Summary
The Microsoft Way by Randall E. Stross provides a detailed account of how Microsoft has consistently outsmarted its competitors and remained a dominant force in the technology industry.
Book Genre
Business/Technology
Main Topic
The success and strategies of Microsoft in outsmarting its competitors.
Key Ideas
- Microsoft’s unorthodox corporate culture and management style.
- The company’s relentless focus on innovation and adaptation to changing market conditions.
- The ruthless and cutthroat tactics used by Microsoft to stay ahead of its competitors.
- The importance of partnerships and alliances in Microsoft’s growth and success.
Main Parts of the Book & Summary
- Part 1: “First Among Equals” – provides background on the founding of Microsoft and its early days as a small startup.
- Part 2: “The Empire Strikes Back” – chronicles Microsoft’s rise to dominance in the technology industry and its aggressive tactics to maintain its position.
- Part 3: “The New Order” – examines the challenges Microsoft faced in the 2000s with the rise of competition from Google and Apple.
- Part 4: “Partnering for Success” – focuses on the importance of partnerships and alliances in Microsoft’s continued growth and success.
The section also delves into the unique corporate culture and management style established by Microsoft’s founders, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, which played a significant role in the company’s success.
This includes their notorious “embrace, extend, and extinguish” strategy, where Microsoft would incorporate rival technologies into their own products to make them obsolete and gain a competitive advantage.
The section also explores Microsoft’s response, including their efforts to enter the mobile market and their acquisition of other companies to expand their product offerings.
The section highlights key partnerships with companies such as IBM and Dell, as well as their notorious rivalry with Apple and Steve Jobs.
Key Takeaways
- The unconventional corporate culture and management style at Microsoft have played a crucial role in the company’s success.
- Microsoft has a history of fierce competition and aggressive tactics, such as “embrace, extend, and extinguish,” to eliminate competition and maintain its dominant position in the market.
- The company’s ability to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions has been a key factor in its continued success.
- Partnerships and alliances have played a significant role in Microsoft’s growth and expansion into new markets.
Author’s Background & Qualifications
Randall E. Stross is a professor of business at San Jose State University and has written extensively about the technology and business industries. He has previously published books about Google and Steve Jobs.
Target Audience
The Microsoft Way is geared towards anyone interested in the technology industry, as well as business professionals looking to learn from Microsoft’s strategies and success.
Publisher & First Publication Date
The book was published by Addison-Wesley in 1996 and has been updated and re-published several times since then. The latest edition was published by Free Press in 2011.