Daniel,
Thanks for the excellent link to the Silverberg piece. I especially got a kick out of the following portion of it:
"steve needs to do something so that the company ends up with an org that essentially is a separate company within the company. it has to be free to do what it thinks best. it has to be so that its energy can be 95% focused externally. rather than 80% internally, as is the case today. the company is so wrapped up in its shorts that it can't get anything done. it has an incredible amount of iq yet is getting only pennies on the dollar -- so much iq is wasted. the best example i can think of of what can happen when people are motivated and externally focused is ie3... so much done is [in?] so little time by so few people."
I once made a similar recommendation at another company. Most large companies end up being too internally focused. Creating autnomous divisions or completely separate entities makes sense in such circumstances. I was ignored as well.
Those who have read my previous posts on this thread may remember that I have been a Microsoft defender and Microsoft bull for some time. No more. I'm angry at the way Microsoft has treated its shareholders for the past year.
Microsoft has thought for the past few years that Windows is the answer to everything. There was indeed something magical about Windows in its formative years. It was an "operating system" that could be used by anyone with a PC, and, most importantly, it was an easy-to-use GUI. Now everything is GUI and the browser has become the main platform people use. Windows has lost its reason for being. The name has value, and some of the product permutations have value -- that's about the extent of it.
The heyday of Windows, currently ending, arguably was the most important thing to happen to technology in the early nineties. The Internet and connectivity are the most important things at the current time, with wireless being an offshoot of them.
Can MSFT recover? As a shareholder, I hope so. I have in the past put a lot of stock in the quality of management there, but recent events (management departures, the way the whole trial has been handled, and missed product opportunities) have shaken my faith.
I've been hearing rumors that Seattle Real Estate prices, at least on the east side (Redmond/Bellevue) are beginning to decline. There are people who are working there because they have been convinced in the past that their options will make them wealthy. I believe they will be disappointed if they still believe this. This is another story in and of itself -- a potential mass departure of people looming on the horizon.
Microsoft must re-energize itself if it is to compete effectively and provide superior returns. Silverberg's suggestions make sense. Splitting the company up may be the only way to unleash the value of its people.
As an aside, there was a caller on the Bob Brinker show yesterday who was holding 15,000 shares of MSFT (probably an ex-employee -- I didn't catch the beginning of the call). She was retired, but didn't sound very old. She was on margin to the tune of $369,000. She has seen her net worth decline (assuming she owns no other stock) from approximately $1.4 million to approximately $560,000. You could hear in her voice how shaken she is. If there are Microsoft employees with similar financial conditions, it would not be a good omen.
INTCfan |
