You don't have to own the world

Steve Ballmer allegedly said he's going to kill Google. Apparently Steve just hates competition, and Google has not only been doing well in areas Microsoft wants to play in, but they've been hiring away Microsoft employees. These things make Mr. Ballmer angry, or so it seems. I wouldn't dare say it's fact, because the emotional CEO of Microsoft demurs, saying that his supposed reaction was exaggerated greatly.

Maybe so. But Microsoft's history shows it as a company that wants to win - no matter what. An unflinching dedication to winning, to trampling all contenders into the dust is a trait shared by other corporations, past and present, but Microsoft is an iconic example of the winner take all approach to business.

When individuals exhibit such traits, we tend not to like them. Labels like "one way", "selfish", "greedy" and worse identify such people. Yet when a corporation has the same behavior, it is accepted, sometimes even glorified and at worst the dirty dealing is shrugged off with "That's business".

You don't have to live your life that way, and you don't have to run your business that way either. You can be successful without grinding your competition into the ground and without ignoring your morals and sense of fair play.

Don't be a Ballmer.

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