Steve Ballmer Steps Down As Board Member At Microsoft

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I don't care what anyone says, if I was Steve Ballmer, I'd take my bag o' billions and split too. :D

Given my confidence and the multitude of new commitments I am taking on now, I think it would be impractical for me to continue to serve on the board, and it is best for me to move off. The fall will be hectic between teaching a new class and the start of the NBA season so my departure from the board is effective immediately.
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I just don't understand the drive to work that people like this have. Maybe that's why I am not and never will be a billionaire or even a millionaire. If I had 1/1000 of his money, I would retire immediately and never work again in my life. Fuck buying a basketball team. That sounds like a chore. I would do nothing but travel and relax.

Reminds me of Mark Cuban as well. Has billions of dollars, yet he continues to invest his time and money into businesses so he can make even more money. I just don't get it. Do people actually enjoy working that much? It makes me tired even thinking about how many hours these guys sink into their work.
 
Good riddance, he was nothing but a drag on Microsoft. And he still got a billion dollars, despite all the value he destroyed there.
 
i960 said:
I just don't understand the drive to work that people like this have. Maybe that's why I am not and never will be a billionaire or even a millionaire. If I had 1/1000 of his money, I would retire immediately and never work again in my life. Fuck buying a basketball team. That sounds like a chore. I would do nothing but travel and relax.

Reminds me of Mark Cuban as well. Has billions of dollars, yet he continues to invest his time and money into businesses so he can make even more money. I just don't get it. Do people actually enjoy working that much? It makes me tired even thinking about how many hours these guys sink into their work.
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I hear you. But think of the work these kinds of people get to do, entrenched in power and influence. Just so much more rewarding than typical pay the bills work.
 
i960 said:
I just don't understand the drive to work that people like this have. Maybe that's why I am not and never will be a billionaire or even a millionaire. If I had 1/1000 of his money, I would retire immediately and never work again in my life. Fuck buying a basketball team. That sounds like a chore. I would do nothing but travel and relax.

Reminds me of Mark Cuban as well. Has billions of dollars, yet he continues to invest his time and money into businesses so he can make even more money. I just don't get it. Do people actually enjoy working that much? It makes me tired even thinking about how many hours these guys sink into their work.
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It's an innate thing. I believe having a lot of money only allows people to be more what they already were. Someone addicted to work is only going throw that many more irons into the fire, because that's what they love to do. I myself would keep pretty busy on productive pursuits, but not to the degree of these sorts of workaholics.
 
heatlesssun said:
I hear you. But think of the work these kinds of people get to do, entrenched in power and influence. Just so much more rewarding than typical pay the bills work.
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That's another reason why I will likely never be wealthy. Power just doesn't interest me at all. I can see how it would be attractive to some people, but not me. If I were Steve Ballmer, I would have stepped down from the board the same day I retired as CEO. And the reason wouldn't be too many other commitments. My only commitment would be finding the nearest tropical beach and a nice strong Mai Tai. If I had enough money that I never had to work again, I'd be one lazy mofo. :D
 
Growing revenue by 394% during his tenure (2000 -2013), or 30% annual growth. Yet not rewarded at all for it.
 
He must have an ambition to break Bobby Knight's record for throwing chairs across the court.
 
heatlesssun said:
I hear you. But think of the work these kinds of people get to do, entrenched in power and influence. Just so much more rewarding than typical pay the bills work.
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I suppose one would eventually get tired of relaxing and essentially doing nothing.

I wouldn't mind being a test case of that. :D

Like an earlier posting, I too find it baffling that such rich people have this desire to keep working. Granted it's a different sort of work compared to the usual grind most of the population does. Perhaps they don't have any hobbies? I have plenty of hobbies that I'd love to have far more time to focus on for personal enrichment. I don't even feel the need to monetize them.

I know someone who has owned several businesses during her lifetime, spent most of that time working and now that she nearly has two feet out of the door (not really involved in the new company structure formed by her son) she has no hobbies and interests to occupy her time. She has very few friends and most of those friends have been business acquaintances who have fallen by the wayside.
 
lister4269 said:
I suppose one would eventually get tired of relaxing and essentially doing nothing.

I wouldn't mind being a test case of that. :D

Like an earlier posting, I too find it baffling that such rich people have this desire to keep working. Granted it's a different sort of work compared to the usual grind most of the population does. Perhaps they don't have any hobbies? I have plenty of hobbies that I'd love to have far more time to focus on for personal enrichment. I don't even feel the need to monetize them.

I know someone who has owned several businesses during her lifetime, spent most of that time working and now that she nearly has two feet out of the door (not really involved in the new company structure formed by her son) she has no hobbies and interests to occupy her time. She has very few friends and most of those friends have been business acquaintances who have fallen by the wayside.
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I would still have hobbies, so I'm sure I would go through cycles of wanting to do nothing but travel and relax, and then pursuing my hobbies. I love architecture, engineering, and construction. I would spend a good deal of time designing and building my dream home or homes. But it would be on my schedule, for my own personal benefit, and not for gaining money.
 
i960 said:
I would still have hobbies, so I'm sure I would go through cycles of wanting to do nothing but travel and relax, and then pursuing my hobbies. I love architecture, engineering, and construction. I would spend a good deal of time designing and building my dream home or homes. But it would be on my schedule, for my own personal benefit, and not for gaining money.
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Well, some people are truly addicted to money. It's not really about the amount money, it's about the gratification or feeling they get from making more. Their bodies physically produce endorphin, much like a drug addict, when they successfully make money.

I'm right there with you. I would rather enjoy life, travel and do things to better my ~100 year experience on this planet. Lots of wealthy people die living a miserable life...
 
