The mysterious invulnerability of Steve Ballmer’s job →
Ben Brooks, citing Steve Ballmer’s failures as Microsoft’s CEO:
Microsoft should be searching for a new CEO right now.
I completely agree: Ballmer is not just the wrong person for the job, but he’s the wrong kind of person for the job.
As Ben writes, the CEO of Microsoft should be a lot more product-focused and passionate about technology. Ballmer is more of a plug-and-play CEO: the kind of general “business” executive who other “business” people think can effectively manage any corporation. That’s why he’s able to do a mediocre job of keeping everything going and copying what everyone else is doing, but it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll ever substantially innovate or increase shareholder value.
Unfortunately for Microsoft and its shareholders, I’m not confident that they’ll make a change anytime soon. As John Gruber says often, including in The Talk Show this week, it’s baffling why Ballmer hasn’t been fired yet. There’s been sufficient justification to fire him for years, yet he’s still there, implying a bunch of behind-the-scenes political reasons for his continued role as CEO. And if that’s the case, it’s also unlikely to change anytime soon.