Double Journey

I went to lunch today with a few coworkers.  I have to admit, I’m generally not a big adventurer when it comes to trying new places.   It is especially bad that there is a food court underneath my building because I’m generally pretty lazy when it comes to leaving the building for lunch.

Today, my coworkers were headed over to a different building, so I decided to tag along.  It was a bright and sunny California day so I figured it was a good time to get out of the building.  I also feel a little guilty about not being more adventurous because I work in Downtown L.A. where there are a lot of options around.

We ended up going to the cafeteria of another building.  It was odd.  First off, we had to pass through a security gate of the building.  It is one of those systems where you have to have a keycard to pass through the turnstile.  The thing was, we don’t work in the building, however the security guard let all eight of us pass through.  We just had to say we were going to the cafeteria.  What’s the point of that?  Why have a security turnstile if you are just going to let everyone through anyway?

It made me think a little bit about Microsoft.  Microsoft has cafeterias all over the Redmond campus.  There is nothing stopping outsiders from coming in and eating at the cafeterias other than needing a keycard to enter the building.  However, this is easily overcome by just waiting for someone else to enter the building as most people won’t stop someone from following them in.  The thing is, I know for a fact that there are lots of conversations going around in the lunch area which probably shouldn’t be heard by non-MS employees.  So I wonder, do non-Microsoft employees eat in the cafeterias?  If so, I wonder how often they overhear something they shouldn’t.

I wrote this post a while ago and never posted it.  However now is as good as ever, especially given my distance to the situation.

1. I didn’t want to be in Seattle - This was a relatively minor reason but a reason nonetheless.  I am at the point in my career that I was seriously thinking about what to do the next five years.  Being in Seattle wasn’t really on the list of things.
2. Broken promises - I came to Microsoft with certain expectations and certain things were told to me would happen.  They didn’t happen.  I’ll leave it at that.
3. I just didn’t enjoy work - I know it is work, and that you shouldn’t expect it to be a party all the time, but I’m the type of person who wants to really enjoy my work.  Give that I am the type of person who works long hours and spends most of my time at work, it is important that I enjoy what I do.
4. The wrong things are rewarded - I saw a few instances of people being recognized for things and behaviors which I just didn’t think were appropriate.  It honestly seemed to me that it paid off to be a jerk.
5. It was too hard to get things done -This was a combination of things.  Part of it is just being at a big company with large interest to protect.  Part of it was people trying to do other people’s job for the sake of increasing their scope.  Part of it was just being a very small fish in a huge Windows/Office Ocean.
6. Slow Career Growth - Probably the biggest reason I left.  I thought about where I wanted to be and how long it would take me to get there.  Today’s Microsoft is not the Microsoft of old.  Microsoft is top heavy with people with long tenure.   Microsoft’s employee base was doubling every few years.  You could advance simply because of the rising tide.   That’s not the case anymore.  It would have taken me twenty years to get where I wanted to be.  No way I could see myself working there for the next twenty years.

I could probably go on, but this outlines the biggest reasons.   Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of reasons Microsoft can be a great place to work. The resources are fantastic, the benefits outstanding, and the quality of people who work there is generally pretty high.

It wasn’t an easy decision to come to, even though I knew it was the right decision.  Looking back, I absolutely made the right choice. I can say that even though I have issues with my current job.  The problems I was encountering were deal breakers.  I could have stuck around and just “floated” along.  It would have been easy not do much work and just get by.  But it just wasn’t me.  Besides, the opportunity cost was too high.  Every day I stayed at Microsoft was a day I wasn’t doing something else.  I just couldn’t have that.

I want to say thanks to my friend Rick who provided me with a fantastic piece of software, Paint.NET.  It’s what I used to crop the above picture.

My new company seems to be having a problem.  We seem to be losing people left and right. The turnover on the dev team seems to be very high and it is very concerning to me and others as having continuity and history on the team is very important.

It got me thinking about when I left Microsoft.  Slowly but surely, the team I left is looking less and less like the team I left.  I wouldn’t say the exodus started with me, in fact I think I probably hit the middle of the cycle.  However, leaving in the middle gives me a unique view of the situation.

