Why I Joined Microsoft

Without first-hand data, it is difficult to say whether or not the industrial barons of the past held the same sway as that of the tech giants of today. Honestly, I really don’t have an answer for that question. I can tell you what it feels like, however. It does, in fact, feel like the industry giants of today are wanting to have more influence in society.

While perhaps not a giant (you can giggle here), Trump being elected president is an obvious example of this phenomenon. These industry titans shape opinions, endorse candidates, and employ many many (not a typo) people —Elon Musk signaling that he would be voting Republican being the most obvious and recent example. Let it suffice to say, that they can have a lot of influence in our world, regardless of whether it is much different from industry titans of the past.

As this sort of influence manifests itself in our politics, we should all be on guard and hopefully know enough about these influencers and their beliefs to ferret out the good influence from the bad. This can usually be done by looking at the companies they have built and how they are run.

What is different from the past, however, is that more and more corporate CEOs today are stepping into the public arena in an attempt to shape public opinion. Although, I am sure this phenomenon has existed as long as business has been around, it is Trump and now Elon Musk that are seemingly making it a regular thing, often opining on political and cultural events, trying to influence the masses. If the idea of Trump and Musk trying to influence public behavior isn’t enough to scare you (and it really should be), perhaps the world they might leave behind will. It is a world that does not protect women and minorities, a world that does not protect workers, a world that does not protect the environment, a world that does not respect the rule of law, etc.—it is likely a world that you (whoever you are in the world) would not want to live in.

Indeed, as society struggles to reign in right-wing militias, among other MAGA supporters, it is more important than ever to understand who these CEOs are that are attempting to shape society with their comments in the public sphere. I can assure you that if we live in Musk’s or Trump’s world my republican friends would not like that either, regardless of how much they want to hate Biden and the Democrats. It would be a race to the bottom for society, after all, a corporation’s only responsibility is to it shareholders (not the well-being of society). Decades of gains made in labor law, civil rights, and other legislation would likely be rolled back in favor of policies and practices that concentrated power among the "fortunate" few—ah, the good old days made new again!

It is against this backdrop that I chose to work for Microsoft. In the past, I had interviewed with Tesla and got the sense that working for them would be like working for a competitive, lawless, frat house, akin to Lord Of The Flies.?Indeed, subsequent articles that have come out about the company and their toxic culture seem to confirm this. I have interviewed with Google and Facebook in the past as well. Although I did not get a particularly negative impression of those companies, they did not seem to have a strong, well thought out, company culture.

As a somewhat old dude now, I grew up with Microsoft, Windows 3.1, and the 8086 and 80286 processors. While Bill Gates and his team might have been fledgling entrepreneurs learning the ropes in those days, I never got the sense that they were bad people or had a draconian, exploitative, or harsh view of the world. They seemed to come from the same liberal tradition that I grew up with in the 70s, a world that understood that the holocaust really took place, that slavery and racism were wrong, and that women are fully equal human beings deserving of the same rights and privileges as men (I could go on and on here, adding to this list).

Like me, Microsoft has lived through this period of transition and tumult in our country. In my opinion, it is a company that has chosen to take a progressive moral stance on these and many other issues, where many companies still have not.

As I said, I have always had a positive impression of Bill Gates and company as people that felt “familiar,” what I did not really know, however, was how much work Microsoft has done to reshape the company since bringing Satya Nadella on as CEO. As a new employee, I have really been taken aback by the company they have built and Microsoft’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion...of everyone! The company makes a huge effort to support their employees by not only compensating them well, but also by treating their employees well and taking an interest in their well being.

Microsoft gets that being inclusive and diverse not only creates a better company culture where employees will want to stick around, but that it is also good for business. Indeed, if we are going to be living in a world where C suite executives and their companies play an ever larger role in society, we better hope that those executives and companies are enlightened. I couldn’t be happier to have joined Microsoft and to have an opportunity to contribute their innovative and generous culture.

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