The new Microsoft CEO: me

When I was a kid, the thing I wanted to be when I grew up was an employee at Microsoft. I know it sounds funny, but it’s true. In middle-school, I remember working on a history project about a well-known historical figure. While other kids picked your standard inventors and presidents, my project was on Bill Gates. Every new year, my dad and I would always look forward to watching the Consumer Electronics Show keynote always given by Microsoft.

However, throughout the years my enthusiasm for the company has waned. I don’t even use Windows anymore. In fact, by all appearances, I could now be considered an Apple fanboy. What changed? I think has to do with philosophy. We all have our own beliefs and often look for them in the products we buy. Apple has a clear philosophy, Microsoft doesn’t. With Bill Gates, Microsoft had a vision. And now the only semblance of a vision seems to be Steve Balmer’s anti-innovation attitude. (My former boss got a first-hand account of this during his time at Microsoft.)

My qualifications would come from my expertise as a web designer. The goal of building any website is communicating a message effectively. Right now Microsoft doesn’t have a coherent message. In order to move forward, it needs to redefine its philosophy and make it show throughout its messaging. That’s what I believe the new CEO needs to be able to accomplish.

And that’s why I would be the perfect candidate for the job and so would you. The qualifications for the new CEO could be virtually anything. But one of them should be a vision for the future. Because at this point, it’s hard to see any future with Microsoft in it. But the kid inside me still has hope.