profits" or I'd have had to wonder why you were giving US-based efforts like MSN and Xbox a free pass.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Don't forget the new cash suck, "Zune". You have to wonder what Ballmer and Bach are smoking. I guess they'll make it up on volume.<BR/><BR/>Guys, if you want to make a real difference, leave msft and make your mark on the world. Things move quite fast out here, and there are no unaccountable partners to suck up the fruits of your work.<BR/><BR/>An ex-Microsoftie. Happily so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159545100189143602006-09-29T08:51:00.000-07:002006-09-29T08:51:00.000-07:00"Kim conceded he's not sure what exactly these new..."Kim conceded he's not sure what exactly these new "entertainments" might be. "I feel like we haven't figured it out, to be honest," he said."<BR/><BR/>I shook my head when I read this too. Let's hope he was quoted out of context. If Ballmer was doing his job, Kim would be in his office this morning explaining wtf he meant - and gone if the answer wasn't any more compelling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159539694433087962006-09-29T07:21:00.000-07:002006-09-29T07:21:00.000-07:00>> Mini:>> Dude, color me defensive >> to your bro...>> Mini:<BR/>>> Dude, color me defensive <BR/>>> to your broad statement...<BR/><BR/>Sir, can you possibly be in denial? The reason I ask is that your <A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/microsoft-company-meeting-2006.html" REL="nofollow">Company Meeting</A> post was what compelled my first <A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/moderation-problems-administrivia.html#c115913565548428553" REL="nofollow">comment</A> to show some small representation for the overwhelmingly passionate people I work with daily.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/blame-it-on-coconut-cream-pie.html" REL="nofollow">Coconut pie</A>: Started off positive but was more neutral and only served to fan negativity. These comments (<A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/blame-it-on-coconut-cream-pie.html#c115838479230407451" REL="nofollow">#1</A> and <A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/blame-it-on-coconut-cream-pie.html#c115864452328340606<br/>" REL="nofollow">#2</A>) characterize it best.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159501434175423582006-09-28T20:43:00.000-07:002006-09-28T20:43:00.000-07:00e.g. you don't need permission to interview if you...<I>e.g. you don't need permission to interview if you've been in position for more than 18 months.<BR/></I><BR/>While, as another poster pointed out, there are some manager-dependent gotchas in the new policy, it looks from here like an improvement.<BR/><BR/>To me, the really big news here is that levels can be re-evaluated on transfer, based on what you bring to the position to which you will be transferring. This is exciting news for those of us with industry experience who joined low and have since received exceeded/outstanding reviews but no promotion because our current group has an unofficial 2-years-between-promos policy. Additionally, it could make it easier for someone to move if they expect a promo in the next 6-12 months in their current position, which serves as a disincentive to go anywhere until it happens (lest one be put back a year in waiting for the promo in another group). Of course, time will tell how this plays out in the real world. For all we know, we'll see VP's and GM's mandating that all incoming transfers must keep their old levels.<BR/><BR/>My early reaction to this is optimism that someone's trying to do the right thing for the top tier people who feel stuck in a group/level that isn't working for them and who feel that the only way out of that non-optimal situation is to turn in their badge and go elsewhere. If an FTE who's been on a team for only a year can convince another group that they're not just a greener-pastures type and/or are worth employing at a higher level, more power to them; the company should not put artificial boundaries in place to prevent that from happening.<BR/><BR/>I've been on a team with SDETs who were denied permission to interview for several months. For the amount of work they actually performed between the "no" and the expiration of the 90-day waiting period, really, we'd have been better off letting them leave earlier.<BR/><BR/>My one ask: Let's see some more clarity from the top around the definition of "role" so that managers have less leeway to define that in a way that is most convenient for them, and to the employee's disadvantage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159501268249758712006-09-28T20:41:00.000-07:002006-09-28T20:41:00.000-07:00Check out the HR section of MicroNews. There's som...<I>Check out the HR section of MicroNews. There's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that internal transfers just got a lot less political. The bad news is that there is an increased bounty for referring new hires. Oh well...</I><BR/>The whole transfer thing now hinges on the definition of "role". To me this sounds as political as ever. 18 months and over it is no permission and permission otherwise. We'll just see how it goes...