When Not to Throw Chairs

I'm getting spammed by some Microsoft hater who is linking to a story reported on CNET about Steve Ballmer going nuts and having a tantrum about Google (see Court docs: Ballmer vowed to 'kill' Google). The message itself quotes the article and then has some extra commentary about trusting Microsoft and a few quotes from other executives about how Microsoft is the largest institutional spammer (I'm sure the irony of spamming about spam is not lost on the actual spammer in this case).

The email looked legitimate enough the first time I received it because the link was to a CNET article so I actually read the article. I must admit, Steve Ballmer is a strange dude. I've seen video of his frothing-at-the-mouth Microsoft pep-rallies. It doesn't surprise me that he has just as much on the negative side of behavior to throw some chairs and curse and scream. The lesson for Ballmer is to not do things that could appear in court documents. But for Microsoft, that's pretty much everything. I don't think there is any room for error for Microsoft because somebody will be there to assume the worst, even for things that are should be acceptable.

A good place to find the anti-Microsoft culture is to lurk around the comments on ZDNet news stories. Inevitably, any story about Microsoft will have a comment like "This is the very reason everybody should use Linux." And for some reason, the commentor cannot simply type "Microsoft" without using a dollar sign for the "S". Just so we are all clear about spelling it "Micro$oft": it lost its cleverness about ten years ago. I know the spelling is ironic, but I think we all get that Microsoft is a company that tries very hard to make money, unlike all the other companies in the U.S. that simply exist for the sake of serving humanity.

Certainly Microsoft has more than its fair share of major screw ups. But most of its problems stem from a lack of awareness regarding its own culture, kind of like some sort of ivory tower syndrome. Microsoft sees itself as so important to the world that nobody can live without it. This attitude is sad since the rotation of the Earth is not directly tied to Redmond. There is some awareness at Microsoft that adaptation for the future is important, but the old ways still prevail in its products and marketing. For example, it wasn't until Firefox began to chip away at Internet Explorer's domination that Microsoft discovered that end-users might like some new browsing features. Once Microsoft knocked Netscape out as a serious competitor, Internet Explorer development pretty much stopped--for years. This is Microsoft's cultural arrogance.

There is always going to be a subculture that hates successful companies. The Wal-Marts, Microsofts, and McDonald's of the world will always be under attack. However, these companies are so big many of the complaints could be legitimate and should be addressed. An executive in charge of public relations should be monitoring the public discourse and measuring it against the cultural reality within the company. Addressing problems as they occur may actually help save companies from having to air dirty laundry in court.

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