Among the 800 or so employees laid off by Microsoft today: Don Dodge, Microsoft’s Director of Business Development for the Emerging Business Team, reporting to VP Dan’l Lewin. Don writes about the change on his personal blog.
All layoffs suck, but letting Don go is a huge mistake for Microsoft. He nearly singlehandedly defends the Microsoft brand in a fairly anti-Microsoft developer and user community. For many people in the startup community, Don is the face of Microsoft. He travels constantly, speaking at events whenever he’s asked, and makes a big effort to give young startups the attention they deserve. This is a guy who gives a heck of a lot more to the community than he ever takes back.
Don has been an expert panelist at all three TechCrunch50 conferences. He has also written guest posts for us covering startup events we couldn’t attend personally.
His reaction to today’s news shows what kind of person he is. I reached him by telephone just an hour after he heard the news. And he didn’t have a bad word to say about Microsoft. He was more concerned that I not write anything negative about the company than anything else. Even after they turned their back on him, he was still on their side.
My opinion of Microsoft dropped a notch today. A big notch. Don invested years of his time making Microsoft seem more human, and there are very few people I respect more than this man. He wasted all that time, apparently.
Another story to place in the “Microsoft Doesn’t Get It” file.
This sums it up pretty well.
Whatever. Guys like this bounce back even better. If you’re such a start-up guy then have at er Don.
Cubicle jobs get old fast, and employers know when ambitious staff have itchy feet. Getting laid off was the best thing that EVER happened to me.
This sums it up pretty well.
Don’s blog is having high-time it seems.
Average visits : 300
Today : 26,833
Look sitemeter stats Here
MSFT doesn’t get it Twitter List anyone?
I do think Microsoft get it. They layoff people in USA to reduce the cost and increase numbers of workers outside USA
How do you think IBM is still in business? Offshoring jobs is Palmisano’s business model.
MS can afford Lose and make all the mistakes it wants too. It’s only a loss when the owners are lifestyle downsizing or have to move to a smaller house.
Agreed – why would you cut off one of the most prominent faces of your company? Especially someone who so many associate with Microsoft’s development efforts. This seems like a very myopic decision.
Agreed…
The same reason why they fired Scoble … lots of talk but no idea how to bring in any revenue
Not so fast! I worked with Scoble and he wasn’t fired. He left to be part of a startup. Scoble didn’t have to bring any revenue, and he brought what he promised, so I think if he wanted he would still be there.
I didn’t meet Don, although I worked in the same division. I believe he didn’t have to bring revenue either, and he was delivering. He is probably victim of his entire program being killed, which is, nevertheless, myiopic, as Arrington said.
It is not the fisrt time MS throws the baby with the water. They killed the Digital Media Division and disbanded once the IE team. I am still a MS fanboy, but this kind of decision is appalling.
You obviously do not have any clue.
Scoble WAS fired.
Both Scoble and Dodge were well worth their salaries even if you can’t point to specific dollars.
I was not fired. I sure wish you’d call Jeff Sandquist who still works at Microsoft and get your facts straight. As to all talk? I did more than 500 interviews at Microsoft, all with my video camera aiming at other employees. The results we got are well documented, but I don’t think you are interested in the facts so I’ll just move on.
Everything I need to know about Scoble I learned from Valleywag.com
Everything I learned about Scoble was in this one single post.
“I did more than 500 interviews at Microsoft, all with my video camera aiming at other employees. The results we got are well documented [...]”
That sounds interesting. I for one would like to hear a little more about the reasons for it and the conclusions drawn from the recordings.
Robert you are everywhere!
He has clones. 7 of them. One is drinking coffee with me right now.
Agreed. It is not a good decision by MS
I’m assuming there is a bigger reason. My assumption is that he will be replaced by someone else fairly quickly. However – I don’t understand it, and obviously neither does Dodge or Techcrunch.
Agreed 100% Don rocked. Perhaps he will skeedaddle over to Apple and Smack it up there
He must have gotten a decent severance package, and I bet that he has signed a non-compete. In any case, I don’t think Apple would have him.
Michael, you have a man crush. Admit it!