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159496317766790712006-09-28T19:18:00.000-07:002006-09-28T19:18:00.000-07:00Check out the HR section of MicroNews. There's som...Check out the HR section of MicroNews. There's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that internal transfers just got a lot less political. The bad news is that there is an increased bounty for referring new hires. Oh well...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159485966903617412006-09-28T16:26:00.000-07:002006-09-28T16:26:00.000-07:00DISCLAIMER #1: This comment is somewhat off-topic ...DISCLAIMER #1: This comment is somewhat off-topic (although Xbox isn't a main-campus group at least). If you want to "cutting room floor" it or move it to another thread or return it to the digital ether from whence it came, I understand Mini.<BR/><BR/>DISCLAIMER #2: I'm the commenter who opened up the can of worms about Shane Kim a month or so ago and asked how such an empty suit could get promoted to Corporate VP, even in the madhouse that is Xbox.<BR/><BR/>DISCLAIMER #3: This is the end of the disclaimers.<BR/><BR/>From today's Seattle Times:<BR/><BR/>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003279066_microsoftxbox28.html<BR/><BR/>Microsoft said Wednesday that it is teaming with "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson to create content for its Xbox 360, in part to get more mainstream users interested in the company's video-game console.<BR/><BR/>Just don't call these products "games."<BR/><BR/>"I don't want to classify it as a game. I'm hoping to stretch the definition of interactive entertainment to go beyond the game," said Shane Kim, a corporate vice president in charge of Microsoft Game Studios.<BR/><BR/><I>Kim conceded he's not sure what exactly these new "entertainments" might be. "I feel like we haven't figured it out, to be honest," he said.</I><BR/><BR/>(end cite)<BR/><BR/>Now do you guys understand why I see Shane Kim as an embarrassment and a waste of a good paycheck? Bad enough Microsoft is pissing away more money into the Xbox sinkhole, but for a VP to admit - publicly - that they have no idea what exactly they're even spending the money on? Pure Shane Kim gold - this from the same guy who announced "the console race isn't about hardware any more" (it never was) and "I'm following the development of our camera add-on for Xbox very closely" (yet when pressed he couldn't name the developer or even what country they were in).<BR/><BR/>"I feel like we haven't figured it out, to be honest" should be the title of Shane Kim's memoirs.<BR/><BR/>It would be the most boring two pages anyone could ever ask for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159468204726449802006-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:002006-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00Mini - you might be having *some* effect (again). ...<I>Mini - you might be having *some* effect (again). Check out this site about making internal transfers a *little* easer:<BR/>http://hrweb/us/transfers/folder/eefaq.htm<BR/><BR/>e.g. you don't need permission to interview if you've been in position for more than 18 months.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>This falls under "nothing to see here, please move along." If you've been in your position for 18+ months then you don't need to ask for permission to interview. Instead you have to inform your manager of your intent to interview. Your manager determines how long you've been in your position. Your manager decides your transition period. Your manager... ah, what's the use.<BR/><BR/>The curve is gone. You no longer have to seek permission to interview. Unicorns have been spotted around the fountain. (sigh)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159464676596433112006-09-28T10:31:00.000-07:002006-09-28T10:31:00.000-07:00For internal transfers, most people feel like 6 mo...For internal transfers, most people feel like 6 months is enough to decide whether it is a good fit. Vote for 6 months, not 18 months.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159460502173996552006-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:002006-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00Why Microsoft should be well under $30 come Januar...Why Microsoft should be well under $30 come January:<BR/><BR/> - Much lower than expected Vista upgrade numbers -> leap in hardware requirements are MUCH steeper than from any OS jump since 3.1 -> 95. This usually accounts for hundreds of millions in profits.<BR/><BR/> - Zune as a loss leader. Priced at $250 (not making a profit) and the same price as an iPod, Microsoft again embarks on a multi-year money chugging journey to nowhere. Zune holiday sales will disappoint and be a drain on the company. <BR/> - Xbox. The only ray of light in the company and is posed for good holiday season if Microsoft makes the right price cut at the right time. Sony's failure is already priced into the market, so if the actually do decently this holiday season (with possibly impressive launch titles), the stock will get hammered.