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Simon Phipps's personal commentary

Inside the ant hill's mind

Is Charlie Demerjian of The Inquirer right when he asserts Microsoft is in trouble? Cameron Reilly is upset that the Inquirer isn't balanced [via Scoble] but the drift of the article is actually surprisingly compelling for them:

Just as the press proclaims the inability of anyone to challenge the Redmond beast, control is slipping from Microsoft. As with any company faced with a huge loss of market share, Microsoft is acting predictably, pretending it is not happening, and putting on a smiley face when asked about prospects. On the inside, Microsoft is as scared as hell.

How might one look inside and see what the mind of the 'ant-hill', as Robert calls it, is really like? Well, take a look at the Amazon Purchase Circle for Microsoft and see what people are reading. It will change of course, so here's what it says now:

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) – There's lots of bed-time story reading going on in the north-west. The company has grown up. Employees have families and are discovering the needs they have, just like competitors.
2. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't – Is Microsoft going to make the leap to Great? And will jobs survive the culture change involved if it tries?
3. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done – If the strategy is right yet it's still not working (see The Inquirer article) then the solution must be better execution.
4. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference – This is a great book, I recommend it. It explains how apparently random, small things can be the pivot around which huge change can take place. Just the book to read if you think The Inquirer may be right ;-)
5. Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround – IBM was on the brink of the abyss (I remember it well) and the old-think leadership of John Akers had to be eliminated and reversed to save the company, even though it was huge, rich and thought to be as unsinkable as the Titanic. Is Steve up to the job? Maybe this book has clues.

So... "I have kids like everyone else - we're no longer the all-nighter office-living rebels we were. I wonder if my employer is as unsinkable as they say? Look at IBM - they had to get rid of the old order and employ an outsider to survive, they seem to have made the switch from good to great. It could be something as small and insignificant as that Java Desktop System that tips the system and blows us out of the water - can't really imagine that though, it's so random. Steve must be right, it must be my execution that's faulty, I'll focus on it like he says and try not to think these bad thoughts."

I'll leave you to look at the rest of the top 10 (mainly fiction) and work out what people are thinking. But to my eyes these book choices suggest Charlie Demerjian is on to something.

posted at 9:01 AM (UK) | |