Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: True Believer

Without question, the Detroit Three are undergoing changes the likes of which are unprecedented.  After years of what could possibly be described as “two steps forward and one step back,” it seems as though they’re now going the wrong way on an escalator and losing forward momentum.  And like the title character from the classic TV show “I Love Lucy,” in the episode where Lucy is working the line in the chocolate factory, it almost seems as though the Detroit Three execs are generally doing whatever they can to keep things going—and if you recall that Lucy episode, it isn’t pretty.  And unlike chocolate, this is less sweet.

There are lots of proclamations being made by these executives.  Lots of speeches and releases and announcements.  Lots of messages to workers, a number of whom are becoming ex-workers regardless of position.  It is sad.  Truly sad.  Sure, there are undoubtedly those who were adding little value.  But there are also numerous men and women who did nothing but decide to work for a particular company and dedicate figurative blood, sweat, toil, and tears, only to get a cardboard box.  The husband of a woman who works at our company is a long-time Ford employee, now laid off, who is committed to the Blue Oval with a zeal that ought to be bottled and sold as a magic tonic.  But now he’s out of a job, and odds are he may not be going back.  What did he do but work hard and believe?

The man who was the chief designer of the Ford Flex has been let go from his job, even though that vehicle is arguably the best, freshest product Ford has on four wheels (see: http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/070801.html).

And these are just two guys from one of the companies.  There are thousands and thousands of others.  People who did their jobs and did them well, but who were ultimately let down by the people in charge of the organization.  Leadership lagged.

A message from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (who was born in the Detroit area, and whose dad worked for Ford) to the corporation’s employees about Microsoft’s FY09 plans includes the following passage, one that speaks volumes about leadership:

“[W]e are the best in the world at doing software and nobody should be confused about this.  It doesn’t mean that we can’t improve, but nobody is better than we are.  Nobody works harder than we do.  Nobody is more tenacious than we are.  We are investing more broadly and more seriously than anybody else.  Our opportunities to change the world have never been greater.”

I don’t know about you, but just reading that gets my blood pumping, and I am not a Microsoft partisan.  If you’ve ever seen Ballmer in person or seen a video of him (e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y89wBYVHkY4), you know that he is driven to the degree that most people aren’t—to put it exceedingly mildly.  Call him, um, crazy, but that’s crazy like a pumped-up fox.

“We are the best in the world. . .and nobody should be confused about this.”

Does—or can—anyone in Detroit say that?

“It doesn’t mean that we can’t improve”—does anyone in Detroit have this sense of humility that can be quickly followed by “but nobody is better than we are”?  And if they say it, do you think they believe it?  Do you?

“Nobody is more tenacious than we are.”

Have you noticed any tenacity by the auto execs in Detroit?  Rather than holding tight to anything, they all appear to be letting go of any and everything.

“We are investing more broadly and more seriously than anybody else.”

Well, certainly Microsoft is in a position to do that and the Detroit Three aren’t.  Did they “broadly and more seriously” invest when they had the opportunity, or did they merely take the opportunistic approach that had them building lines for more large trucks and SUVs?  Sure, for a while those decisions seemed sound, but were they investing in the moment or in the future?

“Our opportunities to change the world have never been greater.”

Funny thing.  Henry Ford literally changed the world.  The auto industry is one that has a global footprint that is probably bigger than any other (e.g., just look how many roads are paved around the world—that’s part of the industry’s footprint).  Arguably there are big shoes to be filled, but who is filling them?  Have you heard any pronouncements about “changing the world” from Detroit lately?

Another funny thing.  Ballmer uses a phrase that was made rather famous by one of his more-vexing competitors, Steve Jobs of Apple.  When recruiting John Sculley to Apple from Pepsi back in the early ‘80s, Jobs is quoted as saying, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”  I doubt that Ballmer is concerned about that reference.  He is a True Believer in his mission.  He is doing what it takes.  And then upping the ante.

Who in Detroit is the auto industry’s Steve Ballmer?