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Mini-Microsoft


The One Before Microsoft's Showing at CESJanuary 4

Okay, time to take a break from all that rumor craziness. It was an... interesting couple of conversational sparking posts. It certainly boggles me to think, beyond rolling up well designated rumors and speculation from commenters here, that you can even have FUD in your name and still get wide-spread journalistic copy. Oy.

If you want to continue to dive in on the rumors and speculation about any cut-backs at Microsoft, feel free to do so on the last posting on it. And remember that Blogger provides a comment RSS stream if you want to keep track of any comments come in on a particular post (like the last one - and yes, you've probably noticed that my moderation eases up after 100+ comments on a post).

One parting comment from The Field:

I think all of the moaning and finger-pointing on the "layoff" posts is a sign of what ails us; we are so self-absorbed we don't stop to think about how to delight our customers. If there are going to be layoffs, so be it. We would not be the first company to have them and we wouldn't be the last. So don't worry about the layoffs; they might happen, they might not. Kee

No Layoffs at Microsoft, and a Round-up of other Recent CommentsDecember 29 2008

NO LAYOFFS: first, I think it's fair to give some time to comments in the last post that wanted to absolutely dismiss any sort of Microsoft layoff rumor, starting off from one from 12/28/2008 (various comments edited to be condensed a bit):

NO LAYOFFS @microsoft

Yes, Executives are looking for measures to cut cost. And that can be done without any layoffs. Current hiring rate is slow at MS and considering the natural attrition, we will have lesser workforce at the end of FY09.

We are not immune to recession and our bottom line will see a hit for few quarters. We expect a full recovery by FY10 Q3. We are very optimistic that this recession is an opportunity for us and we will play our cards well. Urge all Microsoft employees to stay focus and keep doing the great work. You will hear more from SteveB soon on his plans. Thank you !!

and another from 12/27/2008:

For the last time folks -- THERE ARE NO LAYOFFS HAPPENINGS IN JANUARY..[...] beyond Jan...well we dont have a crystal ball -- but if the economy doesnt improve and the company misses targets -- it would get uglier for everyone -- from no

Rumors of Upcoming Microsoft Cut-BacksDecember 21 2008

Rumors. Microsoft layoff and cut-backs and Reduction In Force rumors. That's all I have for you. Rumors and second-hand speculation and the comments left by the fine, good-looking folks who participate in the conversation here. So pour yourself some holiday cheer and dive in.

What have those fine folks been sharing over the past couple of posts here? Bad news on the rise and with perhaps January 15th 2009 as an interesting day for Microsoft news. Bad news. 15 Jan is a week before FY09Q2 quarterly results and it's better to share as much news, good and bad, before the results are released vs. surprising Wall Street (something I think we've learned).

It all starts with...

Just heard on the finance grapevine. MSFT layoffs are coming on January 15th.

They are substantial.

And then some curious meetings:

they lost 12 people in STB [...] looks like "feedback" reviews are underway to get the a-10's out of the picture as well.

What kind of meeting? Perhaps like:

Achieving Senior Level 63 at MicrosoftNovember 15 2008

I want to share some of my thoughts about succeeding at Microsoft and reaching Level 63, the Senior contributor level at Microsoft. Given that quite a few Microsofties are going to find themselves locked into their current group for a while, the ability to succeed by swinging on the vines to a new group is going to be rare. Within the comments, I hope to elicit advice that follows up on what I start here, and maybe even contradicts it. I'm interested in hearing your stories of success, mentorship, and turning a career that was off-path back on-track. For the folks on the path to L63, I want you to first understand your boss's opinion of you, your opinion of yourself, what it takes to succeed in your team, and then ways you can step up and be on the right path.

Let's Hear it for the Boy! Let's Hear it for the Girl! If you reach L63 during your time at Microsoft, especially if you started at L60 or below, you should celebrate. Here's to you! What an achievement! You have the right stuff to succeed and Microsoft is very happy with you.

L63 is very much an important milestone, and in tough-hiring times like these the following question has never been more important: "Will <<fill in the blank>> reach Level 63 during their career?"

If you're not there yet and your boss was asked that question by your skip-level-boss, what is your boss's answer?

Unless you know for sure that your boss's answer is an immediate "Absolut

But Mini, I Want To Talk About...November 15 2008

Don't want to talk about reaching L63 at Microsoft and bummed that I've locked down the comment stream on that post to be my way or the cutting-room-floor?

Tell you what I'll do: I'll put this post up to have a post to riff within, but still stay within my commenting guidelines.

What's on your mind?

  • Who's still hiring at Microsoft? How teams are locking down and freaked out about the risk of losing positions if people try to leave? Ideas to move groups?
  • Wondering if the mobile team can be possibly slapped enough to compete against the iPhone and Android momentum?
  • What's up with Arik Hesseldahl calling Microsoft big and bloated? Is that passé now?
  • I still love my Media Center PC, even though lately it's started hating all of us... is this how SkyNet starts?
  • Azure. (shakes head) It makes me want to sing to the Talking Heads about how this is not my beautiful house. It's a solution. It will solve problems. Are they really the right problems, and therefore, is it really the right solution?
  • Kudos for a great PDC / Win7 debut. I'm drawing hearts around my sketch of SteveSi... and littles x's and o's... ahem.
  • On that theme: since the Company Meeting 2008, I've felt that we've turned a corner. A good corner. Do you agree, and if not, what do you believe has to happen for Microsoft to have turned the corner onto the freeway of success?