Anne's MBA blog

Seattle Interns helping the environment (along with Reno 911)  

After a too-late Friday night and on a too-early Saturday morning, over 50 intern MBAs from Amazon, T-mobile, Boeing, Starbucks and Microsoft made it to Golden Gardens Park on the Sound to help clear the wetlands and make the area more hospitable for the native plants, animals, etc.   The interns spent most of the morning removing invasive weeds and debris that were wrecking havoc on the parks ecosystem and helped support a terrific non-profit organization, Seattle Works, in the process.    

The day wrapped up with a big BBQ on the beach and the raffle of 2 all expense paid trips for 2 to New York to see the MSN sponsored Live Earth - Concerts for a Climate in Crisis occurring on 7/7/07.  

While helping the environment was the highlight of the day, some interns would claim that the impromtu Reno 911 model's sand castle exercize** was a close second...and no, for the record, we had no idea that they would be there at the same time promoting their new movie.  

**(as if I have to write this) Not an official MS sponsored event

For those who don’t subscribe to Knowledge @ Wharton, here is an excellent interview given with Microsoft Chief Technical Officer, Ray Ozzie.   Student comments included. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1698

"A View from the Top" Speaker Series at Stanford  

Addressing a packed room of students and reporters in mid March, Steve and Dean Joss joked about everything Steve missed in his second year of business school ("how to be a CEO") to what great companies do very well to our growth strategies and those of our competitors (see video clip -zdnet).  The atmosphere was humerous and serious, with student questions around new business models, developing people and the trade-off's Steve has made in his career.  Afterward, Steve had lunch with 15 students and then headed down to the SVC campus to continue meeting with the venture community.  Details of Steve's remarks and the discussion below, courtesy of Eweek and Stanford GSB. 

 http://zdnet.com.com/1606-2_2-6167775.html?tag=nl.e622

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0%2c1895%2c2104609%2c00.asp

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/vftt_ballmer2007  

Diversity and Inclusion at Microsoft

Our diversity and inclusion programs at Microsoft have both an external and internal focus.  Externally, we work with civil rights organizations, education institutions and community groups.  Internally, we focus on attracting a diverse workforce of which the MBA community plays a significant part.   Hiring those students who wish to succeed and innovate and bring their diverse talents, ideas and perspectives to Microsoft to help us market to an ever diverse and growing customer base is paramount to our success.

In the last few months there have been important diversity events that have occurred at MS (National Urban League Dinner) and at your schools (Harvard Latino Dinner, Harvard Club NYC).  We look forward to being more involved in events like these in the upcoming year.  For more information, subscribe to the MS quarterly newsletter below and/or visit the company website. 

Subscribe to the Quarterly Diversity Newsletter: https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/subscriptionwizard.aspx?wizid=39de6129-3948-4e46-86c6-395f5e05120e&lcid=1033

Microsoft Diversity Website: http://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/default.mspx

Sorry for not being on mail and the blog!

Due to a skiing accident, I have been out of the office and off my blog for the last few weeks.  I apologize and thank you for your patience!  Things are fine but I am on crutches for the next 4 weeks and won’t be out at schools for awhile.  Thanks to all of you who interviewed for internships while I was out and I apologize if I haven’t gotten back to your emails.   I hope to do so this week. Congrats on all of your internships both with us and otherwise!  Thanks and I hope to see you all soon.

Oded, Product Manager, Mobile*

 HBS  

The 11 weeks of my internship were simply terrific, probably for four main reasons: 1) My group - MED offers a challenging, entrepreneurial and vibrant group to work with, great people and fantastic products.   2) The company - from visiting Bill Gates' estate, talking with Steve Ballmer, to the amazing facilities and resources the company has to offer.  Definitely better than anything I saw in the Bay area.   3) The other interns and the recruiting team - had superb time with friends from other top schools, hiking in Seattle's area and going out virtually every night to drink, eat, play squash or watch a movie.   4) Seattle - the summer offers such a perfect weather and the city's bar and restaurant scene is fantastic.  5) The extra - waking up to watch Mt. Rainer from my Harbor Steps apartment on the 18th floor was the best way to open my morning with a smile.   

