Chapter 27 first boss, from last

On the second day of work, my direct supervisor, David, approached me for the first "one to one" (one to one) session after joining the company.In Microsoft, the direct superior and the subordinate will have a separate conversation and communication within a fixed period of time, and if they travel on business, they will also use the form of telephone, which is called "one-on-one".It is a unique cultural and management tool of Microsoft. During the first one-on-one, David told me to email him immediately for anything.When I entered Microsoft, e-mail had become the most important means of working at Microsoft.My first use of e-mail was at Microsoft.Colleagues all have their own offices, but they seldom knock on their doors when encountering problems at work. The easiest and most effective way to communicate is email.Even if I invite the colleague next door to dinner after get off work, I still rely on sending emails.This way of working makes me feel very fresh.

At that time, my department was doing a beta version of Windows NT, and a new version came out almost every day.Once I wrote an email to some colleagues and managers of other departments, warning that the new beta system released that day was not stable enough, and I suggested that everyone not use this version.I also sent a copy of this email to David.David was on a business trip in New York at the time and was annoyed when he saw the email.He called me immediately, scolded me, and severely accused me of sending such an email.The manager who sent it to other departments without authorization has already made the mistake of exceeding his authority, and the content of the email is also very inaccurate, and many words are wrong.What's more, I shouldn't jump to the judgment that the company's beta version is unstable, and it's still without his knowledge.

After being very harshly criticized by David, I became very cautious in writing emails.If it's just a one-on-one email, I'll finish it quickly.My level of carefulness increases with the number of letters I receive.For important mass emails, I will read them several times after writing them, and I will ask my colleagues to check for any problems.David is also an extremely rigorous person. He will tell me in a very clear way how to express the content in the most precise language in the email.In the initial stages, people were always able to pick out language, cultural or professional issues in my emails.After continuous efforts, after about half a year, I can't see any problems with my mail.And the content is clear and clear at a glance.Until now, I have been very proficient in writing emails, which is entirely due to the rigorous training I received during my time at Microsoft.

Email has since become the most important means of my work.In 10 years at Microsoft, I sent a total of 650,000 emails.This is a very astonishing figure. Management Inspiration from My First Boss Before joining Microsoft, I ran a company by myself and didn't know what a management model was, so I could do whatever I wanted.Therefore, when I first came into contact with David's very strict management style, I was very uncomfortable and felt quite depressed.His work habit is to keep an eye on his employees very closely, picking up the phone and swearing at them whenever he has something to do, which makes his subordinates tremble at work.In the early days of his work, my mentality was not to seek meritorious service, but to seek no faults.

As an ordinary employee, I was thinking at the time that if I were a leader, I would never treat employees in such a oppressive way.Later I discovered that many managers love to make such mistakes.In fact, when an employee makes a mistake, scolding them first, not only fails to achieve the effect of correcting them, but also makes the employee lose their motivation to work.Under such a boss, many employees are too frightened to do things. As long as they don’t make mistakes, it’s good, let alone innovate. During the three years I worked at Microsoft headquarters, David taught me a lot in terms of professionalism, but in terms of management mode, I subverted his management mode and formed my own style.From the general manager of Shanghai Microsoft, to the president of Microsoft China, and then to the president of Shanda, I have never scolded an employee once in more than ten years.I never pat the table or throw things... But none of the employees would think that I am a flexible manager. My assistants once told me that I am the kind of boss who "doesn't get angry".A global vice president of Microsoft described my management style as "soft on the outside and hard on the inside", which I think is more appropriate.

My management style is very sharp, but the way is relatively soft. I use the purpose as the management principle, and it is enough to achieve the purpose. From the boss of three small companies to a big soldier in Building 2 of the Microsoft headquarters, I am not used to it.In the past, others reported to me, but now I report to my boss regularly. The change of roles made me feel a gap.The daily work is also very boring. Although Microsoft is a big platform, I still do the same things as a small company.I seem to be back at square one, and the Microsoft that "looked beautiful" in the first place is not so beautiful anymore.

The Windows development department where I work has more than 3,000 employees, and everyone is a very powerful technical expert, and the programs are all beautifully written.I am not as good as them in anything, language skills are not as good as them, communication skills are not as good as them, let alone writing programs.I couldn't see where my opportunities were at all.I even thought, did I make a wrong decision?If I want to experience a big company, I can come here for a visit, why should I pay such a high price?When talking with Xiaolan on the phone, I couldn't help but confide my depression to her.She comforted me and said: It's okay, do it first, and then talk about it if you can't do it.After hearing what my wife said, I felt a little calmer.I think: It is important to decide whether it is right or wrong, but what is more important is what to do next after the decision is made.

