acroyear | end of an era... (Reply)

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Go Home, Bill | PBS:

Gates and Microsoft -- and especially Microsoft shares -- have been suffering for a decade from a number of leadership transgressions that helped make Microsoft the huge company it is today but did so while breaking rules, breaking competitors, and ultimately breaking the law. What's sad is that it didn't have to happen this way. The question I would ask Bill Gates on his way out the door for the final time is: "If you had played fair and not abused your monopoly power would Microsoft be significantly smaller or less successful than it is today?"

I think the answer is "no," that Microsoft's bullying didn't really gain the company much in the long run and certainly hurt Gates' wealth, which is a number that has been very important to him over the years.

Gates might argue that he didn't feel he could take a chance on playing fair, which is a position you'd expect from someone who knows the value of luck in these things. I just think it is sad that Microsoft, having created a huge and very efficient system for recruiting the best and the brightest workers, never allowed those people a chance to really show what they were capable of.