Chris Capossela, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Business Division Product Management Group, gave a lunch-time presentation and discussion today, detailing his experience with the Microsoft career ladder and ways to get ahead. He actually focused on the lack of a career ladder, and explained that there were no ways to get ahead, per se.
He arrived at Microsoft at age 21, having only worked in his family’s restaurant, albeit very hard, up to that point in his life. He moved around some, as many employees do here, and landed a job as the one “speech assistant” to BillG, which he describes as being a sherpa, doing everything from ordering fast food and taking care of hotel bills, etc. He then moved to Paris, still employed by Microsoft, and then came back to be general manager of another big group here.
He argued, rather successfully, that he had not made any career-oriented moves (although he took that into consideration), but that instead, as a result of choosing motivating and challenging jobs, accomplished all the career goals he would have aimed for.
Some subtle points emerged from the talk, both in the actual presentation and in the Q&A afterward. He gave great advice on how to succeed, and specifically mentioned three bits of advice that do not get mentioned enough, especially in today’s world.
Willingness to Expand
Mr. Capossela presented his decision to take the BillG job as a very difficult one, explaining that many of his mentors whom he trusted very much advised him not to take the job. He would be managing no one, and would instead be a technological lackey. I don’t really believe that it was as big a risk as he presented, but his point was clear: to what you think will motivate you. He seemed to be a people-person, interested in the customer, and so preparing speeches fit him well.
For those not here, that may seem somewhat odd, but it seemed from the presentation that the “proper steps” to upward mobility are both clear and misleading. Interacting with BillG every day gives you a very serious opportunity to sink, or to swim. The normal process does not. He seems to have swum.
Interaction with Competitors
Several anecdotes Mr. Capossela shared involved competitors of Microsoft. He would, for example, take Steve Jobs’ yearly MacWorld speech, his one enormous speech, and dissect it for days. Then, he would share his findings with The Man Himself. They would discuss shortcomings, things to take from the presentation, the overall message Apple was presenting, and other pointers.
That interaction does not receive a lot of attention from popular press. Maybe “Microsoft vs. Apple” gets more readership, or maybe journalists do not have this perspective. Somehow, though, I had never realized how much a company knows and reacts to its competitors, without the press or anyone else noticing.
Internal Assessment and Evaluation
The last piece of advice Mr. Capossela gave echoed the advice I’ve heard from almost every successful person I know. Do not be afraid to say “I don’t know” or “I made a mistake”. The company provides many tools for feedback, review, and evaluation, from peers, managers and subordinates. Yet fewer and fewer people seem to want to admit fault, or to criticize.
For example, my team is currently being evaluated. I only jut arrived, so I’m not sure exactly how it works. I do know that much of the talk in our meetings has been to understand the two questions. In essence, they are:
- In what areas has this person done excellent work?
- In what areas might this person be more excellent?
The phrasing of the question itself already suggests that you should be careful with your word choice. Further talk seems to suggest that people find out about your criticisms of them, and that you should therefore be wary. The politically correct attitude seems to have replaced that of constructive criticism.
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