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Battling Over Ballmer

Sometimes Steve Ballmer just can't win. Many critics, pundits, analyst and even employees think Microsoft needs a new leader, despite the fact that every fiscal quarter is a new record. Many of these folks have Google-, Facebook- and Apple-itis. Just because Ballmer didn't invent all these things he must be a failure.

Do any of these companies have Office, SQL Server or the Xbox? I didn't think so.

The heat has really turned up in recent weeks. A major shareholder, David Einhorn, said Ballmer must leave for Redmond to reach its true share price potential.

And a recent survey, which I'm not sure I fully believe, claims a puny 27 percent of Microsoft employees like the job Ballmer is doing. Ouch. Why am I skeptical? Because only 50 employees were questioned. That's 50 out of what, 88,000?

The Microsoft board has Ballmer's full back, endorsing his $8.5 billion Skype acquisition and multi-billion dollar Nokia deal.

Are you a Ballmer friend or foe? Vote with your fingers at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 06/03/2011 at 1:18 PM


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