How To Make A Microserf Smile
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| When Ballmer floated the HR job in April, 2005, Brummel said: No way. But
| Ballmer wasn't about to take no for an answer. Picking up a traveling golf
| putter, the Microsoft chief started taking it apart as he barreled around
| Brummel's office, hammering home why she was the perfect candidate. As an
| outsider unsullied by HR dogma, he said, she'd bring a fresh approach.
| Besides, Ballmer argued, Brummel was hugely popular and had the people skills
| to get the job done. The two went back and forth, with Ballmer slapping
| Brummel's whiteboard for emphasis and Brummel parrying with: "But I love
| doing products." After more than two hours, Ballmer ended the meeting. By
| then the putter was in pieces. "Sorry about the golf club," he said.
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http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_37/b4049065.htm
Related:
Behavior May Suggest We're Not Only Human
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| When Emory University primatologist Frans de Waal read a news story that
| said Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, had hurled a chair
| across the room on hearing an employee was going to work for rival
| Google, the scientist immediately made a connection with his own
| research: "When I see such behavior, I think of a chimpanzee."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/18/AR2007031801130.html?nav=rss_nation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballmer#Public_persona
Beyond the PC: Ballmer's Battle Plan
,----[ Quote ]
| "The word 'intense' was invented for Ballmer, who met with us in a
| green room that had a paper sign with his name taped to the door.
| While he was at first warm and engaging, a question about security
| features shifted his mood. His eyes, soft when he smiles, grew dark.
| The usually boisterous Ballmer became unexpectedly quiet and soon
| exited the room without saying goodbye. Still, he had a lot to
| say to SmartMoney senior writer Dyan Machan before he did.
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http://www.smartmoney.com/mag/ceo/index.cfm?story=april2007
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