Qiu Hengming: a perspective on Microsoft.

Microsoft's China trouble-prone, Greater China, Simon Leung, president to resign in April, and 10 years for the 5 he was appointed president; look at Microsoft's worldwide can be found, Microsoft has been confusion in management, the old successful model is also dying.

One day 17 years ago, Bill Gates in an interview with reporters, he said: "The technology industry is very frightening, technically backward, whether you have achieved much glory, and are not guarantees of future lead." Unexpectedly, not a few years, Microsoft rolled into there is no guarantee of the plight of the lead and continued for up to 10 years, has not out of the abyss.

Published in early 2012 with Microsoft to change the world: Alan memoir, "not only fully restore Microsoft's journey as an entrepreneur, Allen also gave a lengthy evaluation of the current situation for Microsoft, but all in a negative evaluation, can even say that is a scathing criticism.

Microsoft may be the company most closely associated with the daily lives of people in the world, but Microsoft is tortured in the past 10 years, Government of torture, the torture of the competitors, internal torment, making it miss to enter the Internet search , smart phones, social networking and a golden opportunity in the field of digital media sales. For example, in the personal computer industry occupied only high-end market Apple has become the "cool" equipment suppliers; Google uses with its own network-based "cloud computing" in the search field for more than Microsoft; in the field of social networking, Facebook is undoubtedly the boss ...

The rapid fall from grace, Microsoft has only been seen as a thing of the past. Pew Research Center has made a one-year investigation found that science and technology articles, 15% are saying that Apple, 11% with Google, only 3% of articles about Microsoft.

A technology standard-bearer fell to such an extent? Do not know if in hate, Allen first anxious, Ballmer is not suitable for Microsoft's top spot. Then, he thought Microsoft's plight with his lack of field related. He said: "Bill will miss my ability to predict the direction of development of the technology trends, the ability to cater to this trend as well as excellent and original ideas.

After reading the book, in general, we can summarize the three major reason for Microsoft in the past 10 years of frequent passive.

First of all, the beating of antitrust

In June 2000, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the spin-off of the Microsoft ruling, and ultimately only relatively modest fine of Microsoft Office trouble. But the case against Microsoft resulted in a very dramatic impact, it cost Microsoft. Allen believes that antitrust spent Gates too much time and effort.

Kai-fu Lee, a former Microsoft vice president, and his autobiography "World of Difference" is also mentioned that before 2000, Microsoft is like a self-centered, proud and naughty children. It everywhere feisty, Tolerance and humility which is not in its dictionary, but anti-trust case completely changed Microsoft.

"In a centralized decision-making technology company lawsuits upset, CEO of the negative impact is very lethal," commented Allen.

Secondly, the inherent mode difficult to timely

Leaders like to insist on the inherent successful model. For Gates, the most viable model is super-aggressive with the super-competitive. Antitrust to Microsoft sounded the alarm, the fleeting market environment for Microsoft tasted bitterness, the old successful model is not working.

Allen recalled that in these markets, as well as many other market segments, Microsoft is to grow and develop as a quick follow-up ", from MS-DOS to Windows to Word and Excel, follow this pattern. However, the world changed again. With the transfer of content to the network, the speed of the innovation. Compared to the old software to disk-based, follow-up strategy that is increasingly difficult to implement.

With the passage of time, the Microsoft-led operations to corporate customers became rigid and was quickly moving up slow slow. After five years, Apple introduced the first generation iPod, Microsoft launched the Zune. Microsoft first used to compete with Google search "must be" able to launch until 2009, 14 months later, Microsoft MSN, Windows Live and Bing share of the domestic search engine market share, a total of only 14%, although in second place, but from Google65% share of the gap. Since the start of the second half of 2010, Microsoft fell on the high-end smart phones fourth ranked Apple, BlackBerry and Google.

Kai-fu Lee in "World of Difference" also briefly point out, Microsoft's disadvantage. Kai-fu Lee describes: all employees believe that Microsoft is the most magical moments always as number2 to learn super rush number1, and the first defeat of the time. However, once a product team lost an imaginary enemy, it will relax, Gates and Ballmer will withdraw its investment and support. For example, after the defeat Netscape in Internet Explorer, Microsoft reduced the investment to improve for years without resulting in its browser, until the emergence of Firefox the "enemy", that she began to cheer.

Third, the mismanagement

Microsoft into a bloated disease. In the eyes of the co-founder of Allen, Microsoft's potential in today's weakened. Ballmer joined 24 employees, which is in the company was established six years the When Allen to leave in 1983, Microsoft 500 people, about the monopoly lawsuit near the end of 2000 40,000 people, currently more than 90,000 people. In order to avoid the mediocrity of the company employees, it must be cruel to remove underperforming, but Microsoft is doing is clearly not enough at this point. One executive told Allen said he hoped to cut 1/4.

In 2009 and 2010, Allen worked with a dozen employees to lunch recently left Microsoft. They all talked about the same thing: the management too much really just hard work, too much power and interests of political infighting in the main product line.

Windows Vista is a wake-up call, this operating system, launched in 2007, has become an authoritative source of jokes, laugh at Apple's advertising targets. Microsoft how to make their own masters fell to such a field? Kai-fu Lee said: "Microsoft employees IQ higher than anyone else, but our efficiency is worse than anyone else in other companies, employees of intelligence is the sum of the relationship, but the IQ of our employees actually subtract the relationship"

Or one of the reasons for it.

In addition, service to business customers, away from the end consumer is one of the ills of Microsoft. Allen said: "Although in the past 30 years, Microsoft has never stopped efforts to design products so that consumers heartbeat has never been the company's strengths. Allen referenced the metaphor of the "New York Times" pipeline equipment "Once you become the largest pipeline equipment wholesalers, innovative spirit disappeared from the company's business. "You might want innovation, but just against the force of gravity as difficult."

Complacency is the Gates of the problems, Microsoft has always been the problem. For many years before Google turned into a giant today, Microsoft has the opportunity to buy Google, but Gates did not was insignificant competitors see in the eyes, he has been saying: "six months, we will be able to beat it! "complacency is the ultimate stuffed down the bitter pill.

[Venture Culling - Microsoft story]

In 1973, Gates learned that he was admitted to Harvard University, he was not surprised that he have studied the gap Putnam Mathematics Competition and the National Students Competition math skills, he scores close to the maximum, and since then Bill has been airs. Microsoft co-founder Allen warned: "Bill, you know, went to Harvard, will encounter some people better than you."

"Impossible", he said, "No way!"

Christmas holidays, Allen once again see him, Gates seems very depressed, he glumly replied: "I am a professor of mathematics at the age of 16 to get a Ph.D." His course is purely theoretical, Bill We make every effort, but got a B. In the Harvard class, Bill has not is the most powerful. Allen believes that it has dealt a blow to his motivation for learning, the final Bill turn to learn applied mathematics.

[Venture Culling - Microsoft story]

In 2000, Gates had considered buying Google's proposal, but when he talks with Google's future, the company actually already worth more than 500 million U.S. dollars, if you want to buy at least $ 1 billion to be possible. "No income, the company wants to sell $ 1 billion two children crazy! Are venture capitalists crazy?" Microsoft this proposal as a joke the same aside. They never thought that in just six years later, the company valued at $ 200 billion U.S. dollars.