They still have 45,000 too many people to compete effectively on the web. Those ridiculous margins on client/server software and maintenance are a thing of the past. MSFT is WAY too fat. They’re stuck in the Innovator’s Dilemma – cash from Office & Windows is their greatest asset and greatest liability.
Millions of lines of code take lots of people. In the little time I got to spend at MSFT (as an employee of a partner company), I didn’t see much fluff. On the other hand, I am sure that the pre-collapse “boom” of ‘04-’08 saw them adding some small percentage of mostly unneeded folks, as the same happened at thousands of other companies.
Still, they’re profitable, they’re competitive, and they’re moving forward, so you really can’t make the claim otherwise without some really, ridiculously solid evidence.
Yes, Microsoft has become a bloated, slow to move bureaucracy. They need better productivity out of their employees, and maybe downsizing will light a fire under them.
I still cannot fathom how the company does not have a credible competing product to iPhone and now Android, totally inexcusable.
That seems like a big mistake. They are working so hard to innovate right now but have lost so much momentum with the web developer community. Don was an important ambassador in a space and network that could have really helped in turning the tide.
Agreed 100%
This is a huge loss for Microsoft. I’ve worked with Microsoft for years now and Don was a star. From his constant evangelism in the face of cynics, to closely working with start-ups to help them navigate Microsoft’s massive organization, Don was the ultimate ambassador.
One of the smartest minds there… what happened?
this just makes me really, really sad.
Agreed. Sigh.
This makes absolutely no sense. He was literally the face of microsoft to the startup community. He’s done a hell of a great job at it. Layoffs are sad, but they’re usually reserved for people you can let go of. Don Dodge was NOT one of those people. He was actually the opposite: someone that microsoft needed to make sure they never let go. I’m pretty shocked.
People are scared of smart people.
Yeah. This makes me bummed out too. Just talked with Don and he did the same thing with me that he did with Mike. Someone will hire him quickly. Any startup he joins will be much more likely to raise funding and get covered by both me and TechCrunch.
#FAIL
So, how am I supposed to feel about the BizSpark program prospects now?
Michael,
First of all, your post very controlled. Thanks for that….
Someone else would have used a lot harsh words for that but you stayed balanced……
MSFT recently has gone even worst-
I am told that they fired folks from Danger acquisition couple of months back under “Performance” category to avoid paying second year retention bonus……
Now tell me what do you think?
IMHO, MSFT NEEDS NEW TOP management (like replace of Steve B).
Their loss is someone else’s gain. I know Don is the man. You know he’s the man. We all know he’s the man. There are tons of web facing companies with APIs and tools that need a champion to help foster adoption. He’ll be fine and this is just the bump he needs to move forward in his career. He didn’t have anything bad to say because he has at least a year’s worth of six figure severance to go rock it somewhere. Why are we crying again?
Travell, You are right. No one should cry tears for me. I will be fine. There are better things ahead, and I hope to have more to say soon.
The support from the tech community has been overwhelming. I had no idea. I truly appreciate it.
There have been lots of offers and requests to talk from the biggest names in the business. All the usual suspects. And lots of interesting startups are reaching out. I hope to take some time to evaluate where I can add the most value.
I have four criteria for my work; 1)Do I love the people I work with, 2)Is the product/company leading edge, 3)Am I learning new things, 4)Am I having fun. If those four elements are there…I’m in.
I hope to continue working in the startup world, either with a startup, with a VC firm, or with a company that cares about building and supporting the startup ecosystem.
Based on early indications (8 hours) I think something good will happen soon.
Thank you all for your support. It means a lot to me.
Don Dodge
Don is super smart! I think he will do better on his own than with Microsoft.
A new chapter where Don Dodge is the title not Stevie B.
No corporate restrictions just pure tech and startups…
I just don’t understand why they would do this now – days after a Win 7 launch. You would think they would need him more then ever right now…strange…
what a big deal!? come on?! It is sad for Don Dodge, of course. And I am sure he will do fine!
Microsoft is not evil because of this! Apple turn down people, and google also. That is the market!
GROW UP, microsoft bashers!
you people, cheerlead for google.
History repeats itself!
First as a tragedy (microsoft), secondly as a FARSE (google)
Klaus,
You are only half right.
