Early in my career, Microsoft and Novell were in an intense competitive battle in the network server software market. Novell was far, far ahead, and Microsoft was the struggling new entrant. At the same time, most customers were using Microsoft OS products on their desktops and needed reliable connectivity between desktops and servers. So, the two companies had to work together to some degree to benefit their shared customers. This was one example of "coopetition," which was common in the marketplace.

We had several executive meetings between Microsoft and Novell in the late 80s and early 90s to work through various issues. Ray Noorda and other Novell execs came to the Microsoft campus in Redmond several times, and Ray was upset by what he saw. The Novell team would arrive at 830 AM for the meetings, and the Microsoft parking lots would be full. They would leave in the evening, and the Microsoft parking lots would be full. Ray felt that Novell employees needed to be more dedicated.

So he went back to Provo, and for several days the next week, he apparently stood in the lobby early in the morning and wrote down the names of people coming in. He would then do it again at 5 PM and write down the names of people leaving. His plan was to hector people into staying at their desks longer.

Ray always wondered why people worked so hard at Microsoft. He didn't understand the mission we felt, the camaraderie we had, the example leaders set, and the simple things Microsoft did to make it easy to stay at work — dinners served at night, lots of free food and drinks during the rest of the day, allowance for fun time during the day, etc.

This is not to say that the hours we worked at Microsoft were healthy or good. The work pace had a lot of negative implications for people. But if you want people to give their all, you need to positively motivate them, sell them, attract them, convince them. Your best employees are all volunteers – they have many choices about where to work – you need to woo them daily. If you can't sell your team on the work, that is on you, not the team. You need to work on your selling skills – or maybe reexamine the value of the work you ask people to commit to.

Amazon is now trying the Novell approach to enforce its back-to-the-office mandate. To achieve the goal, they will badger people and monitor their time. We will see how that works out.

Inspiration

I don't have a manager or boss now, so I don't have anyone to push me or to use the carrot or stick on me. So, I have to do it myself. Some of the other writers that I draw inspiration from include:

Stratechery by Ben Thompson is such a great newsletter. Ben is thoughtful, analytical, and grounded. I get value out of almost every issue. It was one of the first newsletters I subscribed to, and his price is very reasonable.

Money Stuff by Matt Levine at Bloomberg has a great tone. He sometimes writes about pretty arcane financial dealings, but he manages to explain them simply. He can tend towards snark at times, but he usually doesn't overdo it.

Walt Mossberg doesn't write columns anymore, but his past work is a great inspiration. He was always user-focused and fair, and he continues to provide relevant commentary.