Journal: The problem is internal

Microsoft's problems are as much internal as they are external. Certainly the company is under siege from many different directions, but that is the way free enterprise is supposed to work. Microsoft has been under siege for the last 15 years as the VC community and starry-eyed entrepreneurs took them on in every possible direction. This is the way it is, and this is the way it should be. Some will say it is more extreme now, but I suspect they have always said that. Microsoft likes being under siege, it gives them all a sense of purpose other than adding 16 more features to a word processor. It actually motivates them.

That said, the bigger problem, as I have stated in the pact, is internal. In the past Microsoft has been able to respond to a siege by motivating the troops and getting the job done. IE was possibly the last great example of the Microsoft development engine at work. Now, it is almost impossible for Microsoft to rally the developer troops for that kind of siege-mentality response. The employee apathy is thick. The old-timers can still get it up, those that are still there and haven't joined Ignition Partners or retired, but you have to keep in mind that most of the developers and program managers there today weren't there 5 years ago, and only know Microsoft as a bloated software factory. The glory years, the rally cry of Ballmer and Gates, the late night and weekender coding marathons and the 'death march' mentality are all just stories of the past. The current typical Microsoft employee is more of the 'hey, I have a family and a life, this can wait' style. Certainly there are pockets of exceptions, but generally speaking, the engine is running a bit cold.

Without the means to execute, the siege will take its toll.