There are people like you describe but there are many people who are very objective and will express their opinions frankly.
There is certain level of concern among some of us as to why MSFT does this stupid things when it is in such great financial condition but NOT able to innovate fast enough and not getting on the good side.
You are failing to understand this. Shame on you….
I dont like Google that much myself but they are able to innovate and develop an ecosystem around them which will become so much effective that MSFT will have have a chance.
If MSFT does see hear the drums from the distance, they will go the way other once powerful companies went.
There is so much value MSFT added to the PC industry that it will be awful to waste all that.
Hope you GET it now.
too fast fingers……
Correction-
If MSFT does not hear the drums from the distance, they will go the way other once powerful companies went.
I was shocked to hear that he was laid off. Don has been at every big start-up event that I’ve been to recently. The BizSpark Program he spearheaded convinced us to switch to Microsoft Server. Before Don and Microsoft began appearing at so many events we viewed Microsoft as just another inovationless coporate giant, but he and everyone else at BizSpark made us take a second look. Whoever hires him next will be very lucky to have him.
Couldn’t agree with this more.
Don is a really good advocate for Microsoft. He gave our startup a ton of good advice. He will be missed at MS but hopefully shows up somewhere interesting…
This article does point out a serious issue that Microsoft is creating. What is sadder is that Microsoft doesn’t have any post employment mechanism for keep connecting with ex-Employees. Ex-employees could continue to be a huge asset for the company.
If you look at the McKinsey model, ex-employees are a huge part of their model moving forward. They connect with them and do business with them.
I left Microsoft almost 4 years ago after a 10 year career. I’ve had plenty of touch points with the thousands of people I personally knew at the company but not once have been communicated to by the actual company. I have had seen a lot of natural outreach from the open source world and this is probably a big reason why I’ve embraced the LAMP stack, WordPress, and even have a few Macs floating around.
Don, I never knew you but did know Dan’l and know he surrounded himself with rock stars. Best of luck to you as there is definitely life after MSFT.
I’ll go one further, after myself and 30% of the building in a flyover state were laid off, our ‘v-’ hr person mentioned to me that M$ told our (former) company they were “strongly discouraged from rehiring” anyone who had been laid off. The 30% included a roughly even mix of fte’s and vendors.
So much for good will.
What a huge mistake on Microsoft’s part. To the startup world, Don has always put a very approachable, very human face on a company that often tends to seem just the opposite. I’m excited to see what Don does next.
Michael, you are letting personal affection to Don clout your news reporting. This should be placed under personal opinion.
Regardless of what Don did for the company and how much he was respected and adored by you and others, my personal experience has led me to believe that someone as public as Don was is not let go without a good reason. We are not talking about a low level developer who was let go. Most likely, Microsoft had its reasons.
The fact that Don was professional and did not badmouth Microsoft and was concerned about you badmouthing them (I guess he knew what your first instinct would be) is a testament to his professionalism and impeccable work ethics.
Most likely, Don knew exactly why he was let go and was okay (as much as possible) with their decision.
I think you missed the entire point here.
First, the reason Mr. Dodge was let go is no mystery. It’s the reason every other person in the history of the world has been let go (as opposed to being fired). It’s called Cost Cuts.
If I had to guess I’d say Microsoft probably felt this market didn’t justify a full time person (given most startups aren’t interested in Microsoft technologies)
The point of the post/comments here is to say that logic is wrong and that firing your ambassador to the startup community is short sighted on Microsoft’s part. There is an emotional response but that’s in addition to the otherwise logic based conclusion.
Tom,
Whether it was done for cost cuts or because their currently research did not justify a full time person, Microsoft did what they though was logical. No one can sit here and say that it was not logical unless they were in their shoes.
I can say that it is not logical to me that TechCrunch reviews every other Apple iPhone app that comes out (well, maybe not every single one) and does not review other mobile platforms’ apps but I am not in TC’s shoes. Perhaps the majority of TC readers are iPhone users. Perhaps TC’s trending shows that people are more interested in it. Perhaps MG has nothing better to do than review Apple remote controls and comment on the placement of the play/pause button. Again, what is illogical to me might be logical to TC.
