Bill Gates
In its 23-year lifetime, Microsoft has had
three distinct phases. The first, from
1975 to 1989, was characterized by
both bold thrusts into new businesses. Among
their many successes were
MS-DOS, Word, Excel, Macintosh software and Windows.
The company relied
on the success of Windows, banking every penny they had on
its success, which
paid off in Microsoft's second phase from 1990, when Windows
3.0 was
released, to 1994. Customer driven change also marked phase
two.
Customers wanted operating systems that blended the best of Windows,
UNIX, and
NetWare, this was the beginning of Windows NT. Customers wanted the
best of
Microsoft’s productivity tools to work better together, so Microsoft
Office
was created to integrate the software. Recognizing the need to
develop
fundamental advances in software, Microsoft created Microsoft
research.
In 1995, Microsoft entered phase three, taking advantage of
tremendous opportunities
offered by the Internet. Since 1995 Microsoft has
reinvented itself so that,
today, everything Microsoft creates or updates
leverages with the Internet. In
the beginning Gates' was mainly concerned and
involved with technical
development of new products in order to attract
consumers. Since Microsoft
controls the largest percentage of the market than
any of its competitors Gates'
puts more focus on the organization itself and
its employees. Microsoft's
mission is to continually advance and improve
software technology and to make it
easier, more cost effective and more
enjoyable for people to use computers. In
order for Microsoft to continue on
its fruitful path the development of
intelligent decision makers, otherwise
known as managers, must be trained.
Gates' realizes the ROI of his
creation relies on every single individual, which
makes up the organization
called Microsoft. He also knows he cannot be at the
table to make ever single
day-to-day decision, instead of trying to be in a
hundred place at oncece
Gates' attempts to train well oiled managers. He has
even published articles
that reveal his expectations and qualities he attempts
to instill into
Microsoft managers. Here are Bill's ten qualities of a good
employee: 1.
Choose a field thoughtfully. By choosing a field one enjoys it
makes it
easier to generate enthusiasm towards one's work. This is true for both
a
manager and an employee. 2. Hire carefully and be willing to fire. A
strong
team is vital, because a mediocre team provides mediocre results, no
matter how
well it is managed. 3. Create a productive environment. This is a
particular
challenge because it requires different approaches depending on
the environment.
Sometimes productivity is maximized by providing
everybody his or her own office
and other times by moving everybody into open
space. Sometimes financial
incentives stimulates productivity and motivation.
Usually a mixture of
approaches is necessary to reach desired productivity.
4. Define success. This
is done by providing employees with a clear
definition of success and how they
should measure their achievements. Goals
must be realistic. For example, project
schedules must be set those who
actually do the work. People will accept a
"bottom-up" deadline they helped
set, but maybe overwhelmed by a
schedule imposed from upper management that
doesn't map reality. Unachievable
goals undermine an organization. 5. To be a
good manager, you have to like
people and be good at communicating. This
quality is generally impossible to
fake. If an individual doesn't genuinely
enjoy interacting with people it will
be hard to manage well. 6. Develop your
people to do their jobs better than you
can. Transfer your skills to them.
This is an exciting goal, but it can be
threatening to a manger that is
worried about training his replacement. Many
managers like to see their
employees increase their responsibility because it
frees them up to tackle
new or undone tasks. 7. Build morale. It should be made
clear there's plenty
of good will to go around and that there is not just one
hotshot manager
getting all the credit. Explain to employees the importance of
their work to
the company and customers. Giving people a sense of importance
increases
motivation to complete the task to the best of their ability and
provides the
feeling of satisfaction after completion. 8. Take on projects
yourself.
Managers need to do more than communicate. Nobody wants to work for a
boss
who just delegates tasks. It is important for a manager from time to time
to
take on less attractive task to provide examples of how his or her
employees
should meet challenges. 9. Don't make the same decision twice.
Managers should
have the confidence in their well thought out decision in
order to not leave any
avenues open for rediscussion. A manager should never
have to second-guess
himself or herself. 10. Let people know whom to please.
It should be made clear
whom employees have to please, whether it’s the
manager, the manager’s boss
or someone else higher up. There is a risk of
paralysis when employees start to
question whom they are supposed to make
happy. The beauty of Gates' tips is they
are pretty much common sense, it
doesn't take a rocket scientist to incorporate
these aspects into his or her
employee. Making processes clear and simple always
seems to accomplish the
goals it(s) was set out to. Gates' believes in talking
with employees and
customers rather than talking at them. By conducting
conversations
individuals, especially customers, can understand and allow them
to provide
feedback that is taken into consideration allows Gates' to build a
lasting
and trusting relationship with employees and customers.