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159454728057168902006-09-28T07:45:00.000-07:002006-09-28T07:45:00.000-07:00spent three years in redmond in the bg's, now in a...spent three years in redmond in the bg's, now in a subsidiary outside the US. Most people are more or less completely unaware of how the field works - as was I for the most part until i came out here a year ago. if you want to learn what the field does - visit a sub or two, attend their ROB. go visit some customers, help sell the product.<BR/><BR/>as to why we have so many people in the field now it is a pretty simple explanation. the oem business (windows plus some office) is incredibly inexpensive to run as a % of sales. this is where we made hay throughout the 90's - when the dell's of the world were growing 30%+, we were probably growing our business faster than that because pc pricing was coming down. if you look at those businesses over the past 12 months, they are growing slower than the company.<BR/><BR/>the majority of the new products coming out of redmond these days are much, much more expensive to sell than windows or office. think about what it takes to sell LCS, Visual Studio Team System, sharepoint, etc. etc. you don't have a choice but to add specialist sales on these. server and tools has great growth, but it takes more time and effort to sell security, management and database than office.<BR/><BR/>the vast majority of the people in the field are quota bearing. there is always bloat here and there for sure.<BR/><BR/>just my .02 on redmond. first, i think the product pipeline is great. i love vista rc1, i love o12 and communicator 2007. i agree with the comment that most customer machines won't run vista - hopefully that will drive a big hardware refresh but that is the risk.<BR/><BR/>there are hundreds of people in redmond who are "field facing" that are pretty worthless though. we could dramatically shrink the bg marketing and segment hq teams. there are just a lot of people doing busy work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159451536901343462006-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:002006-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00Mini - you might be having *some* effect (again). ...Mini - you might be having *some* effect (again). Check out this site about making internal transfers a *little* easer:<BR/>http://hrweb/us/transfers/folder/eefaq.htm<BR/><BR/>e.g. you don't need permission to interview if you've been in position for more than 18 months.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159426830478666192006-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:002006-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00$30 by EOYShip, don’t slip. Deal with the EU. Hit ...<I><BR/>$30 by EOY<BR/>Ship, don’t slip. Deal with the EU. Hit our Q1 numbers. Give slightly bullish guidance. I’m doing my part for #3.<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>This is very close even for now - after hours quote today - $27.62. If a firm Vista release date is announced, which is really near now, the stock can get more traction moving towards $29+ when that happens.<BR/><BR/>I usually sell my ESPP after vest but not the coming 2 rounds of ESPP - there's too much upside from here. Just last week, Bull&Bear investment show was recommending MSFT (they normally don't do that) because MSFT is not a speculative play.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159419237181202362006-09-27T21:53:00.000-07:002006-09-27T21:53:00.000-07:00I agree with a growing number of posters that comm...<I>I agree with a growing number of posters that comments, and dare I say Mini, have been negatively biased recently. It gets quickly very obvious when constructive criticism gets perverted by whining and complaining.</I><BR/><BR/>Dude, color me defensive to your broad statement, but my last two full posts have either been focusing on <A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/blame-it-on-coconut-cream-pie.html" REL="nofollow">positive developments</A> or a <A HREF="http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/09/microsoft-company-meeting-2006.html" REL="nofollow">Company Meeting</A> that I was either positive or neutral on. As for complaining about the SPSA: <B>damn straight</B>. Sure, have a reward program, but reward performance not mediocrity.Who da'Punkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18205453956191063442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159414190796388442006-09-27T20:29:00.000-07:002006-09-27T20:29:00.000-07:00Did anyone see the 3 Helicopters fly in on the soc...Did anyone see the 3 Helicopters fly in on the soccer fields yesterday? Who were these big wigs and why wasn't there any news about this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159409736401976162006-09-27T19:15:00.000-07:002006-09-27T19:15:00.000-07:00"But we also are committed to changing our own cor..."But we also are committed to changing our own corner of the company where we can. I guess we're more about action rather than blaming it on everyone else."