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Title: MICROSOFT SECRETS: HOW THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL SOFTWARE COMPANY CREATES TECHNOLOGY, SHAPES MARKETS, AND MANAGES PEOPLE by Michael A. Cusumano ISBN: 0-684-85531-3 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 04 December, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (12 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Reveals Core Strategic Strengths To Be Dealt With
Comment: One must wonder if Bill Gates is an ardent fan of Michael
Porter as allowing "Microsoft Secrets" to be written looks
a lot like one of several communication strategies described
in Porter's 1980 vintage "Competitive Strategy". "Microsoft Secrets"
effectively communicates the development tools that they use
to match the moves of their competitors quickly. These tools
are powerful strategic competencies. Every ally or foe of
the Microsoft machine needs to understand them.
The reading is slow and the structure is a bit repetitive. Not
a novel, not another, "Gee whiz look what Bill did", book.
However it is well organized and will serve as an excellent
reference work for a long time to come. I see it as a must for
any serious player in the computing industry.
Rating: 4
Summary: It's a great book about Microsoft's management model.
Comment: Microsoft Secrets takes an in-depth look into the company's management model, it's hierarchical structure, organizational culture and policies for development, HR, and more. May be Microsoft's management model cannot be used in most of industries , but this doesn't make this book less useful, since this book is full of interesting insights about the software company, which remains agile despite its size.
Rating: 3
Summary: Lessons from Microsoft
Comment: Michael Cusumano's "Microsoft Secrets: How the World's Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets, and Manages People" is truly as in depth as its title suggests. Cusumano has gone to great lengths to give a very detailed picture of how Microsoft goes about its business, both internally and externally.
The purpose of the book is to explain what makes Microsoft tick. It may come as a surprise to most people, but, according to Cusumano, Microsoft is not a dictatorial fiefdom. Perhaps Microsoft's greatest success is in obtaining and retaining the best programmers in the field. Programmers are notoriously independent souls who likely wouldn't stand an overbearing workplace for long.
That's not to say that Microsoft is not a high pressure environment. Programmers are expected to meet deadlines and to be knowledgeable about what they are doing. This may sound axiomatic but the number of companies whose employees are partially (or even completely) in the dark is staggering.
The best part of "Microsoft Secrets" is that most of the lessons to be drawn from it can be applied to any organization, especially the people management techniques. Even some of the more 'software industry specific' techniques can be transferred to other deadline oriented industries (e.g. publishing).
The only real drawback to the study though is its long-windedness. When I say that Cusumano has gone to great lengths to present this picture of Microsoft, I mean he has *GONE TO GREAT LENGTHS*. This only detracts partially though as the book does remain a good read.
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Title: The Microsoft Way: The Real Story of How the Company Outsmarts Its Competition by Randall E. Stross ISBN: 020132797X Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: September, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Microsoft Edge : Insider Strategies for Building Success by Julie Bick ISBN: 0671034146 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Hard Drive : Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire by James Wallace, Jim Erickson ISBN: 0887306292 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 26 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Selling Microsoft: Sales Secrets from Inside the World's Most Successful Company by Doug Dayton ISBN: 1580620523 Publisher: Adams Media Corporation Pub. Date: March, 1997 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Business of Software : What Every Manager, Programmer, and Entrepreneur Must Know to Thrive and Survive in Good Times and Bad by Michael A. Cusumano ISBN: 074321580X Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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