Exchange With RudeDog & Captain About Novell....
RudeDog chimes in with...
>>To: Frederick Smart who wrote (51197)
From: rudedog Saturday, Oct 14, 2000 8:48 PM ET
Reply # of 51203
Frederick - I share your dismay at what I regard as a squandered opportunity at Novell. I held NOVL for a while in 1999 - fortunately sold with a decent profit. Stewart Nelson would not be on my favorites list if I were still holding NOVL. But they had some great ideas. If in fact MSFT picked up any of that and can actually take it to market, that would be great - Novell seems incapable of actually marketing anything, no matter how good it is.
I don't have any special stroke with Bill Gates. He probably knows who I am, but only because I started working with MSFT in 1976... I have had occasional conversations and email exchanges with him over the years but nothing in the last 18 months. He did not attend the lunch at the Forum2000 event, but he did have some brief meetings with people who attended the event. He seemed somewhat distracted.
Ballmer, on the other hand, was everywhere - at the meeting, at the lunch, at the cocktail session afterwards, and was well focused and direct in his answers about where MSFT was at, and what .NET was about. I was impressed both with his candor and with his grasp of some complex issues. I would say that he "gets it" based on what I saw at that event. Likewise the rest of the executive team was pretty well focused.
Ballmer is pretty accessible if you can get to an event or customer forum where he is speaking. He likes people and always takes time to talk with the audience.
I would suggest you dig into microsoft.com for as much detail as you can manage - lots of stuff there, some good.>>
The Good Captain chimes in with...
>>Message #34296 from Captain Jack at Oct 14, 2000 8:51 PM
Fred -- I really like and respect Rudedog. He knows what is going on in the industry. He is also very good at foreseeing the direction of technology. He bailed novl last year which also says a lot about hid take on the mkts. He is upfront and honest which makes the info and opinion he provides valuable. He is THE person novl should have hired long ago-- actually if he would take Schmidts job I mortgage the house on this issue----- in the mean time its just a hold...;-]>>
Now at least here's an open attitude.
Novell completely and totally lacks a roll-up-the-sleeves marketing guy like Balmer.
In fact, I'd go several steps further to say that Novell seems to be in a state dysfunctional dispair-repair right now with very little chance to ever attract a really powerful marketing person.
If the head executive in charge of marketing & sales can't even respond to basic call from a shareholder then something's plain wrong.
We seem to be at the stage where Novell and it's current cast of insiders are running this as their private company. Rewarding and locking down loyalty, shutting down lines of communication, firing some or all of those who could represent a threat to the regime while preparing for the next spin cycle.
This is the kind of environment that's ripe for massive change. And there can be only two varieties from here on out: 1) a complete and total dismanteling and breakdown - a la Corel or Santa Cruz; or 2) a rising up of a few revolutionaries who challenge the status quo from inside out and outside in.
And from everything I can "see", "feel" and observe, Stewart Nelson is the ONE person who's been responsible for this crap that's driving the energy, goodwill, trust, creativity and light away from Novell.
Novell had a tremendous chance leading up to BrainShare '99 to take this New Ball and run with it, but Stewart Nelson and his folks sabotoged the entire trend.
We are hearing that more and more good folks are leaving Novell. But there are still so many good folks that still remain.
And there's only ONE reason that keeps coming back home to explain why all this is going on: Stewart Nelson.
Stewart Nelson.
Stewart Nelson.
Stewart Nelson.
When are you going to call?
When are you going to call?
When are you going to call?
Or is this just another example of the way you are running Novell as if it were your private company - into the ground while there's a cover over it so that more of "what's yours and what's mine" can be kept by you and yours?
Since March of 1999 Novell's spirit has been sabotaged.
Eric's spirit has been sabotaged.
I think it's time to stop this madness.
Eric, can you please "do something??"
And if not, then it's "lights out."
And perhaps there's a larger, deeper issue which hits upon a cultural issue: Utah-based companies seem to be either exceedingly difficult or next to impossible to change, buy, transfer or partner with.
Perhaps the root of this dysfunction goes much deeper. And the question is "how do individuals, familie and companies find a 'way out' of this?"
It's like the Mafia, gangs, some religions and cults: you can get in, but you can't get out.
Perhaps we need to set up a technology/social reverse migration, offering folks jobs in other companies and states.
Perhaps this is what the Internet is already doing.
Breaking down these walls of fear.
Exposing all the barriers, restrictions, limitations, anger, resentment, etc.
Novell has become a financial/economic/social psych ward.
All that has to happen is for some individuals to "rise up!!" - joining hands together with energy, trust and forgiveness.
Oh the days of 1998 and early '99....
So much potential, so much hope, so many ideas, so much energy.
Peace.
GO!! |