<BR/><BR/>There's no shortage of action in "your MSFT". The issue is whether it's effective. Externally observable results including constant delays and misjudgements say no.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159407597529322572006-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:002006-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:00Notes from the field …What a can of worms Mini ope...Notes from the field …<BR/><BR/>What a can of worms Mini opened! Here we go, one worm at a time …<BR/><BR/>The Field<BR/>As many have said, there is no such beast as the “field”. There are multiple subs, with multiple countries, with multiple regions, with multiple districts. There is the large customer business, the medium customer business, the small customer business, the consumer business, and the partner business. There are traditional products, incubation products, and MBS products. There is sales, technical sales, consulting, and premier. I left some groups off the list, but my point is that there is a huge cross section of businesses in the “field”, just like there is in “Redmond”. For the record, I’m in the US, have been here a long time, and am focused primarily on large customers. I have friends within MS in a lot of different groups and know people in many different groups around the world. I admit to a US bias in knowledge and thinking.<BR/><BR/>The two-year olds speak<BR/>When my kids were 2ish, they always wanted whatever someone else had and never appreciated what they had. *Lots* of posts sound the same way. Wahhh, I want a company car. Wahhh, their level is higher. Wahhh, there aren’t as many opportunities in the field as there are in Redmond (that’s the one I whine about most frequently – more on this later).<BR/><BR/>Get over it. The businesses are different in enterprise sales in London than they are in Windows development in Redmond. Naturally, the “deal” is going to be different. The question you should ask is “how is my deal compared to the deal I could get elsewhere (inside Microsoft or outside)”? When the answer becomes significantly worse, you should leave – you owe it to yourself and your family. Just make sure you are objective in your comparison or you’ll end up with a really bad case of buyer’s remorse.<BR/><BR/>I continue to have plenty of opportunities to move to the Mother Ship. I continue to *choose* not to. As a result of *my* choice, I don’t have the career opportunities that I would if I moved to Redmond. I may someday choose to move to Redmond. The point is – it’s *my choice*. It’s your choice too – evaluate your options, make your choice, then step up and deliver – for Microsoft or otherwise.<BR/><BR/>Ex Pats<BR/>I have several friends who have ex-patted (is that a verb?). I almost did once and may choose to somewhere down the road (Australia!!!). You get what you negotiate, so negotiate a sweet deal for moving your family to a new country, culture, and perhaps language. Don’t begrudge the ex-pats because they got a good deal. Rather, welcome them, be-friend them, teach them, and learn from them. Someone, somewhere was impressed enough with their potential to invest a lot in them. Don’t be so arrogant to write them off as suck-ups without getting to know their skills.<BR/><BR/>Cronyism<BR/>Joe and I started MS at about the same time. I met Joe late one night as we were both staying late to fix customer issues. A couple of weeks later, Joe and I ran into each other at midnight – in the office – and chatted. One Saturday afternoon, it was just Joe and I – working away. Joe and I worked on a customer together and totally knocked it out of the park. Joe and I had a couple of beers together and became friends – then we had way more than a couple of beers together <BR/><BR/>After blowing his numbers away 3 years in a row, Joe got a much-deserved promotion and a great new job. Joe had an opening on his team that fit my skill set. Joe called me and said “you have a great work ethic. We work together really well. I know I can trust you. This is a great opportunity – will you come work with me?”.<BR/><BR/>If that’s cronyism, then long-live cronyism. BTW – Joe made VP before retiring. I still talk to Joe and he still gives me good advice.<BR/><BR/>In the real world, people choose to work with people they know, people they trust and people they get along with. Maybe it’s not fair. You can choose to tilt at that windmill or you can get out and meet people and make “business contacts”.<BR/><BR/>When I identify peers or bosses who are “going places”, I always ask them to consider me. Am I kissing up or am I managing my career? Net result is a long Microsoft career with great results to the company and our customers and lots of friends around the world. I’ve known others who were so arrogant that they pissed everyone off. Ten years later, those that they pissed off are partners and VPs. Oops, you’re screwed. (I managed to piss a handful of people off before I figured the whole “goes around, comes around” thing out).<BR/><BR/>Are there some actual cases of nepotism? Sure. However, if you dig a little, I think you’ll find that on most of them there is a positive professional history that forms the basis. My advice, go make some positive professional history.