“Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, urged British businessmen yesterday to follow his example and sack as many underperforming staff as possible each year,” Christine Buckley reports for The London Times. “Mr Ballmer, whose personal worth is $14 billion (£7.8 billion) and who seeks to dismiss 6.5 per cent of his global workforce every year, said of the best number of staff to axe: ‘Whatever you think you can do better with, you should double that. All companies of all sizes should be asking themselves that question.'”
“Microsoft, which has 61,000 employees, aims to push out 6.5 per cent of its staff each year who are not doing their jobs well enough, Mr Ballmer has been quoted as saying,” Buckley reports. “Yesterday he urged British directors to make similar radical cuts. He told the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) conference at the Royal Albert Hall in London: ‘The real question is never: ‘Are people not good enough?’ The real question is: ‘Can you do better?’'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Stuart” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Does the irony just cascade off his fat, shiny pate? Mr. Ballmer, meet Mr. Mirror. No, don’t vomit, squint hard: it helps… some. Ask it why Microsoft shares have flat-lined (actually, they’ve declined) for the past six plus years? No, no, geez, do not ask it who’s the fairest of them all! Ask it who’s ultimately responsible for Microsoft’s innumerable failures and illegal activities over the years? Hey, ask it when Vista’s going to ship? It probably knows better than anyone in Redmond. When you’re finally finished, quizwhiz, follow your own bloated advice and say the words “You’re fired.”
Now, from our perspective, we’re glad Ballmer won’t follow our advice. Nothing’s better for Apple than keeping the old, delusional Dancing Monkey Boy on the bridge, eating mayonnaise with a shovel from the looks of it, while the S.S. Redmond flounders.
[UPDATE: 11:16am EDT: Revised take as per BuriedCaesar’s suggestion below.]
Advertisements:
• Get the new iMac with Intel Core Duo for as low as $31 A MONTH with Free shipping!
• Get the MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo for as low as $47 A MONTH with Free Shipping!
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• Apple’s brand new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system. Home stereo. Reinvented. Available now for $349 with free shipping.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
Related articles:
Microsoft’s silence is deafening regarding Apple’s Macs that can run Windows, too – April 22, 2006
Windows Vista to be Microsoft’s last operating system? – April 21, 2006
Thurrott: Microsoft collapsing under its own weight, Gates has driven Windows Vista into the ground – April 20, 2006
Pre-Boot Camp report: Apple could double market share on Microsoft defections – April 13, 2006
Apple’s superior hardware can now run Microsoft’s inferior Windows XP – April 10, 2006
Microsoft: recovery from Windows malware becoming impossible; better to to wipe and rebuild – April 04, 2006
Did Apple maneuver Microsoft into their troubles with Windows Vista? – April 03, 2006
Enderle: Microsoft employees voice concerns about working for dysfunctional company – March 29, 2006
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admits to brainwashing his kids not to use Apple iPods – March 28, 2006
Microsoft employees call for heads to roll over continual Vista slips – March 27, 2006
What’s the difference between Mac OS X and Vista? Microsoft employees are excited about Mac OS X – March 22, 2006
Thurrott: Microsoft going to get eaten alive over Windows Vista’s resemblance to Apple’s Mac OS X – March 09, 2006
Microsoft’s greatest trick: convincing the public that the Wintel PC platform is open – March 06, 2006
Bill Gates: Apple’s Intel switch doesn’t really change anything for Microsoft – January 09, 2006
Microsoft’s Ballmer: It’s true, some of Windows Vista’s features are ‘kissing cousins’ to Mac OS X – September 19, 2005
Microsoft suffers from malaise, key defections, Windows Vista struggles, lack of towels – September 16, 2005
Microsoft CEO Ballmer: Apple’s moved to Intel? Ho hum – June 07, 2005
Oh, my…you can’t make this schnit up, can you? Nobody would believe you.
Does this mean the entire Vista team gets their walking papers after it ships?
Magic word: action. No lie.
It’s really hard to like that guy…
doesn’t surprise me, with that extra paranoid crap M$uk threw out yesterday as “anti-piracy”, they should just keep doing what they are doing, I don’t give a crap, to quote a famous starship captian. “Then let them die!”
Here in Australia, underperforming CEOs are rewarded with ever fatter salaries. Another thing we two nations have in common!
MW: Where would you like to go “today”, as opposed to next year at the earliest?
Anyone know his email address?
Then why hasn´t he sacked himself?
I would think that the Vista team can see what’s on their horizon.
Ampar Rocks! That was a great photo. I was just thinking of how much that picture looked like Uncle Fester. Separated at birth!
Ampar,
I was just sitting here thinking, “Man, he looks just like Uncle Fester in that picture!”. Too funny!
Keith
Hey, MDN – Whaddaya mean the SS Redmond is “heading towards the ice”? Haven’t they been taking on water for some time now?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grrr” style=”border:0;” />
If he gets rid of 6.5% weach each, it’ll take over 100 years for them to run out of people to fire. I’m sure he can get M$ down to zero way before then.
Microsoft is starting by getting rid of Ballmer, right???
http://musobs.blogspot.com/
God, is that Uncle Fester in that picture??? Oh, it’s just Steve Ballmer.
Cheers Ampar,
MDN Magic Word: young; He went balled at a un-naturally young age.
google ‘balmer’
I am appalled and offended by your insulting comparison of my brother and Steve Ballmer. You will be hearing from my attorney.
Thanks, everyone!
That picture also reminds me of a “special needs” child. He might need to wear a football helmet to prevent head injury.
Don’t you love Microsoft.
It’s on its way to becoming the greatest case study of corporate failure in history. Bullmer will take 60% of the credit, Gates 29% and Steve Jobs the final 1% that will be the last ‘nail in in the coffin’.
MacDailyNews stoops to taking a cheap shot with a bad photo of a great technology leader and innovator. Steve Ballmer has more money than everyone reading this site combined. 98% of the world uses Windows, not MAC for a reason!
The MacDailyNews Take is a insulting to Microsoft’s excellent CEO and I do not agree with any bit of it.
I will NEVER visit this site again!!!
No wonder MS cannot deliver good products: it must be a horrible place to work at.
LOVE THAT PICTURE!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA
“98% of the world uses Windows, not MAC for a reason”
Actually it’s closer to 90% … and falling. And the reason is, they don’t know any better and/or are cheapskates.
MS memo to staff:
“Sackings will continue until morale increases”
re: IT Pro
i don’t see any pictures of great technology leaders and innovators on this page. i see an incompotent, manic, chair-throwing rich man doing his best uncle fester impersonation. 98% of the world uses windows because it doesn’t know there’s anything else. ignorance isn’t always blissful.
i imagine you were just pretending to be an IT Pro, like sputnik and the others do from time to time. after all, what would a REAL windows junkie be doing here at a mac website?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />