Have you ever felt the immense feeling of satisfaction and contentment being with someone? Feeling absolutely convinced that you are home whenever you are with this person? Feeling safe, cared for and finding your place in the world? In life? Ready to do anything and everything within your power for this love? Giving you unfleeting loyalty to the point of sacrificing everything else in your life? Can you imagine the immense vulnerability, bliss and happiness? Now imagine that love betraying you and you finding out that all you thought was just for the moment. It's was never real or lasting. There was no love for you, no loyalty, no feeling, no intention to protect and value you. Just a cold thing that accepted you while you had your use and when you didn't, was dispensable for their own good and purpose.
While love for a person can very well have that effect, I am not talking about loving and being betrayed by a person but a company. I joined Microsoft in 1996, right after Windows 95 launch. That time, there were only 22 of us and by the time I left in 2004, there were 220. We were a close knit family, doing things without protocol or hierarchy controls. Just safe in the knowledge that the company encourages you to learn from mistakes and successes.
There was a lot of fun and I mean A LOT!! The company had soul and we were the soul and heart of the company. In a time where people are cynical about love, family and people values, we actually believed and lived the thought that we will fight for and work tirelessly for this love called Microsoft. Whatever we did, we did out of passion and enthusiasm normally reserved for cult movements! And we were rewarded for it. There was no politics and very little animosity as we knew it was work and betterment of a common love. There was no questioning and everyone knew what to do.
But things then change as they normally do. We changed at the head and this new person breeds and encourages politicking and back stabbing. In fact many times he provides the knife. He is super insecure and will do anything to keep his employees from the limelight and hog it to himself. I almost lost my best friend through this.
Still we soldiered on, believing in the cause and our love. A new head came but not with changes for the better but more politicking and now introducing a racial divide. Despite me giving up on Microsoft and Microsoft giving up on me 4 years ago, the die hard still continued, still wanting to stop the bleeding and looking to rebuilt a shell losing its soul. But last Tuesday, a number of them was fired by Microsoft.
People who lived the cause and loved the cause and who provided what is left of some soul and humanity to a company that has finally turned into a cold, hard, corporation. In many ways I cannot blame Microsoft. As a corporation, we have to protect the many by sacrificing the few. But why let go the soul and people who could stop the bleeding? People who would still do anything for the company? Roles can be eliminated but why keep those who don't care? Those who are just doing this for the branding, for the salary, for the acclaim of others? Those who are just going for the ride? Why?
Because it's all politics. Can you polish better? Are you of a certain race? How well do you brown nose? How well do you step on others? I know most corporations are such, in fact they all are.
Many of you will laugh and ridicule us. Telling us how ignorant we were, we are to believe that a corporation can love you back.
But Microsoft was genuinely different. It was alive, a person with character, personality, soul, a heart. We provided most of it because we believed it. As of last Tuesday, all these are effectively removed like precision surgery. It is now a cold, conglomerate like any other. No difference. No character. No soul.
The old Microsoft made a lot of me. Taught me many things which continues to be of great value. I feel sorry for those who did not experience such closeness and the believe in something worth sacrificing for. I feel sorry for those who ridicule us but who can blame them if they have not experienced it? The old Microsoft gave me a strong soul and I thank my old team mates and manager for it. Mostly someone called Benedict Lee.
So I say goodbye to my Alma Mater as the existing company is not my Alma Mater. I say goodbye to the pureness and innocence never to be found again in a corporate world. I thank you for everything given to me from my business sense to my polo t-shirt wardrobe. And I wish my dearest friends the best of luck. I promise to help where I can. God Bless you always.
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