rc3.org Strong opinions weakly held

To me, the most interesting takeaway from the Microsoft memo was this, as Gruber describes it:

The strategic bottom line is that Microsoft, under Ballmer, feels compelled to compete everywhere — that they must directly confront any company achieving any significant success, no matter how far afield that success is from the areas where Microsoft is already winning or doing well.

That’s certainly not a new insight, but I’d be interested to understand why this is the case. Is Ballmer just a megalomaniac? Is MS that insecure about the long-term viability of the OS and Office markets? etc. Is the need to dominate every market just an ingrained company value? If so, where did it come from? What might Microsoft look like if it took a more cooperative approach, supporting technologies and companies that complement its already dominant products/technologies? Etc.

Posted by Stan Taylor on 12 August 2008 @ 1pm