The fact that letting go Don was a mistake on their end is clear to those who perhaps do not know why he was let go. You never know, maybe they got Google’s web 2.0 evangelist and have not announced it yet.
While opinions are great, I thing coming to a foreground conclusion nearly an hour after he was let go is bad in my opinion.
Just my two cents…
wow, being from Boston and seeing him at all of the local events, he was the GOOD I associated with Microsoft. I wonder if Microsoft realizes just how many young entrepreneurs look up to Don Dodge.
Damnit. I admire Don. He got me, somewhat, motivated to be an entrepreneur in the 2.0 world. Damn.
Couldn’t agree more – Don’s one of the best guys I’ve ever worked with (both professionally and personally), definite mistake by MS.
Surprise move for Microsoft no doubt, but can’t wait to see what Don Dodge’s next move is. Best of luck to him.
Great tribute. But curious, why do we (in biz culture) see it as a sign of character to refuse to say anything bad about a company that screws us? I get it as a gesture of old-fashioned decorum, but it’s generally not the ethical obligation of the disempowered to protect the powerful…
Anyone with a modicum of intelligence can figure out new employers don’t want to hire people who trash their previous employers.
Think about that… my last employer was awesome when I worked there, but terrible when I got fired?
That means I’m either insincere while working there or bitter when I’m fired and going to do the same thing to you when you fire me.
Complete agreement – Don was great, he sat on a panel we hosted at SESNY earlier this year and was exceedingly professional and knowledgeable.
He’ll have no issue whatsoever landing on his feet, and I think it’s not a bad idea to follow his movement to see a company that knows how to attract good people.
Really a sad thing so hear about. Don was always amazing to watch and work with. A huge loss.
I don’t understand this. Its not really sad, just a stupid decision by Microsoft. People like Don are in high demand, so this probably is a blessing in disguise for him.
Good point. I’m sure he will be snatched up in record time by another company who will pay him even more for the solid work he does.
This make me said
There is no problem in lamenting someones’ departure from a company, but singling him out as a special loss kind of lessens the personal tragedy to everyone who needs to clear their desks and have an emergency family meeting….
Only if you let it.
Maybe Don “doesn’t get it” and why MS decided to let him go. I don’t know who or what Don did. I’m just throwing out the other side of a possible coin.
Great… Now I have go to see for myself to support it. Stupid internet.
That is a great comment, well done you.
I mean, there are a ton of comments here who actually do know “who or what Don did” and make it clear this is a huge loss for Microsoft.
But luckily those people who prefer their opinions a little less informed can rely on you to “[throw] out the other side of a possible coin” (whatever that murdered metaphor means) based on your self-confessed total lack of knowledge.
Stupid internet, indeed. Astonishing.
Zing!
Yeah paul. This is a great comment. Too bad TechCrunch loves to remove comments as well from people with which they disagree.
I have put a comment about how Microsoft most likely had a reason to get rid of Don considering his role and visibility. My mistake was that I added that Michael Arrington was letting his affection of Don get in the way of news reporting. My comment disappeared about 5 minutes later… All subsequent comments also disappeared. When did TechCrunch start censoring comments?
Yeah paul. This is a great comment. Too bad TechCrunch loves to remove comments as well from people with which they disagree.
I have put a comment about how Microsoft most likely had a reason to get rid of Don considering his role and visibility. My mistake was that I added that Michael Arrington was letting his affection of Don get in the way of news reporting. My comment disappeared about 5 minutes later… All subsequent comments also disappeared. When did TechCrunch start censoring comments?
Er ‘Jim/Mij’ – I’ve just scrolled down the thread and your comment appears to be there.
Some comments posted here are automatically moved to a moderation queue if they look like spam/abuse. Judging by the fact that you posted the above twice under two different (and curiously anagrammatic) names, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why your previous comment took a few extra minutes to be approved.
There are plenty of anti-Arrington/TC comments posted here. Get off your conspiracy horse.
Paul,
No conspiracy. Just how the commenting system works. If you read my comment above, you will be hard pressed to categorize it as either spam or abuse. Your commenting system might be doing this automatically, but it sure as hell does it more with negative sounding comments than with positively sounding comments. Perhaps, you need to change the sensitivity of the “system” which reviews the comments.