<BR/><BR/>Redmond really is the center of the universe<BR/>My turn to whine … Part of what makes corporate so bad is the fact that the decisions of this company are so centralized. News Flash …. There are smart people in this world who do not want to move to Redmond. News flash … having 90% of the company in Redmond promotes the behaviors that the DOJ and EU slapped us for and results in products that are out of touch with our customers’ reality.<BR/><BR/>I have seen a *lot* of really talented people leave the company because they wanted a career and they didn’t want to move to Redmond. It’s a travesty that the bozos in charge make you choose.<BR/><BR/>Please don’t throw up any weak-@$$ arguments about how being in Redmond promotes sharing - we make the world’s best collaboration tools. If we can’t figure this out and make it work, then I guess our collaboration tools need some freakin work!<BR/><BR/>Partners<BR/>Most of the GMs in the US field are not partners. Most are in the 65-67 range.<BR/><BR/>I met a GM from corporate last week that I hope is a partner. This guy was really, really sharp. He gets it and he’s working for change. He wasn’t condescending. He wasn’t suck uppish. He was customer focused and wanted to do the right thing for Microsoft and our customers. He was polished, but not “slimy”. He asked hard questions. He made us verify our “facts”. He’s proof that not all partners suck! I hope he stays and becomes a VP.<BR/><BR/>Quit blaming the partners for taking their SPSA grant – they would be crazy not to. Instead, blame the idiots who set the metrics and forgot to include a “shareholder value” metric.<BR/><BR/>Metrics<BR/>One big differentiator between the “field” and “corporate” is the frequency of our metrics. Services gets customer satisfaction surveys and utilization numbers monthly. Sales has quarterly numbers. Some of the product groups have 5+ year release cycles. That allows a lot of people to hide for a very long time and gives execs plenty of time to plan their excuses. Not saying that you can’t hide in the field, but it’s not nearly as easy with quarterly metrics, particularly at senior levels.<BR/><BR/>BMO<BR/>An event in [insert city] is not the same as an event in [insert different city]. The cultures are often very different. You can’t build a “one size fits all” event, program, or strategy and expect it to be successful around the world. That’s the role of the field marketing org – to take the Redmond content and make it most effective in the local area – localization if you will. I’m sure some districts have bad field marketing orgs. I would give our’s a B+. Your mileage may vary.<BR/><BR/>Hooking up<BR/>There are a lot of people in the field with a lot of passion. Many of us know the customers intimately. Many of us spend more time at our customers than we do at Microsoft. We love to talk to people in the product groups who want to make a difference. If you’re that person, go to the GAL and search for aliases that contain “technology specialist” or “community” or “xx discussion”. Verify that there are a lot of field based resources in your target area, and send an e-mail introduction asking for feedback or a dialog. I promise you will get a good response. There are other official channels you can use, but 1:1 business relationships work best – and you never know when one of those relationships will have the perfect opportunity for you …<BR/><BR/>Vista and Office<BR/>For the record, I’m writing this using Vista and Office 2007. We are *finally* starting to get solid field adoption of these bet the company products. How can you sell what you don’t use? Please install Vista and Office today. If your experience sucks, file bugs. Everyone – install it on your home machines, your kids’ machines, your parents’ machines. We need feedback from the “we don’t do this for a living” crowd.<BR/><BR/>$30 by EOY<BR/>Ship, don’t slip. Deal with the EU. Hit our Q1 numbers. Give slightly bullish guidance. I’m doing my part for #3.<BR/><BR/>-nffAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555958.post-1159401068679201042006-09-27T16:51:00.000-07:002006-09-27T16:51:00.000-07:00"especially to the enterprise, we have NO enterpri..."especially to the enterprise, we have NO enterprise sales expertise..."<BR/><BR/>As an ex-MSFT rep selling to large enterprises, I'd say this is way overboard. In fact, I'd say it's simply untrue. I agree that there's no comparison in general between the sales force of MSFT vs IBM, ORCL, HPQ, SAP. However, there are numerous individuals account managers and sales/District managers with that equivalent skill set @ MSFT (most of them ex one of the above companies). The challenge is that a) it doesn't exist at the highest levels of the company (although they think it does), b) it's not highly valued as a result and c) there's too much turf protection by those who feel embarassed that they lack that skill set and too little opportunity for mentoring less-experienced people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com