Microsoft is certainly a unique place to work in a lot of different ways, some good, some not so good.  All in all, it was a very rewarding experience, and know that I’ve had a bit of time to  reflect about it.  Now, these are just my opinions, they are not necessarily fact, and I’m sure plenty of my past colleagues & co-workers would disagree with some of these.  And truthfully, a few of these are not ground breaking things that are only relevant to Microsoft.  Many of these things most likely happen at many large sized companies, however they are still the things that resonated most with me.

Regardless, here 9 things that I authentically learned and took away from my time there:

9. At least 40-50% of your time is spent in meetings

When I first arrived in Redmond, I LOVED meetings.  The more the better for me.  I absorbed everything I could, met as many people as possible, and with every meeting, felt increasingly more important.  That was soon replaced with a growing annoyance of death by meetings.  Meeting after meeting to talk about planning this, or coordinating that.  Most of the time, completely unnecessary, and usually avoidable with a well thought out email.  So much time is wasted within the halls of Microsoft with unnecessary meetings.  If you cut them in half and had people actually working on things rather than talking about them, I can’t imagine how much more would get accomplished.

8. Another 30% is spent managing your email

Most people probably don’t even realize how much time they spend using Microsoft Outlook.  It’s crazy how much time of a work week is spent reading, writing and organizing email.  Granted I’m sure there are plenty of those that have a good system down where this is minimized, but I guarantee most people did what I did which was spend WAY too much time in Outlook.  I love Timothy Ferris’ concept of managing email.  While his approach may not be entirely realistic for everyone, it’s a different way of looking at things.  It’s crazy to think that most employees spend more then half their time in meetings and managing email.

7. The packaging is often more important then what’s inside

How you package what you’ve done is often far greater then the actual results.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you can bullshit your way into a promotion without delivering results, but so many people simply tell a story that is either vastly over exaggerated, or simply not reality.  Succeeding at Microsoft (or anywhere for that matter) is not just about what you do, but how you package it and sell it.  With so many layers of management, often front line employees may be the only ones who have any real insight into certain areas of the business.  This is also compounded by:

6. Revolving doors halt progress

One of the more frustrating things while being at Microsoft was the executive revolving door.  I believe we had 5 different leaders for the Online Services Group in my time there in less than 4 years.  How can a relatively new and trailing business build any momentum or consistency when leadership constantly changes?  There is no doubt that the lack of progress was directly impacted by this.  It’s not just the upper echelons of the company either.  Lots of management turnover for a variety of reasons.  At Microsoft variety is supported and encouraged.  Many “lifers” I often talked to said that the norm is changing roles every 2-3 years and often times, less than that.  I loved the team and role I was in before leaving, and honestly could have felt challenged and made huge contributions for some time.  I wonder if that would have faired well for my career if it played out that way.

5. Change isn’t always good (or necessary)

If you think all the external brand changes are insane, it’s just as bad if not worse on the inside.  Team names, job titles, service levels, group acronyms; constantly changing.  I get it, the only constant is change, but change just for the sake of change is not necessarily good.  We confused the hell out of our customers, and ourselves.  I really hope the group has learned from this and will stick to the latest and upcoming changes.  I love where the Microsoft Advertising story is right now, and I have my fingers crossed for the upcoming search re-brand.

4. Some of the smartest people I’ve ever met work there (but in many cases aren’t close enough to the decision making)

I’d often wonder how certain decisions were made with the business.  Higher ups locked in a room discussing what to call this, or what this product will consist of.  Most of us would often pull out our hair (not me of course), trying to understand some of these decisions.  So many smart people on the front lines that were (and are) in the thick of it, that could provide great insights to help drive change that could impact the business the right way, but they are never consulted, and rarely have the opportunity to make an impact beyond their day to day responsibilities.  It’s a shame, but alas a reality with a company as big as Microsoft I guess.

3. If you want to make it big, people manage or develop code

Of course this isn’t a be all end all observation, but the fact is, the clear path to work up the ranks at Microsoft is either managing people or writing code.  That’s not to say that ICs (Individual Contributors) can’t, it can just often times be a much slower and less clear path.  And I don’t necessarily fault Microsoft for this.  The fact of the matter is that there is higher demand for people managers and technical folks.  It’s just the economics of the business.

2. Working at Microsoft is a much bigger deal outside of Washington then it is inside

I always enjoyed going back to Chicago as it would often bring questions such as “How’s Bill doing?”, “Had lunch with Bill yet?”.  Back there no one really comprehended the size of Microsoft, or the fact that 99% of the people that work there would never get within 100 feet of Bill or Steve.  Here, not as much of a big deal.  How can you expect it to be though, when close to 50,000 or so people work there.  I was proud regardless.

1. At the end of the day, what matters most are the people

No matter the challenges, frustrations, and failures, what makes going to work everyday worthwhile and enjoyable are the people you work with.  That is what I miss the most, and if there is one thing that I truly believe Microsoft does better then any company in the world is hire incredible people.  People of great intelligence, drive, and a genuine passion for making the world a better place through building products and services that make people’s lives easier, more productive, and entertaining.  And for that reason alone, Microsoft will always thrive no matter the challenges.