Given that my post had no links, bad language, or anything else that would constitute as spam/abuse, it should not have been flagged.
The more likely trend is a general bias of preaching to the converted. However, I do tend to agree with the parent comment in that Microsoft’s reasoning is as of yet not fully explained.
On the surface his loss appears to be a mistake by MS, but perhaps we don’t know the whole story. Maybe in a few days we’ll find out he’s actually a two headed right wing republican troll who snacks on babies in his free time and MS was no longer able to cover up his atrocities.
Or more likely some VP or higher had the genius idea of a strategy “re-think” and Don no longer fit the picture that McKinsey painted for said VP.
Is that Akismet you’re using?
@Mij – Again, even if it was flagged (I have no idea) – it was very quickly approved. Seems like the system works pretty well.
I approached Don at TC50 ‘08 looking for contacts within MSFT. I expected someone of his stature from MSFT to either blow me off completely or answer as quickly as he could so he could get away. His response was the exact opposite. Not only was I surprised to hear he was familiar w/ my company but he stopped to talk for a minute and promised to follow up w/ an introduction via email, which he did two days later. Michael’s take on this is 100% accurate… this was a stupid move by MSFT.
Regan, Thanks for your note. It was great to see you at TC50 ‘08. I do my best to give time to every startup because I spent most of my career at startups. I know what it is like on the other side.
Startups are the life blood of our industry. It is where disruption and innovation happen.
Microsoft was a startup too. Just Bill and Paul Allen and an idea. Google was a startup not too long ago. Larry, Sergey, and an idea. You never know where the next big thing will come from.
Startups deserve respect for taking the risks and blazing the trails. I never want to be too far removed from that action. It has been my life, and I hope to continue adding value wherever I can.
Thanks,
Don Dodge
Job changes are emotional and personal, whether they are a surprise, deserved, one person or 800. Don has a great opinion on this, and I think he should. I’ve admired Don and his work ever since I caught the Web 2.0 and blogging bug several years ago. He was a mainstay on my blogroll, back when that was more commonplace. I am sure that with his talent and connections, he will end up somewhere great that is lucky to have him soon.
This move by MSFT is damn puzzling.
Don, all the best going forward!
I am old DEC-hand myself. You would think after living through that debacle, Micro$oft is the last place he would have to worry about. Pretty funny the new email is gmail and not live.com
Good luck Mr. Dodge they will be banging at your door.
As an employee of a BizSpark company, I am sad to see a person who was clearly excellent at his job be let go. For every thing….there is a time.
In a little ironic twist, I loved that according to his blog, his new email is a Gmail account. HA!
Bird.
Bird is the word.
It is a shame to see Don go. He has been a smart and thoughtful advocate for Microsoft, and a good friend. I have no doubt that he will land somewhere great next.
Hopefully after this article, Don will find a better and well deserving position than this.
Don was our go-to guy at MSFT for the first several years of Xobni. He really helped us navigate that big machine and I’m really thankful for all of his help. This makes the distance between san francisco/boston and seattle seem even further..
Nice hearing from one of the better examples of great MSFT partners in the ecosystem which built a great product – Xobni (I think I met one of your reps at #spc09 – the SharePoint conference)…
It will be interesting to see what the new MSFT strategy for engaging / fostering the partner ecosystem will be now that D. Dodge is no longer part of that picture.
Ah, yes, Microsoft. Sitting with $37 Billion of cash and equivalents on its Balance Sheet. Needs to cut cost why again? Oh, right, to make Wall Street happy so the execs stock holdings go up. Watch them sell.
Wonder how many of those let go will be H1-b’s?
This company should be HIRING. Investing in people to improve products, processes, R&D, add long-term value to the company. Instead, we get layoffs to please short-term Wall Street speculators and executives.
A once respected American company is now just another evil corporate giant, headed by over-paid executives too lazy or stupid to generate additional revenue rather then cut costs to pump the stock price.
Glad that Google and Apple are handing MSFT their a$$es on a platter.