My team and project: Product Manager Intern in Windows Mobile Product Management Team  

The first phase of the project included analysis of past sales performance of Windows Mobile across regions, OEMs and devices.  This followed by a further analysis into the reasons behind the 'wins' and 'loses' of current year performance, in order to answer questions such as "Why did device XXX do badly this year, versus device YYY?", etc.  Mid-internship conclusions were presented to a wide range of managers in MED Marketing.  The analysis included reviewing existing research reports, holding conversation with dozens of managers in the department, meeting managers outside MED and studying dozens of different Windows Mobile and competing devices.  

The second phase included articulating actionable recommendations in order to address the weaknesses and strengths discovered in the first phase.  This included re-analyzing market segmentation studies, additional meetings with division’s managers as well as members from the development team.  The deliverable was a second presentation to GMs in MED Marketing and passing on responsibilities for the full-time team members.

*Oded will be starting fulltime in our London Office with our Mobile Division. Congrats Oded!

Grant Allen, Wharton 2007, writes about his summer experience  

Just when I was getting ready to write something about starting off the intern season, BW does it for me.  I couldn't have said it better than Grant did. 

While we are so looking forward to meeting a new intern class, I must admit we will miss the old.  We were lucky to have you all here and to become friends.  Thanks for your article Grant and I hope we are able to deliver another "summer camp" experience for the class of '2008.  

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2007/bs20070212_907360.htm?chan=bschools_bschool+index+page 

Silicon Valley unites to find a friend to all: James Gray  

In the last week, help has poured in from numerous companies, more commonly known as rivals, to help in the search for Microsoft Researcher James Gray who has been missing at Sea.  Many friends of Mr. Gray’s at Oracle, Google, and Amazon have come forward offering their technology, time and resources to help in the search.  

Gray,  winner of the 1998 A.M. Turing Award, "the Nobel Peace Prize for Science,” is best known for helping to develop the research and technology that made ATMs, online shopping, airline reservations and even mapping programs like Google earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth possible.  

While Gray and his family are all in our prayers, thanks goes out to the community for helping in this tragedy.  It is sad yet somehow significant, that a circumstance like this illustrates why we are all part of the tech family.  Despite earnings reports, advertising campaigns, Wall Street and pundits, the real reason any of us are in this line of work, is to use technology to help and benefit each other.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/03/technology/03search.html?hp&ex=1170565200&en=e63424b964aacb08&ei=5094&partner=homepage

You all  have heard enough about it and there is nothing I can add to the global discussion that you haven't read already.  Not to state the obvious, but, if you are interviewing with us, I recommend being versed in the general business dialogues that are surfacing thanks to coverage in the Economist, Bloomberg, slashdot and any other media outlet you prefer.  A lot of MBAS have been involved with this build and launch, and I congratulate them on their success.  It is humbling to be a part of something that is so big that will impact millions across the globe.   It will be one helluva of a party in NYC this weekend and I apologize in advance to those of you at Kellogg if I am hiding behind sunglasses when I see you sometime Tuesday....

 YES -  Because of your competition and because we don’t have the time.  

In an ideal world most recruiters and interviewers would talk to you for hours about our companies and your skill set and all that is available to you and what would be your best fit.  And to some degree, we try to do that through our Meet the Company presentations, our marketing material, our websites, and the time we have with you on campus, at receptions etc. In reality, however, we don't have the time to really help you figure that out and it is unfortunate because your competition will know what division and job they want and will come across stronger in thier interviews as a result.  

Surprisingly (or not) most of your peers are very clear on what they want to do  and are very specific and direct about it.   Thus, their interviews will tend to carry an air of direction and result orientation that the interviewer will positively respond to.  If you are following someone like this in an interview day, the tendency for you to come off as  “un-focused, not serious” or worse yet – accused of “not doing your homework” is unfortunate,  but a reality.   

To combat this situation,  I recommend the following:  Try to narrow your focus down to one or two divisions at the company and be able to talk about them.   It doesn’t have to be a deep dive but you should be able to speak generally to the group and the business space and what excites you about the products.  In the final analysis, if you really don’t know where you want to be, than be honest with your interviewer  but be able to speak to your skills and strategic marketing ability and demonstrate how your background would benefit any number of divisions in the company.  While it is okay to ask the “Best fit” opinion of your interviewer, be sure that you are driving the conversation.   

