In spite of my med-funk, I've been fairly active this morning. Shaking and terrified of the whole universe, yes, but active.
I've been poring over Mini-Microsoft.
It is, undoubtedly, the very best Microsoft blog I have yet to read.
When I went to the MVP Summit in April, 2004, I remember listening to Ballmer go on and on about how Microsoft was going to win because it had a better story, better products, better support, and so on. Those of you who were there might remember that I asked him a few questions about this, beginning with a very short story about how, twenty years ago, Microsoft pit itself against a company that had a better story, better products, better support, and so on, and how that company got its ass kicked by Microsoft in the following years.
There's this weird kind of myopia in the tech world that leads people to believe, mistakenly, that better technology will somehow always lead to success. Or that there's some single X Factor that will lead a company to the top.
I don't know why this is. I could speculate all day about it, though. I've noticed that my "computer science friends" tend to lack perspective. Their worlds are very isolated and reduced to the bits. Linear, straightforward, and often lacking in vision. Incredible problem solvers, but of the "arrange these nine toothpicks to form the Eiffel Tower" problems rather than the "people don't like us - WTF?" type problems.
My "liberal arts friends", on the other hand, often have more holistic views of life that allow them to draw from different experiences and strange bits of knowledge to understand What's Going On. They might not be the greatest at applying that knowledge, but their views are still important. (For the blog of a highly intelligent liberal-arts dork who just happens to dig tech, you ought to check out Greg.)
Imagine for a moment that you're looking at Microsoft from these two different perspectives.
A Computer Nerd View
Our dev tools rule. Our office suite products rock. Our next operating system is going to finally take advantage of all this expensive hardware people have been buying now for years. Transparency, innovation, blah blah blah!
A Liberal Arts View
A great way to lose a war is to totally misunderstand the terrain and your opponent. Driving in with a bullheaded "We're going to win because we're going to drive over their bodies like a fuckin' freight train" approach is just going to cost you a lot in resources while producing little effect (plenty of noise, though, which seems like a good result, except that people will be wondering five years later why the war is still going on with few tangible results).
Why Mini-Microsoft Kicks Ass
If I were an executive at Microsoft, and if I were to subscribe to only one blog, it wouldn't be Dare's or Scoble's or Don's (and it sure as hell wouldn't be mine). They all have interesting perspectives, ranging from marketing to community to the bits, but they don't deal much with the problems that are really plaguing Microsoft. Scoble gets a little of the way there, but he's more of a Font of Eternal Positivity than he is Mr. Brutal Honesty.
Mini-Microsoft doesn't just look at technical problems, but also at social issues. Microsoft politics. Things like that. And he(?) does it pretty damned well.
What's Sad About Mini-Microsoft
Whoever's writing that blog ought to be kept in Steve Ballmer's closet. Like an intelligent sort of . If Steve needed some perspective (and he does at times), he could just whip out Mini-Microsoft, ask a question, shake him, and turn him upside-down to see what the answer is.
Steve Ballmer: I wonder... is our problem with Linux a technical problem?
[goes over to closet and pulls out Mini-Microsoft]
Steve Ballmer: Mini-Microsoft - I ask thee - Is our problem with Linux a technical problem?
[shake, shake, shake, shake - Steve turns Mini-Microsoft upside-down]
Mini-Microsoft: Seems doubtful.
Of course, Mini-Microsoft would give a much more thorough answer than this. Perhaps, hopefully, something more along the lines of, "People are willing to use Linux right now because they think we're evil. They'll put up with XFree86 config files and scan mode settings because they expect the worst of us. We need to clean up our image, and to follow through on that cleanup with action. We need a different approach than the one we're taking, because the one we're taking is wrong."
What's sad, then, is that Mini-Microsoft has to do this anonymously. If I were in charge, and I'm not, but if I were, I'd hire this guy to blog internally. In a sort of "Employee Safe Zone" where employees would be allowed to speak their minds openly and honestly in response to observations made by Mini-Microsoft.
The executive perspective is important. Duh. But, in my experience working with various corporations, what the people in the trenches think is disregarded. If you're below a certain level, you're treated as someone from whom output is expected, but not opinions. Sure, our managers ask us what we think and ask for our feedback, but it's usually for local, isolated issues (was the fruit punch at the team party fresh enough? should we have banana smoothies next time instead? do these jeans make my butt look fat?).
I don't know what the title is that I'd give to Mini-Microsoft internally. "Director of Reality" comes to mind.
I know this would piss some people off (the creation of the position - not the title (although the title probably wouldn't make people too happy, either)). I've seen some comments over at the Mini-Microsoft blog which amount to, "Stop being a naysaying punk. You don't care about Microsoft - you just want to cause problems."
It reminds me of the rabid "patriotism" that followed 9/11. If you dared to say anything negative about 'merica during the following months, you were obviously commie-pinko-terrorist slime.
The truth is, in the same way 'merica is far from perfect, Microsoft is far from perfect. Unlike 'merica, however, our problems are much simpler. As Mini-Microsoft often points out, Microsoft is a great company with huge potential, but something's wrong right now. Nobody knows what it is, but through the perspectives of someone like Mini-Microsoft, and through the discussions which follow, we can at least start to narrow it down. Or at least some aspects of it, and that would be better than nothing.
I think people get upset about this sort of thing because it sounds like hard work. I imagine that it is hard work, but it sure as hell beats the alternative, which is to continue to watch as this company makes as many bad decisions as good ones.
I came to Microsoft because it seemed broken. Not shattered, but maybe like a mug that's had its handle broken off. We just need some super-glue to get the sucker back on there. In a customer facing position, I've had the chance to do my version of trying to help where I think we have problems (company image), but like any real problem, this one is multi-faceted, and isn't going to be easily solved through a lot of linear, toothpick-puzzle-arranging steps. It needs different perspectives from many different people.
At the head of all of this, I see Mini-Microsoft.