The reason for this type of lay-off usually falls into three categories:
1. Don did not see eye to eye with one of his superiors.
2. Don’s salary didn’t justify his position.
3. His superiors were clueless to Don’s contributions to the tech community.
Which is it?
I’d say #1 and #3. Usually guys like Don aren’t paid what the market will pay anyway. Everyone I know who has left Microsoft is now paid more than MSFT was paying.
Yeah but they don’t have towels in the parking garages anymore.
Mr. Dodge may be too good of a person to occupy the position at Microsoft.
Mr. Dodge is a smart, sincere, hard working professional that takes his responsibilities and assigned tasks very seriously.
…the position, in Steve Ballmers eyes, is to trick the world into thinking this internal email by Bill Gates is no longer standard operating procedure:
http://antitrus...000/PX02991.pdf
I worked for Don at Bowstreet and he is a standup guy. Don, come consult for us at Dimdim! You have my number.
Steve
Love your product.
Hi Steve, Great to hear from you. I will be in touch. It has been a long time.
Don
Typical move of an out-of-touch corporation. It validates the common perception. Microsoft has no soul.
Your comment at the end reads, “He wasted all that time, apparently”. I understand the frustration but just because someone doesn’t stay at a company doesn’t mean all the work they did was a waste and wasn’t worth it. I’m sure Don doesn’t think it is a waste and neither should you. But yeah microsoft is a big shitty corporation..
My thoughts exactly. Standing up for the guy by saying he wasted years of his life… not the kind of tribute I’d appreciate, although I’m sure the sentiment was understood.
A smart startup (or TechCrunch?) would snatch this guy up in a heartbeat. I wish I could.
I am with you
Don is the best! If we had the money in our startup I would hire him quick!
unbelievable. totally. MSFT has gone crazy. Didn’t they think about developers, developers? Well, many developers, developers considered MSFT for this man. “Great work” of Ozzie. Idiots.
Any VC should be more than happy to have him is a general partnet
Stock holders don’t care what a great guy Don is.
I have followed his blog for years. He’s pure class. Someone will snap him up in a second.
same here, he’s the only blogger in the startup space that I would remember from Microsoft.
So MS is doing better, Don doesn’t say a bad word about them, and you trust Don, but you don’t believe the good things he says about them?
Ah ok, thanks for clarifying what I should think about Microsoft.
There’s good and bad in everyone and in everything. Don evidently evangelised Microsoft to the start-up crowd. It’s not a contradiction to say that Don contributed to those parts of Microsoft that were worth shouting about, but it’s clear that other parts of Microsoft are as corporately out-of-touch as ever. In the tension between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Microsoft, Don stood for good, but the bad won out in the end and Don was unceremoniously toppled.
Good luck Dan and thanks for all your help in the last few years
Best,
Vassil and the blogtronix team
Bad MSFT
Don will continue be a great community leader and I’m sure we’ll hear more from him in the future.
This kind of bothered me though…
“His reaction to today’s news shows what kind of person he is. I reached him by telephone just an hour after he heard the news. And he didn’t have a bad word to say about Microsoft. He was more concerned that I not write anything negative about the company than anything else.”
…And yet you ignored his request. I’d be willing to be charitable both to a man whose opinion I highly respect and to his former employer and not suggest that his work was wasted or that this wasn’t a difficult decision made with good intentions. For Don’s sake, give them some credit.
So Arrington should just have ignored the story? Friends compel us to do all sorts of things, but we are all free to do what we think is right. Despite Don’s continued support of his former employer, Arrington has been compelled to speak out in his capacity as a tech commenter.
I’m certain no one would believe that the only two options available are ignoring the story and writing it as he did. There are certainly more charitable ways of delivering this message, as Don himself has done on his blog and as he asked Michael to do.
Charitable to whom? Don doesn’t need charity; neither does Microsoft. You think Arrington should have ignored his feelings on this and written, what, a light-hearted article? An ironic one? A postmodern one? Arrington has shown up the enormous error Microsoft has made and it seems as though the vast majority here agree with the sentiment.
$20 he will be working for Google.
I met Don at Napster. He was a terrific team member there (under very tough circumstances) and has consistently been a great advocate for MIcrosoft by _doing_, not yakking. Really bad call.