Tom Evslin über seine Zeit bei Microsoft, und Bills Management Stil. Fractals of Change:
So you’re in there presenting your product plan to billg, steveb, and mikemap. Billg typically has his eyes closed and he’s rocking back and forth. He could be asleep; he could be thinking about something else; he could be listening intently to everything you’re saying. The trouble is all are possible and you don’t know which. Obviously, you have to present as if he were listening intently even though you know he isn’t looking at the PowerPoint slides you spent so much time on.
At some point in your presentation billg will say “that’s the dumbest fucking idea I’ve heard since I’ve been at Microsoft.” He looks like he means it. However, since you knew he was going to say this, you can’t really let it faze you. Moreover, you can’t afford to look fazed; remember: he’s a bully.
Das war in den frühen Neunzigern. Bill ist sicher ruhiger geworden seit dann, und vermutlich hat sich auch der Management-Stil bei Microsoft ein wenig geändert. Hoffentlich.
Via Slashdot.