Interview With Steve Ballmer: Products, Competition, The Road Ahead

Take the iPhone for example - a product that completely trounced Windows Mobile in every way (and continues to do so), despite MS's years of effort in the field.

Response? It's now politically incorrect on MS campus to openly admit to carrying an iPhone. Instead of embracing the competition and figuring out why they're better, MS is too busy burying its head in the sand.

Similarly, I've heard of stories of HR contacting employees for organizing after-hours Wii parties with coworkers. Apparently even using and enjoying your competitors' products is disallowed.

No wonder MS is in the rut they're in. They spent years practically pretending the competition didn't exist, and now they're surprised that they've been left in the dust.

I do sense the winds of change at MS lately though - there is certainly more willingness to admit that the competition is more successful (though still generally non-kosher to admit that they rock). There are certainly real engineering efforts to play catch-up.

But Ballmer is not the right guy to lead this charge - he's the guy who openly admitted that his kids aren't allowed to use iPods or Google. A guy with an ego this large should not be allowed to run a company that is financially and developmentally stagnant amidst a sea of strong competitors.