Eight Lessons from Steve Ballmer
No one will forget the work of Steve Ballmer at Microsoft: he left the board of directors of the company to direct his energy to owning the LA Clippers basketball club. Let's explore the experience of the colorful ex-CEO and try to learn from this a few important lessons.
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Although Steve Ballmer left Microsoft's top management , he definitely won't be forgotten. I carefully watched Ballmer while he was running Microsoft, and I was taught a lot by his successes and his failures.
We often look at successful CEOs like Steve Jobs or Jack Welch, we consider them geniuses and imitate them in everything. So we adopted Welch's compulsory ranking method, which turned out to be one of the main reasons why Microsoft began to lose its position . in the category with the lowest rating. In Microsoft, the rating served as the basis for promotion and bonuses. Lower-ranking employees, as a rule, were fired over time, or they left themselves) .
To learn from the mistakes of others is often more important than on the success of others, because it saves you from repeating someone else's painful experience. Well, let's talk about the things that I realized thanks to Ballmer and which will enliven my advice to future top managers.
Remember the infamous video "Monkey Boy" , filmed at Ballmer's motivational meeting with Microsoft employees before he took over the management of the company? At this meeting, Ballmer told them to focus on "developers, developers, developers!"
This way of conducting motivational conversations, in general, is not unknown. From the speaker expect enthusiastic, energetic behavior. Plus, Ballmer’s point of view turned out to be prophetic: Apple and Google surpassed Microsoft with their iOS and Android precisely because they had more “developers, developers, developers”.
But instead of praising Balmer for his performance and foresight, they simply laughed at him - and he took it to heart. Ballmer changed: lost his passion and became a competent, but dull public face.
Behind the scenes, Ballmer retained his passion, but it became different: they say he began to scream and throw furniture. Because of this, he began to look unbalanced: controlling himself in public, but slightly insane in personal communication, which in no way improved his image. I think dedication was an advantage rather than a disadvantage. But if you are going to muffle your emotionality, stick to it always and everywhere and do not forget to replace it with something no less powerful. The transformation of Ballmer did not work, because there was no need for it, and it was not done in the best way.
On what can be formulated in one sentence, many require hundreds of words. But Ballmer is not one of those: he said in three words what others could not. This brevity allowed him to reach out to more people.
If you manage a large organization or communicate with the media, verbosity, at best, just ruins the time, and at worst - leads away from the point. The audience begins to doze, and you yourself can say what you were not going to say. Ballmer was always an example of brevity, and it worked in his favor.
Ballmer was a man of numbers. In the modern world, where analytics is becoming increasingly important, the numbers are much more valuable than at the time when Ballmer began to manage Microsoft. The numbers force you to pay attention to measurable indicators, look for reliable information and keep a critical eye on important things.
Ballmer focused on numbers a little more measure. But if we consider that it is the numbers that increasingly determine our successes and failures, then it is thoroughness, love of searching and understanding of numbers that will distinguish successful top managers from losers .
This is one of the mistakes made by Ballmer, but I’m not suggesting you choose incompetent people. I mean the following: those who can demonstrate loyalty and work in a team should be valued more than people who are competent, but selfish, not inclined toward productive teamwork.
The inability of talented professionals to work together and caused Microsoft's biggest mistakes . Part of the blame can be placed on a compulsory ranking method that sets employees against each other. But the main problem was that it was considered more valuable to be smart, and not to be able to work in a team. As a result, everything resulted in the fact that the company had many clever, but treacherous employees.
Treachery is obviously not the quality that you should cultivate in a company. Especially if you are the same top manager, which subordinates can put a pig. Hiring people who are focused only on their ascent up the social hierarchy would be suicidal. After all, the duration of professional life of such specialists in the company is very short. You need people who are putting your shoulder, and not putting you.
At times, the focus on numbers left Ballmer sideways - and all because he often received distorted information that would have prompted him to make a certain decision or simply give him the answer he wanted to hear. Figuratively speaking, “garbage at the entrance is garbage at the exit”: much of what Ballmer said was inaccurate, and this inaccuracy led to the adoption of catastrophic decisions.
You must constantly check the accuracy of the information you intend to dispose of. Do not exacerbate the problem, the execution of the messenger who brought the bad news, or allowing top managers to mislead you with impunity. The CEO, in particular, can find himself surrounded by reports, on the basis of which he is manipulated or simply given him the information he wants to see. This kills companies and makes even the best CEOs act unproductive.