I could take a whole post about my reasons for leaving Microsoft, and I plan on writing that post someday soon.  But I can say now that it was in no small part to not wanting to be the last one off a sinking ship.  At my job prior to Microsoft, I actually was the last one on the ship.  I held it up as long as I could and it was tiring.  One of the key reasons that smart people work where they do is because they want to work with other smart people.  When you start seeing the other smart people leave, and leave for reasons like they are dissatisified with the team, you have to look around and wonder what is going on.

It’s actually something I’m not sure upper-management always gets.  Losing good people reverberates far beyond just the person that is leaving.  I’ve been in discussions about key people leaving, and it is often not treated as earnestly as I would think it should be in times.  Attrition is a nasty cycle.  Good people leave causing more good people to leave.  Pretty soon, you are left with the people who aren’t very good or don’t have any other options.

The thing that always surprises me though is that management always sees it coming.  Rarely does a star leave without some sort of indication of his/her dissatisfaction long before a resignation is given.  The thing is, rarely if ever is anything done about it.  Often people just kind of throw their hands up and say, “there is nothing we can do about it.”  It’s sad how little action those capable of doing anything about it actually ever do anything about it.  I wonder if people get so high up that they  really do see people as interchangeable parts.  Do they really not realize who is responsible for doing the work?  Are they so busy trying to drive the car that they forget how necessary things are like the engine?

What is Yahoo thinking?  In an attempt to thwart or perhaps raise the Microsoft offer, Yahoo announced a possible merger with AOL.  How does this make any sense for Yahoo?

I look at this news with a raised eyebrow because, quite honestly, it seems a little desperate on Yahoo’s part.  I see Yahoo has the girl who can’t get the attention of the boy she likes, and is looking to be with the next guy who walks down the street in order to make the boy jealous.  I mean AOL?  Is AOL even in business any longer? How does AOL help Yahoo?  What assets does AOL bring to the table that Yahoo needs?

Microsoft has threatened to go hostile with its bid if Yahoo does not accept in the next three weeks.  My honest feeling is that while Microsoft really needs Yahoo, it doesn’t need it at the price that Yahoo is asking.  When the deal was announced, Yahoo’s stock rallied while Microsoft’s stock went down.  Clearly showed there were already concerns about the deal Microsoft was making.  Don’t see how offering more really makes any sense for Microsoft.

Let’s be real about what is going on here.  Google is #1 when it comes to the internet and it is distancing itself further.   The eats at Microsoft who just can’t stand to be #2 in anything, much less #3.  But by acquiring Yahoo, does anyone really think that Microsoft will close the gap and eventually take over Google?  Does a distant #2 and #3 amount to a #1?  In short, no.

I liken it to trading for a superstar in sports.  Often times, a superstar is traded for two lesser players.  Sometimes it works out for the team getting the lesser player, but it is normally to the advantage of the team getting the superstar?  Why?  Because there are just things that great players do that can’t be replicated no matter how many other players you get back.  There is only one Kobe Bryant.  And there is only one basketball on the court.  And there is only one person who take the last shot in the game.  Two mediocre players might each have a 35% shot at hitting that game winner. Kobe might have a 70% shot.  However, you can’t combine their chances and say they have an equal chance of hitting that shot.

Yahoo, be smart and take the deal.  I prefer you don’t, as a Microsoft shareholder, but if you have any sense in you, you do it.

I really wonder why HR is difficult at most companies.  It’s odd because

• It is one of those things that is found at every company.
• It is pretty much the same job function at every company.
• It is one of the more important things at every company as people really care about their benefits, pay, promotions, etc.

You would think that after all these years HR would be down to a science.  I haven’t had any major problems at my new job that couldn’t be dealt with but at the same time it hasn’t been the smoothest of things either.  I need to go to the eye doctor and somehow my information didn’t make it to the insurance company, so I have to wait until they can go and process it.  I’m kind of on a tight time line because I want to get some glasses for driving before I drive from Seattle to Los Angeles in a few weeks.  It’s just one of those things that should have been taken care of that isn’t.  It’s probably because they deal with such sensitive and important issues that one minor slip up seems magnified. So perhaps I am being a little unfair.

Now in fairness, I never really used HR at Microsoft because I never really had a problem.  They take good care of their employees, almost too good if you ask me.  The nice thing about Microsoft is that you can take care of most things on your own without ever having to deal with another human being.   Want to change your benefits, do it online.  Want to take vacation, just do it yourself online.  Maybe that’s the key to things, take the “human” out of Human Resources.