The key here is that in a market like this with competition being what it is, you can’t afford to come off without direction and focus.  Given a campus recruiter’s short recruiting season and limited bandwidth, the times where we do career work with people are the exception, not the norm.   I have had the opportunity to interview some wicked smart but unfocused people in the last few years and have had to pass them by simply because my business needs dictated a faster deployment on filling a position.  I have often regretted those situations because I know that many of those candidates would have been phenomenal additions to our company but unfortunately, time didn’t allow for the amount of coaching that would have been necessary to find them a satisfying home.    

Boarding at Baker: NYT article   

MIT and HBS students question Steve  

Speaking to a crowd of 600, Steve answered open mic questions for 40 minutes pertaining to everything from emerging market philosophies to approaches regarding new product markets.   He was quite candid in his answers regarding competition and the decisions one makes in terms of entering markets with dominant leaders. 

Responding to a question about Zune – “Why bother?”  -  Steve replied that a company has one decision to make when evaluating a market – either get in or don’t, and then ask the question, “if we don’t, who will?”  Steve mentioned the free rides that companies are often given because no one challenges them and grabs the initiative to get in.   Steve discussed the need to evaluate the market from the standpoint of whether the category is static. In the case of Zune and MP3 players, he thinks that the category is at the tip of the iceberg regarding innovation and transformation.  

His comments on emerging markets spurred a lot of hallway talk and class discussion as reported by students.  Of utmost interest was his comment around new business models necessary to appeal to the three demographics of emerging countries – the upper third made up of affluent business people with access to tech, the middle class and those that sit at the bottom of the pyramid where access to tech is almost non-existent.  

Other questions throughout the hour focused on the launch of Vista, competition and talent acquisition, and his leadership style. When asked if he thought whether he would be successful if he had gone anywhere else but MS, Steve said that he thought so and cited the following characteristics that he considers keys to his success:  

·       Ability to handle numeric concepts

·       Ability to relate to engineers and grasp tech based concepts

·       Broad curiosity and passion  

·       Strong interpersonal skills

·       Relative intelligence

·       Direct style and openness

·       The fact that he was promoted to an assistant product manager position at P&G in less than 11 months…   

Steve enjoyed his discussion at HBS so much that he made mention of it in his company wide town hall meeting the next day in Redmond and is planning additional school visits in  2007.  

Ballmer:  Last stop before Vista/Office Launch - Wharton  

Responding to a student request from the Wharton Leadership Series, Steve stopped at Wharton on his way to NY to launch Vista and Office 2007.   He spoke for an hour on topics such as leadership and the Vista Launch,  Zune and iPod, and his general thoughts around competition.  

Speaking to a packed room of more than 500, Steve joked about the last time he was at Wharton (31 years ago, Harvard football game) and about the risks of dropping out of business school and how difficult it is to tell Bill Gates’  6’7” father,   “No,  I really don’t want to take a job at MS.”    His energy was contagious and his story telling amusing as he responded to questions around whether great leaders are born or made (born but leadership qualities can be taught) the element of luck and strategy involved in the first IBM partnership, and the stages of software innovation.    

Citing the example of the 5 billion dollar upfront investment on Xbox, he discussed the constant pressure that  leaders face and how one needs to  place their bets, be  patient  and commit.   He talked about how important it is for strong leaders to know whether to turn it up or down, how to create loyalty and trust and how to be believable and confident without being arrogant.   

Steve went on to discuss  the cultural atmosphere of MS and  how it is one of betting on the long term,  innovation, persistence and an optimistic but realistic outlook.   He spoke of optimism as a force multiplier (Colin Powell) and agility in the marketplace and how MS is focused on empowering its employees and leaders to pick their agility profile as it varies from division and product and to execute on it.   

Steve answered numerous questions involving:  

·          Corporate Giving

·         “Me too” innovation

·         Zune incompatibility with “Plays for Sure.”

·         Piracy threats

·         Live Search and Google

·         MS vision 25 years ago versus today 

Donning a Wharton baseball cap,  Steve departed the lecture hall and met with the Wharton '06 intern class and discussed the merits of MS exchange (complete with handwritten models) and what constitutes a successful first year as a fulltime employee at MS.  

For more info, see Wharton Journal: http://media.www.whartonjournal.com/media/storage/paper201/news/2006/12/04/News/Ballmer.Visits.Wharton.After.30.Years.Wharton.Hopes.It.Wont.Be.Another.30.Before-2520512.shtml?sourcedomain=www.whartonjournal.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com