Case study application

LEADING YOUR BUSINESS AT MICROSOFT CORPORATION

Microsoft is the largest software develop- ment organization and one of the most successful businesses in the world. In its relatively short history, growth has characterized almost every aspect of the com- pany. Growth fueled not only Microsoft’s repu- tation and no small number of millionaires, but it also demanded that the Microsoft organi- zation mature. As technologies, products, markets, and revenues grew, so did the oppor- tunities for professional advancement. Soft- ware development engineers that wanted to guide, shape, and manage the organization’s growth found plenty of chances to become managers, directors, and vice presidents.

After years of double-digit growth, senior management at Microsoft worried that pro- motion of the young and brilliant technologists it had recruited was occurring too fast. While they understood technology, they were ill pre- pared to manage strategy, structure, people, and change. Interviews with successful and unsuccessful Microsoft managers about the competencies necessary to lead a business confirmed these suspicions. CEO Steve Ballmer believed that the speed of change in the soft- ware industry demanded leadership from the middle of the organization where people were closest to the technology and customers. He commissioned Microsoft’s Management Devel- opment Group (MDG) to create a series of workshops aimed at developing the future leaders of the organization. Three courses were envisioned for the series, including one focused on strategic thinking and strategic change.

The MDG group contacted an OD practi- tioner with a background in educational inter- ventions, strategy, and large-scale systems change. Together with internal OD practi- tioners and other members of the MDG organization, the OD practitioner interviewed additional managers, discussed program phi- losophy and company culture, shared strategy and strategic change concepts, and proposed a variety of methods to transfer the topics of strategic leadership to the participants.

After several weeks of discussions, a two- day workshop design began to emerge. It con- sisted of a variety of learning technologies and was based on a principle and philosophy of self- managed learning. That is, the OD practitioner and the MDG consultants assumed that the par- ticipants, already having achieved a middle- management position, would possess a broad range of experiences and knowledge. The pur- pose of the workshop would be to marry that experience with the concepts from strategy and change. A number of delivery methods, including lectures, videos, experiential exercises, and case studies, were used to expose the parti- cipants to certain topics, such as goals and goal setting, distinctive competencies, environmental scanning, strategy, and strategy implementation. At the beginning of the workshop, the partici- pants would be allowed to form “peer consulting teams” and, following an input module, the teams would work individually and then in groups to apply the concepts to their own busi- ness. In this way, the participants actually left the workshop with a roughed-out strategic plan.

The design was “beta tested” with a group of about 20 middle managers and their com- ments, reactions, and suggestions were used to make adjustments in different parts of the workshop design. For example, the peer con- sulting groups turned out to be a very powerful idea and all of the groups wanted more time at the beginning of the workshop to explain their business so that the other members of the group had a good understanding of the compet- itive issues. After the beta workshop, the pro- gram was marketed to all middle managers at the Redmond, Washington, headquarters. Eventually, middle managers in Asia, Canada, and Europe were included. Over two years, about 500 of Microsoft’s most important future leaders went through the workshop.

Ten days after the workshop, an evaluation was emailed to all participants for the reactions and feedback. This provided an ongoing data- base to ensure that the program continued to meet the needs of the middle managers. In addition, a qualitative study of the workshop’s impact was conducted about a year into the pro- gram. A variety of information about how partici- pants had used the workshop was gathered. Most participants rated the course highly, found the mate- rials relevant and useful, had applied many of the frameworks and models in their day-to-day work, and appreciated the opportunity to stop and think about their business. The most highly rated feature of the class was the peer-to-peer learning and the business view the participants gained, there were few examples of direct impact on the organization. However, only a few cases of dramatic success were found, including a substantial increase in stra- tegic focus, clarity, and profitability within one of the Microsoft Office groups; a merger between two groups that was conceived during the workshop and then executed successfully after the program; and the launching of a new strategy within groups of the MSN and Xbox organizations. In each of these cases, the managers reported taking the ideas and plans worked out in the workshop and involving their direct reports in additional discussions. These additional inputs along with the original plans became the basis for implementing changes.

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