Work hard from the last When I entered Microsoft, I was just an ordinary engineer who wrote source code and compiled software.All of a sudden, he stepped into a large company with tens of thousands of people, and the employees in it were all the best employees in the world.I feel great pressure.I don't know much about Windows, but others have been doing it for years.When does a novice get ahead?I feel like I can't find my way. Seeing the gap with other Microsoft employees, I did not give up.I told myself, it doesn't matter, I have always come from adversity.under these circumstances,

I can only think that I am number one at the bottom of the company, which is exactly what I am.How to stand out?I told myself that the only way is hard work. Diligence and probability of success To succeed in the workplace competition, you must rely on hard work.In fact, everyone's IQ is similar. I work 20% more than you every day, which may mean that my probability of success is 50% higher. I am at Microsoft, and one of the biggest characteristics is diligence.The people who joined Microsoft with me were much better than me. I was impressed by a genius who got a Ph.D. at the age of 22.At Microsoft, such excellent talents abound.People like me are really ordinary employees.therefore,

There is no other trick to success, only the word "diligence". My residence was arranged by the Human Resources Department. There is a three-bedroom apartment near the company, and I can live for free for three months.I spend very little time at the residence.After get off work every day, I stay in the office to read, even on weekends.Books about Windows development are too complicated, so if you don't understand them, you still have to bite the bullet and read them.In the first few months, I had no so-called rest time at all, and I kept studying hard, hoping to slowly keep up with the rhythm of my colleagues.At that time, my only thought was not to fall behind, and I never thought about surpassing others.I often ask others to make some revisions to the source code I wrote, and every colleague is happy to help me. After 5 months, I have gradually narrowed the gap with my colleagues, and I have some spare energy.I started to think about whether I could get my own chance.

The Right Mindset to Plan Your Career Everyone's career must have a good plan, and you can't work hard blindly.Some people only know how to work hard, but there is no plan.Some people have plans, but they are unrealistic.It is a very unrealistic plan for someone to become a CEO just after joining the company.Because it takes a long process from an ordinary college graduate to become a CEO of a company.If you set your plan too high, you will find that after two years of hard work, the distance from the CEO is still as far away as it was two years ago, and you will give up your pursuit at that time.There are also many people who say: I don't care, I just do it myself.In fact, working without a goal like this is useless no matter how hard you work, and after 5 or 10 years, you will find that you are still standing still. When I first joined Microsoft, I planned for myself to be a technical manager.I am not satisfied when I become a technical manager, I hope to be a manager of an independent department.So I went back to Shanghai to create the Microsoft Greater China Technical Support Center, and developed it into the Microsoft Asia Technology Center and the Microsoft Global Technology Center.But I think this is not enough, I hope to do more in marketing and marketing, so I accepted the position of president of Microsoft China.Afterwards, I found that my ability can also be a listed company, so I joined Shanda.After being a listed company, I hope to be a group company, so I came to Xinhuadu.In my career, I am planning step by step, and I am also moving forward step by step towards my plan. If when I first joined Microsoft, I said to myself, you will be the CEO of a group company in the future, that would be too far away for me.So the goal I set at that time was as simple as that: to become a department manager.Then step by step, from the department manager to the general manager, from the general manager to the president, from the president to the president of the listed company, and then to the president of the group company. I have always set a plan for myself, and I set a plan for about three years, which is a relatively reasonable planning interval. Empathy for Newcomers in the Workplace After entering Microsoft for a period of time, I began to try to observe and think from a transpositional perspective.For example, when I had a one-on-one communication with my direct supervisor, I was thinking, if I were a leader, how would he feel if I asked my subordinates in this way.If I set my sights on becoming a department manager next step, I keep starting to think about how I would do it if I were given a team. With this mentality, my understanding of Microsoft quickly surpassed the early excitement and ensuing confusion.A series of things such as Microsoft's management philosophy, operating model, and market operation were gradually and clearly presented before my eyes. For me who was new to Microsoft, some seemingly inconspicuous details gave me great shock and inspiration.For example, Microsoft has two evaluations every year, and the direct manager of the employee will give the employee a score. This score will directly affect whether the employee is promoted or not and the amount of the bonus.Due to the requirements of the company, the results of the scoring must be in a normal distribution. For example, it is required that employees with a score below 3 (5 points) must account for 25%, so managers cannot be good people when scoring, and there is no way to cover up the employees below. .At the same time, all employees should also rate the manager's various indicators. Statistics will show which aspects of personnel management he has performed well and which aspects are still insufficient. I later learned that although such a system is not uncommon in many large companies in Europe and the United States, Microsoft has formed a unique incentive culture based on this system.Microsoft believes that the software industry particularly needs the creativity of employees.Under a strict system, employees will become well-behaved people, but their potential will only be limited to 70%.And Microsoft requires every employee to develop 100% potential.Therefore, Microsoft's unique motivational culture can enable employees to provide more resources to employees when they achieve 70%, and point out the direction for employees to continue to encourage them to reach 100%. Microsoft also pays special attention to the value created by ordinary employees for the enterprise.At Microsoft, the salary of a software engineer can even be higher than that of a vice president.This is a mechanism that other companies do not have.I know a very good software engineer who has worked at Microsoft for more than ten years, and his salary is higher than that of many vice presidents.In fact, he had many opportunities to be promoted to management, but he refused them all.He told me that first, he is not interested in management, and second, he wants to spend all his time on technology.According to the traditional corporate concept, employees who are not engaged in management work will definitely not be able to increase their wages.However, according to Microsoft's values, the standard for assessing the level of employees' income is based on their contributions to the company rather than their positions.Every year, Microsoft selects 30 to 40 Bill Gates President Outstanding Contribution Awards among its 50,000 employees. This very important award is for every ordinary employee.It is precisely because of this mechanism that Microsoft has made those engaged in technical work more passionate about their work-"The company has enough resources for me, enough treatment for me, and enough honor for me." Enough is enough, what more can I ask for?" These observations and thinking have become important management methods I learned at Microsoft in the future.