In a story for Vanity Fair earlier this year, Kurt Eichenwald described Microsoft’s “lost decade.” He lays the blame squarely on Ballmer and the bloated bureaucracy he fostered that rewarded successful infighting over innovation and design. His description of the company’s “stack ranking” system — where employees on a team are all graded on a curve no matter how well or poorly they actually perform — is damning. But it’s the effect of that system and style that is really profound. As Eichenwald writes, the company is no longer cool. And that’s a problem. “Cool is what tech consumers want. Exhibit A: today the iPhone brings in more revenue than the entirety of Microsoft.”
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