Before becoming the CEO, Ballmer contacted both people from Microsoft and people from the outside to get an idea of ​​the situation. But, having received a management position, he allowed himself to be surrounded by people who clearly wanted to better control his activities. I know that the same thing happened with the only CEO ever fired from IBM - John Akers .
There are always those who want to protect or control those in power, limiting their contact with the outside world. If you let this happen, negative developments go unnoticed for too long. At best, the top manager stops working productively, and at worst, he falls and pulls the whole company down. Maintaining relationships not only with employees but also with people outside the company has an advantage: it shows areas where you are misled, while you can still influence the situation.
Albeit at the last moment, but Ballmer realized this. Prior to the final reorganization of Microsoft, Ballmer, in general, managed Bill Gates’s company, without having a unique set of skills for Gates himself. On the other hand, Jobs transformed Apple into a company that he could manage ( and his successor, Tim Cook, is now doing the same ).
When you become a new top manager, choose one of two things: either change your skills to fit the needs of the company, or change the company to fit your skills. Ballmer is not an expert in software: surprisingly, he has done so well with a company created around a software expert. Ballmer could never be compared to Gates, but he changed Microsoft in order to better exploit his strengths. Satya Nadella, the successor to Ballmer, put himself that way from the very beginning , and this can have a positive effect on his tenure in a managerial position.
The last time I saw Balmer smiling soon after the announcement of his consent to take office. He grinned, saying goodbye, from the window of his limousine.
This led me to the final conclusion: enjoy. If you do not get pleasure from work - any work - look for options. Ballmer ended up leaving Microsoft in the name of something much more interesting to him , and I hope that many of us will find a way to return smiles to our faces. Work can be a terrific and enjoyable occupation - and maybe a prison.
My last lesson from the experience of Steve Ballmer: escape from prison and find a way to regain the smile that people around you remember with love.
About the translator
The article is translated in Alconost.
Alconost is engaged in the localization of applications, games and websites in 60 languages. Language translators, linguistic testing, cloud platform with API, continuous localization, 24/7 project managers, any formats of string resources.
We also make advertising and training videos - for websites selling, image, advertising, training, teasers, expliners, trailers for Google Play and the App Store.
Read more: https://alconost.com
Transferred to Alconost
')
Although Steve Ballmer left Microsoft's top management , he definitely won't be forgotten. I carefully watched Ballmer while he was running Microsoft, and I was taught a lot by his successes and his failures.
We often look at successful CEOs like Steve Jobs or Jack Welch, we consider them geniuses and imitate them in everything. So we adopted Welch's compulsory ranking method, which turned out to be one of the main reasons why Microsoft began to lose its position . in the category with the lowest rating. In Microsoft, the rating served as the basis for promotion and bonuses. Lower-ranking employees, as a rule, were fired over time, or they left themselves) .
To learn from the mistakes of others is often more important than on the success of others, because it saves you from repeating someone else's painful experience. Well, let's talk about the things that I realized thanks to Ballmer and which will enliven my advice to future top managers.
Transform completely or not transform at all.
Remember the infamous video "Monkey Boy" , filmed at Ballmer's motivational meeting with Microsoft employees before he took over the management of the company? At this meeting, Ballmer told them to focus on "developers, developers, developers!"
This way of conducting motivational conversations, in general, is not unknown. From the speaker expect enthusiastic, energetic behavior. Plus, Ballmer’s point of view turned out to be prophetic: Apple and Google surpassed Microsoft with their iOS and Android precisely because they had more “developers, developers, developers”.
But instead of praising Balmer for his performance and foresight, they simply laughed at him - and he took it to heart. Ballmer changed: lost his passion and became a competent, but dull public face.
Behind the scenes, Ballmer retained his passion, but it became different: they say he began to scream and throw furniture. Because of this, he began to look unbalanced: controlling himself in public, but slightly insane in personal communication, which in no way improved his image. I think dedication was an advantage rather than a disadvantage. But if you are going to muffle your emotionality, stick to it always and everywhere and do not forget to replace it with something no less powerful. The transformation of Ballmer did not work, because there was no need for it, and it was not done in the best way.
Be brief
On what can be formulated in one sentence, many require hundreds of words. But Ballmer is not one of those: he said in three words what others could not. This brevity allowed him to reach out to more people.
If you manage a large organization or communicate with the media, verbosity, at best, just ruins the time, and at worst - leads away from the point. The audience begins to doze, and you yourself can say what you were not going to say. Ballmer was always an example of brevity, and it worked in his favor.