What are your thoughts?  Have you had issues with your HR department?

I’m about three months into my new job.  Like any job there are some good and there are some bad, but I will be honest and say I’ve been frustrated at my job much more than I should be considering I am in what should be the honeymoon phase.

I think my biggest problem is probably a mismatch in expectations.   This is something crucial to get right whenever you start a job and it is something that I unfortunately did not do well here.

This company has the exact opposite problem I had at Microsoft.  Microsoft moved too slow for me; this company moves to fast.  I was expected to come in and start making some pretty big decisions and contribute right from the start.  For someone in my position, who has to understand the product, technology, and process to do his job effectively, this put me in a very awkward position and quite frankly hurt my credibility.   I needed time to get my bearings and learn the ropes.  It would have been foolish of me to come in and start making changes left and right.  Even with what I know now and the problems that are evident, it is clear that some people aren’t open to changing things.

Managing expectations, it is something everyone has to do well in every job.  It is even truer the higher you go up the food chain where expectations become big and every missed expectation is magnified.

This is probably something you really need to nail down before accepting the job.  I’m usually pretty careful about this and I would argue I was even with this job.  There are some things you just can’t know before you really start a job, but you should still do your best to get a lay of the land.  I suggest you do the following (which I did)

1.  Ask what your success criteria will be in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
2. Who will be assigned to help you learn the nuances particular to any company
3. Do you have any immediate deliverables?
4. Who will help you with those deliverables if your ramp up time is longer than expected?

It is my strong suggestion that you limit your responsibility and deliverables immediately after starting a new job.  Biting off too much when you start can be frustrating for all involved.  I have to say this is one thing that Microsoft did well when I started.   I literally had no responsibility the first month I got there.   In about month and a half in, I was expected to deliver my first deliverable and even then it was small and manageable.  Only after I went through my first full cycle (about 6 months in) was I really expected to drive and deliver.

HD DVD, known for ushering in the next generation of high capacity optical disc as well as the exclusive titles of Transformers and Shrek, died on Tuesday in Tokyo Japan.  It was just short of its second birthday.

The cause of death was a lack of support from the major studios and retailers.  HD DVD’s health had been failing for several months.  Several movie studios announced that it would stop supporting HD DVD and defected to its hated rival Blu-Ray.  In a desperate attempt to save its life, doctors slashed prices.  But it was too little too late.  The hemorrhaging was too severe.

Born on March 31, 2006 to Toshiba and NEC, HD DVD had the first player out for the next generation format.  For the next two years, HD DVD and Blu Ray waged an intense battle for supremacy.  There were times that HD DVD looked to be pulling ahead, but the numbers just weren’t adding up.  Consumer indifference slowed the progress of both formats.  Consumers did not find a compelling reason to upgrade to either as most believed their standard DVDs were good enough.   Consumers did not care, nor did they have the right equipment, to really appreciate the higer quality picture or the interactive menus.  Coupled with high prices for disk and equipment, and both formats struggled.

However, retailers and studios seemed weary of a long protracted fight so they started picking sides. Perhaps aided by the PS3 and more movie studio support, Blu Ray players were outselling HD DVD players despite their higher cost.  Still, with adoption so much slower than the original DVD format, it was hard to pick a winner quickly.  But one by one, support mounted for Blu Ray.  Things looked really bad as Netflix and Best Buy announced they would be supporting Blu Ray.  The final straw came when Wal-Mart, the retail Goliath, threw its weight behind Blu-Ray dealing the death blow to HD DVD.

HD DVD is survived by Microsoft, Universal and Paramount (The latter two quickly announced they would be adopted by the Blu Ray family).

So my quick thoughts on the proposed Microsoft and Yahoo deal after a comment by bluejay311 in my last post.  . What the hell is Microsoft thinking? Quite frankly this is Microsoft’s capitulation that it just can’t compete with Google by building it’s own solution, so it will go out and acquire one. The hope, I’m sure, is that by combining the second and third largest search providers into one, you can hopefully take out the behemoth Google. I just don’t buy it.

