As our state government and unions usher Boeing from Washington, what about Seattle’s and Lake Chelan’s other big economic benefactor, Microsoft?
No, Microsoft doesn’t have union issues and as far as I know isn’t threatened by unemployment insurance and state disability costs, although they can’t be thrilled by those costs. What is notable about Microsoft is how little of our technology future seems to be coming from Redmond. With the recent launch of the iPad from Apple and the Nexus One phone from Google the vacuum of future looking products from Microsoft is huge. The question is whether Microsoft has lost its way in the market.
Dick Brass, a former Microsoft Vice-President has an Op-Ed in the New York times that laments the cultural issues at Microsoft the he believes actually thwart innovation. According to Dick Brass, Microsoft is also no longer the cool and cutting edge place to work and has seen the exit of many of their best and brightest.
The article is worth reading in its entirety.
What happened? Unlike other companies, Microsoft never developed a true system for innovation. Some of my former colleagues argue that it actually developed a system to thwart innovation. Despite having one of the largest and best corporate laboratories in the world, and the luxury of not one but three chief technology officers, the company routinely manages to frustrate the efforts of its visionary thinkers. – NY Times
