Synopses & Reviews
In recent years, Microsoft has become more than just Bill Gatess company. Steve Ballmer is now the CEO, overseeing a Goliath that has been plagued by a federal antitrust trial, an employee exodus prompted by the dot-com revolution, and an ongoing economic downturn. But Microsoft has not only survived; it has thrived, prospering to the point that it is the second most recognizable brand in the world (behind Coca-Cola).
Bestselling author Robert Slater explains exactly how the company has adapted in the last few years, taking readers into Microsofts inner circle to tell an amazing story of persistence in the face of adversity. Slater describes the many changes that have led to a new corporate culture, a new strategic direction, new product lines, and new ways of doing business worldwide.
There have been many books about Microsoft over the years, but this one brings the story right up to the present, with fresh insights and information. Slater was granted unprecedented access to the companys notoriously press-shy top brass, including extensive interviews with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
About the Author
Robert Slater is the author of more than twenty books, among them the recently released The Wal-Mart Decade and the national bestsellers Jack Welch and the GE Way and Get Better or Get Beaten. He was a reporter with Time magazine for two decades.
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Part I
The Four-Year Crisis
1 A Surreal Halloween 3
2 The Lawyer Gates for the Defense 24
Part II
Emerging from the Crisis
3 The Most Unique Partnership in Business 51
4 Putting the Start-up to Bed 72
Part III
How Bill Gates Reinvented Microsoft
5 Yes, Mom, Im Thinking 95
6 Meeting with Former African Prostitutes 117
Part IV
How Steve Ballmer Reinvented Microsoft
7 Open and Respectful 137
8 The Discipline Revolution 152
9 Great People with Great Values 174
10 The New Culture of Being Friendly and Humble 190
Part V
The Rebooting of Microsoft
11 Has the Revolution Begun? 219
Afterword 237
Notes 243
Index 251