Why am I back at Microsoft?
When, on February 3, James Whittaker tweeted that he was leaving Google, everyone had a million questions. Then he wrote a post about why he did this ( original and translation ). And now James explains why he chose Microsoft.
It seems that the hints that the transitions from Google to Microsoft are not so rare, did not serve as a sufficient explanation, so here's a more detailed report for you. For those who are not interested in the details in detail, I will give a short version. I think that what is happening in the mobile and web-based world is wrong, and over time it becomes more and more wrong. Users are in danger: they lose control over personal data and their network identity. Independent developers are forced to knock on closed doors in an attempt to move the web forward. Solving these problems will require large reserves of intellectual property, technical and informational capabilities, and a friendly attitude towards software manufacturers. It seems to me that Microsoft is one of the best companies capable of leading such a direction.
Yes, I know, your comments say that you doubt it, so here's a long version for you.
')
Big companies are not cool, so why did you go from one to the other?
I was in startups twice: once as a lead developer and once again as a founder. For ten years I was a professor, with pleasure doing research and consulting. In my youth, I was even the admin in the FBI! So I have seen alternatives to big companies - and I choose big companies.
In fact, I am not alone in this, otherwise there would not be so many large companies and they would not be, well, so big. But now it is fashionable to shout that big companies are not cool, they are not changing the world. Personally, I think that big companies don't need to try to seem cool. A forty-year-old man trying to rent a student at the bar does not look cool - he is pathetic. I respect big companies that behave like adults. With age comes dignity; to be big sounds proudly.
Companies are getting big for a reason. They grow out of the nutritional broth of visions, ideas, talents, innovations, success, investments and accomplishments. Make this broth boil - and the company will become big and will remain big. Make a mistake with the recipe - and your soup will run away. It will boil out quite a lot - and many of the most successful companies today will sooner or later be written off with an empty pan in their hands. If you want, give me a Starbucks coffee and I’ll tell you what could happen to Apple.
Do not believe big companies if you want. Do not believe their names. Do not believe their reputation. Do not believe the rumors about them. Do not believe them, because they do not believe critics. Do not believe them, because it's cool not to believe anyone. Do not believe them, because they have been discussed for decades. Do not trust their handling of your data. Damn, organize the movement "For Fair Elections of Thomas the Unbeliever" and do not trust them all at the same time. Let's not believe them, but Gd forbid you not to believe in their talent.
That's what I'm talking about. Big companies abound in talent. This reason is enough to explain anyone's choice - to work in a large company. Who does not want to be among smart people all the time? That is why startups are trying to lure talented guys from big companies. That is why big companies are fighting for the best of the best: every company has such. Microsoft is built on the backs of IBM, DEC, and others, and in turn fuels the growth of Google and the revival of Apple, which in turn is the supply chain for Twitter and Facebook. Guess where new startups take their talents? Guess where is IBM, the foundation of this great talent tree? Does the soup gurgle? Still would. Wherever you spit - you get into a smart engineer. Smart guys go up, yeah.
However, talent is not the only asset of a large company. The mind is a necessary quality to become big, but as soon as the company grows, it has two wings with outboard arms, inaccessible to the smaller brothers. Scale is first. Big companies are working on big problems. Swipe - the second. Large companies deliver their products to every corner of the globe. And if you want to work with smart people on global-scale problems, big companies are your choice.
The scale and scope means that large companies are able to blow up an industry segment or even several industries in a flash. And here we come to the real purpose of large companies: the ability to massively undermine industries. Microsoft blew up the PC ecosystem, Google blew up the web, Amazon blew up sales, Apple blew up the mobile world ... These explosions changed the direction of the future. And the coolest thing is that any of these companies at the expense of the three "talent-scale-scope" is able to do it again.
And your unbelief is not enough to stop them.
Okay, but what company?
Let's dispel illusions about big companies. It seems to be the same everywhere, and many may choose a company for sweet buns. I think that chasing down buns and other benefits is a mistake. Does the company feed you dinners or do you pay for lunch yourself? This is a zero-sum game. The office, filled with expensive toys so that it begins to resemble the nursery named Paris Hilton, it seems inappropriate. Toys did not stop Paris from her whims, and they will not make you happy if you stop liking your work. Buns are dust, smoke through which wise people see a real company, these are base desires. Facebook's coffee points don't make him smarter than Apple. Want to get happiness from WORK? Find a new one.
That's what matters. Find a job that you will fall in love with. Then find a company that considers this work important, ready to make you its part and be the "fuse of the industry."
Passion, significance and the ability to ignite - that's what made the dream job. Find this combination, and you will find yourself sticking and dreaming so that the night will pass quickly, so that you can finally wake up and plow again and again. When work is so much a part of your thought process that you grab more and more, you say "great time." When these impressions end, you will remember these as "glorious days." Who would not agree to a career consisting of a great time and good memories? It's like an obsession that gives you a buzz, but doesn't make you crazy in the eyes of others.
When you realize this passion to change the world, the next step is to find a company with which you can share this passion. Cross out the companies that are stuck in today. Any company that lives on money from the existing structure is not interested in ideas that change the world.
And Microsoft is the right big company?
What I would like to work on excludes from my choice many large companies, but not all. Microsoft, in my opinion, has a good collection of intellectual property, leadership in the product segments and technical power to be a revolutionary. They do not cling to money rivers and fenced corrals. In many ways, they are trying to profit from something similar to the revolution.
Well, let's go over the sources of my choice.
Why Microsoft? Because my passion goes well with their desire and ability to blow up the world. The only problem that I seem to have to work on is for the company to focus on filling the team with the best talents.
Why Microsoft? Because most of the big players are not interested in revolutions. When you live off the status quo, you are interested in moving slowly or not at all.
Why Microsoft? Because they asked me not to assist, but to help lead.
Why Microsoft? Because every time when I tell people using the Internet from a mobile phone, what I'm working on and what will come of it, they want it right now. When I tell developers what I'm building, they start demanding API and SDK right now. And if people push you into what you are doing, this is a good sign: what you are doing is important.
I think Microsoft is the right company: I’m seven weeks in a new place, and I like what I see around. When I came in 2006, the company was centered around Windows and Office. Now in Redmond is a new main street, and on it are studios (not offices, but studios!) Of Xbox teams. The changes are not symbolic. Windows and Office, now far from sacred cows, have clearly undergone genetic engineering. I have not quite realized what they did and how, but their magic is undoubted. Bing has finished mixing programming and testing — they call it “combined development,” which Google is still trying to do after a year of reorganization. And further more, I see a change every day. Probably when I have more data, I will write another post.
Did Microsoft have a problem? Yes. Will I avoid poking a finger at them if they pay me now? Not. There are improvements that Microsoft needs. Rallies gather too often and last too long. When I announced that all my managers should code, I can not say that their happiness overwhelmed me. Further more, I just started collecting problems.
What I really like about Microsoft is that if you show them a mirror, they will look into it. Give them time, and they will change.
It seems that the hints that the transitions from Google to Microsoft are not so rare, did not serve as a sufficient explanation, so here's a more detailed report for you. For those who are not interested in the details in detail, I will give a short version. I think that what is happening in the mobile and web-based world is wrong, and over time it becomes more and more wrong. Users are in danger: they lose control over personal data and their network identity. Independent developers are forced to knock on closed doors in an attempt to move the web forward. Solving these problems will require large reserves of intellectual property, technical and informational capabilities, and a friendly attitude towards software manufacturers. It seems to me that Microsoft is one of the best companies capable of leading such a direction.
Yes, I know, your comments say that you doubt it, so here's a long version for you.
')
Big companies are not cool, so why did you go from one to the other?
I was in startups twice: once as a lead developer and once again as a founder. For ten years I was a professor, with pleasure doing research and consulting. In my youth, I was even the admin in the FBI! So I have seen alternatives to big companies - and I choose big companies.
In fact, I am not alone in this, otherwise there would not be so many large companies and they would not be, well, so big. But now it is fashionable to shout that big companies are not cool, they are not changing the world. Personally, I think that big companies don't need to try to seem cool. A forty-year-old man trying to rent a student at the bar does not look cool - he is pathetic. I respect big companies that behave like adults. With age comes dignity; to be big sounds proudly.
Companies are getting big for a reason. They grow out of the nutritional broth of visions, ideas, talents, innovations, success, investments and accomplishments. Make this broth boil - and the company will become big and will remain big. Make a mistake with the recipe - and your soup will run away. It will boil out quite a lot - and many of the most successful companies today will sooner or later be written off with an empty pan in their hands. If you want, give me a Starbucks coffee and I’ll tell you what could happen to Apple.
Do not believe big companies if you want. Do not believe their names. Do not believe their reputation. Do not believe the rumors about them. Do not believe them, because they do not believe critics. Do not believe them, because it's cool not to believe anyone. Do not believe them, because they have been discussed for decades. Do not trust their handling of your data. Damn, organize the movement "For Fair Elections of Thomas the Unbeliever" and do not trust them all at the same time. Let's not believe them, but Gd forbid you not to believe in their talent.