Perhaps, and I think its a big perhaps, this strategy might work, but I don’t think so. Search will be won by he who can deliver what the end user wants. In most cases this will be relevance, speed, and perhaps content. I’m not sure how by combining forces, Microsoft and Yahoo really address either of the first two. A second and third rate solution combined, don’t beat the front runner. I liken it to basketball. In a trade involving a superstar and two really good, but second tier players, the team receiving the superstar always wins the deal hands down. It simply is a matter that there are certain things superstars can do that you can’t get anywhere else. In this case, Yahoo and Microsoft just can’t compete in the things that matter.

Where the deal does make sense is on the advertising side of things. It might work because Microsoft actually has pretty good technology in Ad Center, it’s ad platform, and Yahoo has a much deeper advertiser base. Combining these two things gives the combined company a chance to woo advertisers to its platforms. But the problem here is that this is only a secondary consideration for advertisers. Advertisers want to be where the eyeballs are. A combined Microsoft and Yahoo might have enough eyeballs to make it worth while, but I’m not so sure. There are a couple more reasons I don’t like it.

• Yahoo seems to be fighting it - Yahoo is doing its best to find an alternative, even going to the point of exploring a possible partnership with Google.  How likely is it that the new company will integrate nicely with their new acquirers after they fought so hard to find alternatives.  How much of the top talent will just get up and leave?
• Microsoft is overpaying - $44.6 Billion. Really? This will take most of Microsoft’s cash horde as well as a stock offering. This deal values Yahoo at over 60% more than the close the previous day. This on the heels of a $6 billion aQuantive purchase, a 200% premium at the time.  Why is Microsoft continuing to pay such steep premiums.  Is this a sign of desperation?
• Mergers are just hard - I’ve been through a few.  They are never easy.  I can’t imagine how hard it would be for two companies of this size with their own very unique cultures.  Not to mention two companies that have been direct competitors for so long.

Microsoft may just have no choice but to make this move.  I believe they realize that Google is just too big to take down by themselves, and so are looking for any means necessary to do it.  If you don’t believe what I have to say about it, just look at what the market did to Microsoft stock after the announcement, down double digits.

And I would sell.  Now full disclosure time.  I own Microsoft stock, stock I received while employed there.  Microsoft came out and beat their estimates.  More importantly, they gave good guidance as opposed to Apple who came out with good earnings and less than optimistic outlooks.

While I’m going to hold on to Microsoft (I rarely make moves in my long term portfolio) my recommendation is to sell.  You see, I have VERY little faith in this company long term.  They are losing talent left and right.   Most of the top developers I worked with have already left the company or are planning to leave.  Most of them are heading over to Google.

Companies like Microsoft are very dependent on their talent and the talent just isn’t going to Microsoft anymore.  Those that are still behind are quickly seeing that there are better opportunities elsewhere.  I still have to make my post about why I left Microsoft.  I’ll follow up with that one shortly.

Is it worth it to move to California? I’m in California now, ready to start my new job on Monday. Pretty excited about it. One of the things I struggled with was whether or not to leave Seattle and come back to California. I obviously made the decision to do it but how did I come to that conclusion? Is it really worth it?

Taxes

I’m going to start with this one because taxes is one of my favorite topics. According to one survey, California and Washington state have a tax burden of 11.5% and 11.1% respectively. This is a virtual wash. However, they go about how they collect their taxes very differently. California income tax is pretty high reaching 9.3% at the top,They also have a pretty high sales tax which can reach upwards of 8.75%. California also has fuel tax ,property tax, and a cigarette tax.

Washington also has a pretty high tax burden, but structures it very differently. Washington has NO income tax. Seattle has a sales tax of 8.8% and a Restaurant tax of 9.3%. This is of course higher than in most places in CA. They too have a property tax, and derive 30% of all revenue this way. They have a fuel tax, but it is lower than California’s. They too have a Cigarette tax which is MUCH higher than in California. I don’t smoke, so this doesn’t affect me.

In the end, most of the taxes are a wash. BUT the fact that I don’t smoke, don’t own property, I earn a high income, and I don’t spend very much, Washington is the clear winner.I estimate that I probably pay about 5% more in total taxes in California than I do in Washington. Winner: Washington

Housing

I rent. So I’ll start there.

