Steven Sinofsky's Microsoft TechTalk

If you’re looking for the Building Windows 8 Blog then see http://blogs.msdn.com/b8 . If you’re looking for the Engineering Windows 7 Blog then see http://blogs.msdn.com/e7 .   Thank you, Steven

Greetings, I've recently changed jobs at Microsoft and decided that this would be a good time to take a break from external blogging. I started a blog inside the firewall (using the beta of SharePoint no less!) and am going to focus there for a while...

We’re actively hiring interns from the college campuses we visit. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk about what it is like to be an intern in Office. You can read about the specifics of the intern program on the intern web site: http:/...

We're out there visiting a bunch of schools in the next few weeks. At each of these schools you will run into a senior member of the Office development team--we're representing all of Microsoft, not just Office, interviewing for full time and internships...

As we hit the college campuses for the second half of recruiting, it seemed like a good idea to pick up where we left off. Development at Microsoft Let's talk about development at Microsoft and what it is like to be a Software Design Engineer (or...

In a comment in the previous post there was a mention of maybe the PM role will go away with the advent of new technologies that make it easier to drive data directly to the developers. In particular there was a mention of Watson -- which is our online...

While at Stanford this week I was asked by a number of PM (program manager) candidates to talk about the PM role at Microsoft. The PM role is unique to Microsoft and was actually created in response to developing software that is more usable and at the...

I had a great time at Stanford--though it was cold and cloudy :-) :-) Thanks everyone for taking the time to get together today. As I expected, the questions and discussion really kept me on my toes all day! I tip my hat to Dhyanesh and Greg for working...

I will be at Stanford on wednesday the 14th meeting with Develpment and Program Management hires. I'm definitely looking forward to the time so bring your tough questions! --Steven

A few weeks ago I was on a panel discussion at Cyberposium 2005 . The panel's moderator was Ken Morse , a lecturer and managing director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center . Professor Morse has quite a lot of experience with startups in the technology...

It is not the heat, it is the humidity. -- David Letterman (ok not really, but it was a catch phrase for a while) No matter where you live, people can find a reason to complain about the weather (or is it weather forecasting?). Seattle is no different...

Just thought I'd let folks know that Office "12" Beta 1 went live today. We're pretty excited about the product and getting it into customer hands. Way to go team!

So how much and how hard do you have to work at Microsoft to be successful? I was asked this question by a graduating student who has an offer from Microsoft to be a software design engineer. Actually the question was "do I have to work 100 hours a week...

I've been asked quite a bit by people interviewing at Microsoft about "software release". This post will talk about our strategy around product releases for Office products, since we have been pretty consistent over the years and this represents a balance...

The past couple of days have been busy with a round of presentations and discussions at MIT, Sloan business school, and Harvard College. I know folks are always super busy so I appreciate the time everyone took out of their busy schedules to meet on campus...

I will be visiting both Harvard and MIT this coming week. I look forward to meeting any students with a passion for software interested in working at Microsoft full time. MIT Wednesday Oct 19 @ Building 34, Room 101, Reception at 4:45pm, presentation...

"Are you able to shed any light on how much software development takes places outside of the US? Or indeed, what happens at which Microsoft sites around the world? Why would a new grad come to Seattle to work for Microsoft when he can work for Google...

This year just like every year, I am very involved in recruiting students from college campuses to work on our product development teams. I’ve been active in recruiting since I arrived on campus at Microsoft—I think I probably still hold some sort of...

bu·reauc·ra·cy a. Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices and by fixed procedures b. The administrative structure of a large or complex organization I was able to spend the day today with students...

Before I get started I should point out that I am not an MBA and I don’t play one on TV. The closest I ever came to a business class was when I took Accounting I at the nearby community college in 1990 or so. I’m an engineer through and through. That...

Anonymous said: Managers love to give more reasons why lots of managers are a good thing. Why lots of managerial levels are a good thing. Your explanation of the file/rank structure and their leads is great. And its right on target. A lead with...

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers. Butcher, in Shakespeare's King Henry VI The first thing we do, let's fire all the managers. Just about every employee at one time or another since the 1911 release of Frederick Taylor’s Principles...

This is the time of year at Microsoft when individuals and managers decide what HR courses and training to take. I just finished going through the process of nominating members of the team for courses that have enrollment limits—ug! There are a lot of...

The recruiting season is getting underway and shortly we’ll be “at a college near you” looking to connect. I will be at Harvard Business School the first week of October, where I’ll visit some classes and also participate in a career fair. I hope to see...

The past couple of weeks have been busy as all the interns moved on (yippie we have more parking) and we’re gearing up for the Fall when we visit lots of college campuses around the US, Canada, Mexico (Europe is later). I’m planning on visiting a few...