Microsoft’s Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant

Vanity Fair: This lengthy piece by Kurt Eichenwald examines Microsoft’s “astonishingly foolish management decisions” and says the company “could serve as a business-school case study on the pitfalls of success.” Numerous interviews with Microsoft insiders detail how management practices like “stack ranking” led to the company’s fall from dominance. “I see Microsoft as technology’s answer to Sears,” said Kurt Massey, a former senior marketing manager. “In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Sears had it nailed. It was top-notch, but now it’s just a barren wasteland. And that’s Microsoft. The company just isn’t cool anymore.”

Bill Hill, a former Microsoft manager, added, “They used to point their finger at IBM and laugh. Now they’ve become the thing they despised.”

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