That's what I'm talking about. Big companies abound in talent. This reason is enough to explain anyone's choice - to work in a large company. Who does not want to be among smart people all the time? That is why startups are trying to lure talented guys from big companies. That is why big companies are fighting for the best of the best: every company has such. Microsoft is built on the backs of IBM, DEC, and others, and in turn fuels the growth of Google and the revival of Apple, which in turn is the supply chain for Twitter and Facebook. Guess where new startups take their talents? Guess where is IBM, the foundation of this great talent tree? Does the soup gurgle? Still would. Wherever you spit - you get into a smart engineer. Smart guys go up, yeah.
However, talent is not the only asset of a large company. The mind is a necessary quality to become big, but as soon as the company grows, it has two wings with outboard arms, inaccessible to the smaller brothers. Scale is first. Big companies are working on big problems. Swipe - the second. Large companies deliver their products to every corner of the globe. And if you want to work with smart people on global-scale problems, big companies are your choice.
The scale and scope means that large companies are able to blow up an industry segment or even several industries in a flash. And here we come to the real purpose of large companies: the ability to massively undermine industries. Microsoft blew up the PC ecosystem, Google blew up the web, Amazon blew up sales, Apple blew up the mobile world ... These explosions changed the direction of the future. And the coolest thing is that any of these companies at the expense of the three "talent-scale-scope" is able to do it again.
And your unbelief is not enough to stop them.
Okay, but what company?
Let's dispel illusions about big companies. It seems to be the same everywhere, and many may choose a company for sweet buns. I think that chasing down buns and other benefits is a mistake. Does the company feed you dinners or do you pay for lunch yourself? This is a zero-sum game. The office, filled with expensive toys so that it begins to resemble the nursery named Paris Hilton, it seems inappropriate. Toys did not stop Paris from her whims, and they will not make you happy if you stop liking your work. Buns are dust, smoke through which wise people see a real company, these are base desires. Facebook's coffee points don't make him smarter than Apple. Want to get happiness from WORK? Find a new one.
That's what matters. Find a job that you will fall in love with. Then find a company that considers this work important, ready to make you its part and be the "fuse of the industry."
Passion, significance and the ability to ignite - that's what made the dream job. Find this combination, and you will find yourself sticking and dreaming so that the night will pass quickly, so that you can finally wake up and plow again and again. When work is so much a part of your thought process that you grab more and more, you say "great time." When these impressions end, you will remember these as "glorious days." Who would not agree to a career consisting of a great time and good memories? It's like an obsession that gives you a buzz, but doesn't make you crazy in the eyes of others.
When you realize this passion to change the world, the next step is to find a company with which you can share this passion. Cross out the companies that are stuck in today. Any company that lives on money from the existing structure is not interested in ideas that change the world.
And Microsoft is the right big company?
What I would like to work on excludes from my choice many large companies, but not all. Microsoft, in my opinion, has a good collection of intellectual property, leadership in the product segments and technical power to be a revolutionary. They do not cling to money rivers and fenced corrals. In many ways, they are trying to profit from something similar to the revolution.
Well, let's go over the sources of my choice.
Why Microsoft? Because my passion goes well with their desire and ability to blow up the world. The only problem that I seem to have to work on is for the company to focus on filling the team with the best talents.
Why Microsoft? Because most of the big players are not interested in revolutions. When you live off the status quo, you are interested in moving slowly or not at all.
Why Microsoft? Because they asked me not to assist, but to help lead.
Why Microsoft? Because every time when I tell people using the Internet from a mobile phone, what I'm working on and what will come of it, they want it right now. When I tell developers what I'm building, they start demanding API and SDK right now. And if people push you into what you are doing, this is a good sign: what you are doing is important.
I think Microsoft is the right company: I’m seven weeks in a new place, and I like what I see around. When I came in 2006, the company was centered around Windows and Office. Now in Redmond is a new main street, and on it are studios (not offices, but studios!) Of Xbox teams. The changes are not symbolic. Windows and Office, now far from sacred cows, have clearly undergone genetic engineering. I have not quite realized what they did and how, but their magic is undoubted. Bing has finished mixing programming and testing — they call it “combined development,” which Google is still trying to do after a year of reorganization. And further more, I see a change every day. Probably when I have more data, I will write another post.
Did Microsoft have a problem? Yes. Will I avoid poking a finger at them if they pay me now? Not. There are improvements that Microsoft needs. Rallies gather too often and last too long. When I announced that all my managers should code, I can not say that their happiness overwhelmed me. Further more, I just started collecting problems.
What I really like about Microsoft is that if you show them a mirror, they will look into it. Give them time, and they will change.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/140656/
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