It's not about the money; it's about the work. Some people work to live, and some people live to work.
 
TwistedAegis said:
Err sorry, let me rephrase - VASTLY rewarded for it, but not recognized for it at all. ;) :D
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The perception of Ballmer's career at Microsoft parallels that of the company. Incompetence and failure. It's somewhat understandable with the rise of mobile and Microsoft's to date small percentage in that market and failure to strike it big beyond it's historic competencies. The financial story however has been significantly different in that the company that many have said is on the verge of failure has for every quarter except one since its public debut 28 years ago has always made money. Of course that quarter where Microsoft lost Money was because of a bad Ballmer acquisition.
 
OregonLAN said:
Well, some people are truly addicted to money. It's not really about the amount money, it's about the gratification or feeling they get from making more. Their bodies physically produce endorphin, much like a drug addict, when they successfully make money.

I'm right there with you. I would rather enjoy life, travel and do things to better my ~100 year experience on this planet. Lots of wealthy people die living a miserable life...
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My body must produce endorphin's when I have time off and I know I can just sleep and do nothing, haha. :D

And that brings me to another point. If I made such an obscene amount of money that I could never truly spend it all, I would be giving much of it away. Some to my family, but mostly to charities or organizations that I support. I may even invest in some companies that I like, but I certainly wouldn't be working for them in any capacity. Hire someone else to do that crap, I have fishing to do!
 
soupcxan said:
Good riddance, he was nothing but a drag on Microsoft. And he still got a billion dollars, despite all the value he destroyed there.
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I see this all the time... and while I think the guy is a real farce, both XP and Windows 7 were released during his tenure as CEO.

Couple that with exiting the company while it has $142 million in assets and did 28% net last year and I just don't see "value he destroyed."
 
i960 said:
I just don't understand the drive to work that people like this have. Maybe that's why I am not and never will be a billionaire or even a millionaire. If I had 1/1000 of his money, I would retire immediately and never work again in my life. Fuck buying a basketball team. That sounds like a chore. I would do nothing but travel and relax.

Reminds me of Mark Cuban as well. Has billions of dollars, yet he continues to invest his time and money into businesses so he can make even more money. I just don't get it. Do people actually enjoy working that much? It makes me tired even thinking about how many hours these guys sink into their work.
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Because sitting around and pissing away millions of dollars for fun does get boring after a while. That is why so many ultra rich successful people stay in the work force. What else is there to do on this planet? Traveling? That's what these folks do on the weekends all over the planet. Sit on the beach? Buy a bunch of high end cars and drive them around? That shit gets boring after a while. Bill Gates is doing the best alternative to sitting around... philanthropy.
 
Trimlock said:
I always laugh when I see posts talking about a billionaires ineptitude, especially one as successful as Ballmer.
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Choose one of the following:

1) $22 billion net worth
2) Love and respect anonymous internet posters
 
shade91 said:
Because sitting around and pissing away millions of dollars for fun does get boring after a while. That is why so many ultra rich successful people stay in the work force. What else is there to do on this planet? Traveling? That's what these folks do on the weekends all over the planet. Sit on the beach? Buy a bunch of high end cars and drive them around? That shit gets boring after a while. Bill Gates is doing the best alternative to sitting around... philanthropy.
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On the weekends? You can't do serious travelling over a weekend. I'd take bycicle tours all over the place. Of course these types of people probably wouldn't give a shit about getting down and dirty with the locals, which I've found to be the most enjoyable experiences while travelling.

I just wonder where the vision is. If it were me? I'd buy a large wooden sailboat, hire my friends and family who were interested to help man the ship, fill in the rest of the positions with other folks, and proceed to sail around the Caribbean looking for treasure. And that's just one fun idea off the top of my head lol
 
TwistedAegis said:
Err sorry, let me rephrase - VASTLY rewarded for it, but not recognized for it at all. ;) :D
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He is recognized for being what he is - a salesman. He primarily increased revenues and profits by strangling the markets they did have...more or less by f*cking their chickens that had already hatched.

That is also his downfall. He just couldn't trust visionaries and had to have control. So now MS is playing catch up in mobile, the fastest growing segment of technology and they are way, way behind. If Nadella isn't able to execute this could conceivably threaten Microsoft's existence.

So yes, he is recognized - for being a salesman. But he squelched true visionaries for years and now MS is paying for it.
 
i960 said:
I just don't understand the drive to work that people like this have. Maybe that's why I am not and never will be a billionaire or even a millionaire. If I had 1/1000 of his money, I would retire immediately and never work again in my life. Fuck buying a basketball team. That sounds like a chore. I would do nothing but travel and relax.

Reminds me of Mark Cuban as well. Has billions of dollars, yet he continues to invest his time and money into businesses so he can make even more money. I just don't get it. Do people actually enjoy working that much? It makes me tired even thinking about how many hours these guys sink into their work.
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Here is a way too look at by using something more familiar to people which is video games.

Look at video games outside of the more action oriented ones, such as strategy, simulation, and RPG genres. What are you doing in a lot of those? It seems many people enjoy spending time doing "management" type games for instance. Ballmer ran and managed a larger software company in real life while people play games like "Game Dev Tycoon" for fun.

Football Manager, as a specific example, is one of the most popular games on Steam. Seems like Ballmer now has a team he can manage in real life. Sports specifically is a hobby for a lot of people (armchair GMs in discussions, fantasy sports, sports sim games).

Other examples? What about MMORPGs. There is a lot of activities people do in MMORPGs that are analogous to what would be considered real life work.
 
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