Rob Enderle: ‘Why Steve Ballmer’s Early Retirement Is My Own Greatest Failure’

That headline is no joke. That’s really the headline and premise of this, perhaps Rob Enderle’s nuttiest column ever. A few excerpts:

My last in person meeting with Steve Ballmer was in 2002. I remember it more distinctly because I had just thrown my back out and was in extreme pain. However, I was also the Senior Fellow for Forrester, which had just acquired Giga, and not only was I the most senior analyst in the room, I was also known to know Steve personally and was expected to guide the meeting. I’d opened with some banter, which Steve shut down immediately and, unlike in our prior conversations, he was combative, angry and polarizing. I was personally embarrassed. His behavior reflected on my own performance adversely, and it was clear he wasn’t there to listen to but to tell us the way things were.

I’ve heard from a few people that this is Enderle’s modus operandi for any meeting — he just starts talking as soon as he enters the room and never shuts up.

★ Thursday, 29 August 2013