Microsoft First Generation: The Success Secrets of the Visionaries Who Launched a Technology Empire

Tsang, Cheryl

ISBN 10: 1470889579 ISBN 13: 9781470889579

Publisher: Blackstone Pub, 2013

Synopsis

What began as a modest start–up partnership only twenty–five years ago has already surpassed all the giants of contemporary capitalism, including General Electric and IBM, and has achieved a value estimated at nearly $500 billion. How did Microsoft achieve all of this in so short a time? What was the true nature of the Microsoft environment in the beginning, and what are the secrets behind its triumph?

Find the answers here. With \IMicrosoft First Generation\N, Cheryl Tsang skillfully renders recent history in bold, colorful strokes, highlighting each of the specific business qualities and entrepreneurial traits that turned Microsoft′s dreams into reality. Meet the early builders of Microsoft, and step inside the famous culture of loyalty, the storied "maniacal work ethic," and the hardcore world of reckless risk–taking that remains so integral to the computer giant′s matchless and ongoing success.

Here, up close and personal, Tsang introduces readers to twelve members of Microsoft′s mythic first generation, each of whom has walked away from Microsoft as a multimillionaire. The collection spans a diverse collection of creative geniuses and business wizards, from Bob O′Rear, employee number seven, who joined the team in 1977 and wrote the original MS–DOS program on the first IBM PC; to bestselling author Russell Borland who, after innocently answering a help wanted ad for a technical copywriter in 1980, suddenly became the mouthpiece of an entire company, singlehandedly familiarizing the world with Microsoft products; to Trish Millines, who began as a software tester in 1988 and then blazed a trail and effected lasting change as a powerful advocate for ethnic diversity in the technological arena.

Featuring candid appraisals of the idiosyncrasies of software culture, fascinating portraits of the enigmatic Bill Gates, and rare photographs of the company′s early days, \IMicrosoft First Generation\N uncovers a range of surprising success secrets–and reveals, once and for all, exactly what makes Microsoft tick.

About this title

Review

If a company's soul is defined by its employees, Cheryl Tsang's Microsoft First Generation offers the definitive look at the way one of the world's top corporations has really been shaped. In straight-forward but perceptive profiles, Tsang introduces a dozen key individuals hired by Bill Gates and Paul Allen before 1990--when the primary focus was creation and development, rather than growth and maintenance. They are mathematician/programmer Bob O'Rear (hired two years before Microsoft relocated from Albuquerque to Seattle), technical writer Russell Borland, programmer Richard Brodie, senior vice president Scott Oki, chief information officer Neil Evans, CPA Dave Neir, Ida Cole (the first female VP), CD-ROM author Min Yee, technical manager Ron Harding, publishing systems manager Russell Steele, Asian business development manager Paul Sribhibhadh and senior diversity administrator Trish Millines Dziko. "The people who comprised Microsoft's first generation were exactly right for their time. They were the pioneers", Tsang writes. "The founders of Microsoft were shrewd to have hired them, for the company's monumental and continuing success would not have been possible without (their) exceptional work and passion." --Howard Rothman, Amazon.com

Review

"...Fascinating insights & ideas..." -- What PC - Book of the Month June 2000

- "I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in business management. .... I found it interesting and informative, and an insight into the creation of one of the most talked about organisations of all time. ...What I recommend to Bill Gates is that he should take time to read Microsoft First Generation, just to reinforce and continually keep at the forefront of his mind what has made Microsoft the most successful company in the world." -- The Independent, 27 October 1999

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Pub
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1470889579
• ISBN 13: 9781470889579
• Binding: Audio CD