This really depends on where you live in each area. So for sake of comparison I will use the two places I have lived, Pasadena and Redmond. Pasadena is much more “urban” which means that rents are going to be slightly more. When I left Redmond, they were about to raise the rent on my apartment to $1300 for a one bedroom apartment that was a little over 700 sq. feet. That was probably a little higher than the average, but it was close. So I would say market rate for this place was right around $1200. A similar place in Pasadena right now would probably be about $1400 right now. However, if you were to live in say Santa Clarita, a city closer to the type of town Redmond is, rents would probably be about the same.

Buying is a different matter. Despite the fact that housing prices are coming down in LA and are staying relatively flat in Seattle, buying a house is still more expensive in LA than it is in Seattle. I would estimate that buying in LA is still probably about 15-20% more expensive right now. But I expect this to correct itself in the coming year. Winner: Washington

Weather

As I type this, it is about 68 degrees in L.A right now and is very sunny. It is 43 degrees in Redmond and cloudy. I’m actually not a person who is affected that greatly by weather, but having left it and come back, I can say that it does make a difference in more ways than is obvious. First off, I don’t have to plan around weather. In Seattle, I often have to change my plans or not make them at all because of the rain or cold. I have found myself reluctant to leave the house because it was so cold.

If you are a guy, a side benefit of the nice weather are the short skirts. I also contend, that the women are just better looking in CA than in other parts of the country. Sure, it may be fake, but what does it matter if you are only looking anyway

The one advantage Seattle has here is that it is not quite as hot in the Summer. There is a week where the heat might be really uncomfortable, where LA probably has about a month of that. But hey, isn’t that why they invented Air Conditioning?

This is one thing money just can’t buy. No matter how much money you throw at it, you aren’t going to be able to make it sunny or warm outside. Winner: California, by a lot

Cost of Living

I’ve already gone over housing, so I won’t factor that in here. A common thing you hear about living in California is that your salary will be adjusted because of the higher cost of living. I can tell you right now it’s a big lie. I am going to be making more money here than I was in Washington but that is because I’m taking a better job. I had similar offers and positions in Washington that I was considering, and I can tell you that the salaries can’t adjust for the fact that it is just plain more expensive to live in CA than in WA.

At my last job in CA, my company was acquired by a company based in Ohio. I was talking to the head of the CA operations who had moved from OH and we were talking about salaries. I asked him if he was interested in moving more of the engineering jobs from CA to OH to save on the salaries. He let me know that he wasn’t because, much to his surprise, the salaries weren’t all that different. In the end, CA loses because it is more expensive to live here but you won’t get compensated for it.

Other than that, goods cost the same. Food and other items are a push. Gas is slightly more expensive in CA by a couple of cents. Winner: Washington

Jobs

If you are looking for a tech job, California wins here hands down. Seattle tech jobs are dominated by Microsoft and Amazon. Google is also starting to make strides in the area. But if you decide, like I did, that you don’t want to work for one of these firms, you are going to be out of luck. You could take a tech job in a company like Boeing, Washington Mutual or Starbucks but if you are like me you want to work for a tech company, not do tech work at a company.

The Southern California job market is just much more diverse. No one employer dominates the area. This hold true outside the tech industry as well. If you are looking for jobs in Entertainment, defense, finance, bio-tech, or any number of other industries you will have better luck here. If you are like me, and your partner is not in the tech industry, this becomes a crucial fact because your partner has to be able to find a job too. Winner: California

Things To Do

This is barely even worth talking about. Southern California just has more to do. Almost anything you can find in Seattle, you can find in Southern California, but the reverse is just not true. Seattle has some great outdoor activities, but so does California, and in California they are accessible year round. California has better arts and entertainment, museums, beaches, shopping, restaurants and attractions. Winner: California

Traffic

However much Seattlites like to complain about the traffic, California is worse. If you don’t like traffic, if it grates on your nerves, then LA might not be the place for you. I try to live close to work to minimize this effect, but the fact remains. Traffic is a bitch in L.A. Winner: Washington

Bottom Line

There can be many factors which way in on your decision to move. The above are mine. I also have family in the L.A. area which is a factor. I also grew up with the smog, so it doesn’t bother me at all. I figure it is probably about 8%-10% more expensive to live in California than Seattle. If you make six-figures like I do, that can be more than $10,000. For that money, you get the nicer weather, more things to do, more job choices, and of course, the short skirts.

What’s that worth to you?