Microsoft First Generation by Cheryl Tsang

Microsoft First Generation: The Success Secrets of the Visionaries who launced a Technology Empire by Cheryl Tsang

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (October 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471332062
• ISBN-13: 978-0471332060

Amazon.com Review

If a company's soul is defined by its employees, Cheryl Tsang's Microsoft First Generation offers the definitive look at the way one of the world's top corporations has really been shaped. In straightforward but perceptive profiles, Tsang introduces a dozen key individuals hired by Bill Gates and Paul Allen before 1990--when the primary focus was creation and development, rather than growth and maintenance. They are mathematician-programmer Bob O'Rear (hired two years before Microsoft relocated from Albuquerque to Seattle), technical writer Russell Borland, programmer Richard Brodie, senior vice president Scott Oki, chief information officer Neil Evans, CPA Dave Neir, Ida Cole (the first female VP), CD-ROM author Min Yee, technical manager Ron Harding, publishing-systems manager Russell Steele, Asian-business-development manager Paul Sribhibhadh, and senior diversity administrator Trish Millines Dziko. "The people who comprised Microsoft's first generation were exactly right for their time. They were the pioneers," Tsang writes. "The founders of Microsoft were shrewd to have hired them, for the company's monumental and continuing success would not have been possible without [their] exceptional work and passion." --Howard Rothman

From Library Journal

How has mighty Microsoft, begun 25 years ago as a two-man (Bill Gates and Paul Allen) partnership of extremely bright "twentysomethings," amassed an estimated market value of nearly $500 billion and become the predominant computer company in the world? This is the focus of business journalist Tsang's collection of personal stories from 12 former "softies" and their fond reminiscences about their work in the very early days of the firm. Among the alums interviewed are Bob O'Rear, the original programmer of the first MS DOS program for the IBM machine, and Trish Maline, an early beta tester who became the advocate for the ethnic diversity movement inside the company. From these tales, Tsang summarizes keys to the unprecedented success of Microsoft, including its famous maniacal work ethic, an emphasis on risk taking, an unwavering drive to success, and the unique internal culture mainly influenced by the even more unique personality of CEO Gates. Throughout these fascinating inside scoops, listeners will be continually intrigued by the always crisp narration by Mary Woods, which reveals some of the truth about what it was really like to work for Microsoft in the beginning. While this is not a historical analysis of the company, a story yet to be told, these nostalgic recollections are important to the growing computer history genre and are essential for all university libraries supporting an information systems curriculum.ADale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Booklist

Microsoft and Bill Gates are synonymous. Although Gates appears on the covers of news magazines and is treated as a celebrity, few are familiar with Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. Allen, who left Microsoft in 1983, is nonetheless the third richest man in America, with $22 billion. Then there are the even more anonymous "Microsoft millionaires," the young workers hired by Gates and Allen because they were bright, willing to take risks, and possessed a "maniacal work ethic." In return, they collected stock options that were worth more when they left Microsoft and cashed them in than they could ever have dreamed. Tsang profiles 12 of those people, who represent a cross section of Microsoft's first generation of employees. Included are programmers, project managers, and individuals who worked in marketing and in accounting. Tsang conducted extensive interviews to find out the paths those men and women took to arrive at Microsoft, what life was like there, and what happened to them after they left the company. David Rouse

Product Description

What began as a modest start-up partnership only twenty-five years ago has already surpassed all the giants of contemporary capitalism, including General Electric and IBM, and has achieved a value estimated at nearly $500 billion. How did Microsoft achieve all of this in so short a time? What was the true nature of the Microsoft environment in the beginning, and what are the secrets behind its triumph?Find the answers here. With Microsoft First Generation, Cheryl Tsang skillfully renders recent history in bold, colorful strokes, highlighting each of the specific business qualities and entrepreneurial traits that turned Microsoft's dreams into reality. Meet the early builders of Microsoft, and step inside the famous culture of loyalty, the storied "maniacal work ethic," and the hardcore world of reckless risk-taking that remains so integral to the computer giant's matchless and ongoing success.
Here, up close and personal, Tsang introduces readers to twelve members of Microsoft's mythic first generation, each of whom has walked away from Microsoft as a multimillionaire. The collection spans a diverse collection of creative geniuses and business wizards, from Bob O'Rear, employee number seven, who joined the team in 1977 and wrote the original MS-DOS program on the first IBM PC; to bestselling author Russell Borland who, after innocently answering a help wanted ad for a technical copywriter in 1980, suddenly became the mouthpiece of an entire company, singlehandedly familiarizing the world with Microsoft products; to Trish Millines, who began as a software tester in 1988 and then blazed a trail and effected lasting change as a powerful advocate for ethnic diversity in the technological arena.
Featuring candid appraisals of the idiosyncrasies of software culture, fascinating portraits of the enigmatic Bill Gates, and rare photographs of the company's early days, Microsoft First Generation uncovers a range of surprising success secrets-and reveals, once and for all, exactly what makes Microsoft tick.

About the Author

CHERYL TSANG is an award-winning business journalist and fiction writer. She lives in Bellevue, Washington.

From AudioFile

Before Microsoft became an alleged monopoly, it was a group of smart young people working very hard on revolutionary software. The members of this founding generation were bright and aggressive people thrown together in a company in which ideas and competitiveness trumped protocols and procedures. Tsang managed to interview many of the key early employees; most have since "retired" as "Microsoft millionaires." These men and women opened up their life stories and shared a wealth of insights and anecdotes that help explain how Microsoft became what it is. Whether you love or hate Microsoft, this audiobook will hold your attention. Mary Woods's singsong voice is not suited to the production, but the material wins over the presentation. T.F. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Firnando Chau Review