Finally, I want to congratulate you on moving into the world of acquisitions. Despite their price, I think both the aQuantive purchase (whose results are already showing in Q4) and the Yahoo bid are spot on. With the anti-trust actions settling away, MS needs to manage its cash for a better return: not DOJ insurance, or stock buybacks, but global strikes into fast-growing markets. Microsoft's future may well be more like Cisco's than Apple's.
The "bad" news is obvious: I don't think you get any choice in taking this on. And the good news has a strong upside: if you do this right, Microsoft will grow beyond even Bill's wildest dreams. If you do this right, Microsoft will grow into your own wildest dreams.
Mark Anderson is CEO of Strategic News Service (TM), publisher of the technology industry's most accurate publicly-ranked predictive letter, at www.stratnews.com. He is also CEO of SNS Project Inkwell (TM), bringing appropriate technology design standards to K-12 classrooms (www.projectinkwell.com), and Chair of the "Future in Review (TM)" Conferences (www.futureinreview.com). He is a Contributing Editor to the Industry Standard.
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