Appreciate the numbers
Ballmer was a man of numbers. In the modern world, where analytics is becoming increasingly important, the numbers are much more valuable than at the time when Ballmer began to manage Microsoft. The numbers force you to pay attention to measurable indicators, look for reliable information and keep a critical eye on important things.
Ballmer focused on numbers a little more measure. But if we consider that it is the numbers that increasingly determine our successes and failures, then it is thoroughness, love of searching and understanding of numbers that will distinguish successful top managers from losers .
Choose not competent, but loyal
This is one of the mistakes made by Ballmer, but I’m not suggesting you choose incompetent people. I mean the following: those who can demonstrate loyalty and work in a team should be valued more than people who are competent, but selfish, not inclined toward productive teamwork.
The inability of talented professionals to work together and caused Microsoft's biggest mistakes . Part of the blame can be placed on a compulsory ranking method that sets employees against each other. But the main problem was that it was considered more valuable to be smart, and not to be able to work in a team. As a result, everything resulted in the fact that the company had many clever, but treacherous employees.
Treachery is obviously not the quality that you should cultivate in a company. Especially if you are the same top manager, which subordinates can put a pig. Hiring people who are focused only on their ascent up the social hierarchy would be suicidal. After all, the duration of professional life of such specialists in the company is very short. You need people who are putting your shoulder, and not putting you.
Check information
At times, the focus on numbers left Ballmer sideways - and all because he often received distorted information that would have prompted him to make a certain decision or simply give him the answer he wanted to hear. Figuratively speaking, “garbage at the entrance is garbage at the exit”: much of what Ballmer said was inaccurate, and this inaccuracy led to the adoption of catastrophic decisions.
You must constantly check the accuracy of the information you intend to dispose of. Do not exacerbate the problem, the execution of the messenger who brought the bad news, or allowing top managers to mislead you with impunity. The CEO, in particular, can find himself surrounded by reports, on the basis of which he is manipulated or simply given him the information he wants to see. This kills companies and makes even the best CEOs act unproductive.
Do not cut yourself from the outside world
Before becoming the CEO, Ballmer contacted both people from Microsoft and people from the outside to get an idea of ​​the situation. But, having received a management position, he allowed himself to be surrounded by people who clearly wanted to better control his activities. I know that the same thing happened with the only CEO ever fired from IBM - John Akers .
There are always those who want to protect or control those in power, limiting their contact with the outside world. If you let this happen, negative developments go unnoticed for too long. At best, the top manager stops working productively, and at worst, he falls and pulls the whole company down. Maintaining relationships not only with employees but also with people outside the company has an advantage: it shows areas where you are misled, while you can still influence the situation.
Change the company for yourself
Albeit at the last moment, but Ballmer realized this. Prior to the final reorganization of Microsoft, Ballmer, in general, managed Bill Gates’s company, without having a unique set of skills for Gates himself. On the other hand, Jobs transformed Apple into a company that he could manage ( and his successor, Tim Cook, is now doing the same ).
When you become a new top manager, choose one of two things: either change your skills to fit the needs of the company, or change the company to fit your skills. Ballmer is not an expert in software: surprisingly, he has done so well with a company created around a software expert. Ballmer could never be compared to Gates, but he changed Microsoft in order to better exploit his strengths. Satya Nadella, the successor to Ballmer, put himself that way from the very beginning , and this can have a positive effect on his tenure in a managerial position.
Enjoy your business
The last time I saw Balmer smiling soon after the announcement of his consent to take office. He grinned, saying goodbye, from the window of his limousine.
This led me to the final conclusion: enjoy. If you do not get pleasure from work - any work - look for options. Ballmer ended up leaving Microsoft in the name of something much more interesting to him , and I hope that many of us will find a way to return smiles to our faces. Work can be a terrific and enjoyable occupation - and maybe a prison.
My last lesson from the experience of Steve Ballmer: escape from prison and find a way to regain the smile that people around you remember with love.
About the translator
The article is translated in Alconost.
Alconost is engaged in the localization of applications, games and websites in 60 languages. Language translators, linguistic testing, cloud platform with API, continuous localization, 24/7 project managers, any formats of string resources.
We also make advertising and training videos - for websites selling, image, advertising, training, teasers, expliners, trailers for Google Play and the App Store.
Read more: https://alconost.com
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/240615/
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