Ray Ozzie's interview

"What would you do if you found yourself at the head of the world’s largest family of software architects and developers?"

 

That's the intro for Ray Ozzie on the Mix07 website and it's a question I chatted with a few colleagues about last week. I mean, where has Ray been for the last 6 month? He's been hiding out and though I have my suspicions what he's been up to I think we'll find out more at Mix. All I know is, he and his team have been up to something.

Getting back to the question above though it begs the question what was Ray's interview like. Something like this maybe?

• • Bill/Steve: Ray, we'd love to buy Groove and have you come work with us?
  • Ray: that's a kind offer chaps but I've been very successful with Notes (Iris) and Groove. You boys look like you have your hands full with Google, Salesforce.com, IBM, Linux and a whole host of other folks.
  • Bill/Steve: That's right Ray, competition is tougher than ever and we think you're the man to come help with the next phase of Microsoft. What do you say?
  • Ray: Umm, okay. That's an enormous challenge....but...yes. I think I can do something here

The interview probably didn't go anything like that but I have to think Ray sure didn't come for the money. I suspect he came because it's the biggest challenge and perhaps the biggest opportunity ever. How do you take the world's largest family of software architects and developers in to the future? I have a hunch that Ray knows how and I'm looking forward to hearing. This guy is just, well...different. I've seen him present once and he was outstanding. I've read a lot about him and he's intriguing. Is he the next Bill? Maybe...but different.

His recent interview with Knowledge@Wharton gave me a *huge* amount of optimism about the future of Microsoft. Ray talks with humility and candour which are great assets for a man in his position and for a man from Microsoft. Don Dodge pulls out some of the nuggets on his blog and here are a few I surmised:

 

• Ray is a delivery guy - he keeps his powder dry until there is substance behind the story
  "This is a style thing -- I tend to like to back up things that I talk about with concrete deliverables. Otherwise, you state things and if they are too far out, it just doesn't resonate well. It's perceived as trying to over-hype something that you aren't delivering."

 

• Ray likes to tease though:
  "Are we ready right now to talk about how to change the game in search or how Microsoft might weave services into our various offerings? No, we're not. But we will."

 

• Ray is a geek. A people geek:
  Computation is improving dramatically; we now have multi-core processors and soon we're going to have many-core processors....
  I'm a technologist, so, frankly, I assume we can build just about anything that we set our minds to. What really impacts me are the people and organizational benefits that are downstream from those technologies.

 

• He's humble and open and doesn't avoid the competition:
  He talked about Salesforce.com, Apple, Adobe, RIM and other openly without disparaging them. Most PR handlers have always told me don't bring up the competition and frankly it's dumb. It makes you look stupid if you don't so it's encouraging to say Ray doing so in such an open way. Respect 'em but compete hard.

 

• He's very very smart.
  Okay I know that's obvious but go read the answer to the question around the importance of cross platform to Microsoft. That is the best answer i have EVER heard to that question.

This is one of the best interviews I have EVER read with a Microsoft person (or any tech leader actually). It bodes well for Mix07 but more importantly it bodes well for the future of Microsoft. Worth the ten minute investment or grab the PDF I created of this.

 

ps: thanks to Ian Muir for the image. Way better than Rays' PR photo

 

 

Technorati tags: ozzie, microsoft, mix07

ozzie.pdf

Comments

• Anonymous
  April 19, 2007
  "smile, I think" That was my mom's answer when she peeked over my shoulder and read the opening title... :-)

• Anonymous
  April 25, 2007
  ahh, the Richardson is here. welcome...water is as warm as ever!