TechBytes and Bits

After only four short months with Microsoft, RSS guru Niall Kennedy is calling it quits. Many would have likely just poo-poo this announcement away, if it wasn't for this gem in his blog post:

Oh dear.  Could it be not even a year after Microsoft launched it's initiative to focus on a web-based service architecture, the company is already stumbling?

 

The guys at LiveSide.net interviewed Kennedy, where we got more perspective into his decision. He said he would have stayed as excited about his work at Microsoft if they had only given him the resources, but alas they didn't. He criticizes Microsoft's Redmond-centric mentality, which I couldn't agree more with.

It's true. A focus is put on coming to Redmond when working with Microsoft. I agree with the premise of decentralizing the company -- while some may argue that it would slow things down, I believe it would do the opposite. By having all your eggs in one basket, it is too easy for the big wigs to tinker too much. It wouldn't be as easy to poach developers off one team if the others a significant distance away. This would allow things to be completed, and give the groups a sense of autonomy and control over their own destiny.

 

For Niall to come straight out publicly and make such statements is a sign of some issues within Windows Live. Not only to the fact that they are obviously not keeping their employees happy, but also to the fact that the company is still making the same mistakes its been making for over a decade -- starting out gung ho on an idea, but not seeing it to completion: either by spreading themselves out too thin, or not properly allocating resources to a project, or having no clear direction.

 

This mentality is what killed promising projects such as SPOT (yes, it's still alive but barely) and others. I've often opined that I believe Windows Live has way too many simultaneous projects going on at the same time (they say 20+), and the company is diluting the brand just like they did to the .NET initative. I am beginning to think that Microsoft is trying to do too much, and when something like this happens, and one of your employees is pushed to complain publicly about it, it's time to take a second look at how you're doing things.

 

Part of the massive reorganization of Microsoft was to make the company more focused, but if what Niall is telling us is true, it's not working.

 

With companies like Google hot on your heels, MS needs to consider the ramifications. How much do you want to bet that Google is extremely interested in Kennedy, and may talk to him about his ideas (if they haven't already)?