Is Google at Risk of Becoming the Next Microsoft?

Let's make the analogy more clear: What does it mean to become the "next Microsoft". MS's profit per employee is awesome (http://www.interknowledgetech.com/profit%20per%20employee.pd...) and they still control a number of cash cows. They pulled off Bing quite nicely. They're totally clueless in the consumer mobile space but just ask how many enterprise mobility customers use Android (pretty much none, but could change in the near future).

One of the biggest markers he points out is the fact that Google is no longer the place where the "in crowd", the best of the best want to work. This is indeed similar to how MS lost its similar coveted position to Google some years ago. This is troublesome, but is not by itself reason to short Google, at least for the next 5 years at least.

The culture point he makes, I think, is more important: If everybody in a group starts to think alike, it's not good for the group, irregardless of what culture prevails. AFAIK, Google has a radical democracy approach to project management determined by peers, as opposed to the leader with a vision approach of Apple. This is good but needs to be reigned in a bit.

IN short, I think the big G can use some master strategizing of its many projects.

If you're about to venture into the exciting world of startups and don't know what you should build this sentence would be a good starting point.

Google is at an extreme risk of staying Google in a world that will not tolerate that any more. This by itself is enough trouble. Leave MS alone.