Say what you will about Microsoft’s fortunes under Steve Ballmer, the man clearly loves the company.
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That much was once again evident yesterday during his farewell speech at his final company meeting as CEO, where he reportedly danced, shouted and cried. Pretty much all the Balmmerisms we’ve become accustomed to over the years in other words.
According to The Verge, Ballmer spent the hour-long speech discussing, among other things, the company’s recent Nokia acquisition and the search for his successor.
Outside of such serious matters however, Ballmer danced to Michael Jackson’s ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (the song Ballmer played at Microsoft’s first employee meeting back in 1983) while shouting “the sound of Microsoft!”. He then exited to Dirty Dancing’s ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’. Just prior to walking off the stage, he reportedly paused and added: “You work for the greatest company in the world, soak it in.”
Earlier in the speech, he promised Microsoft’s employees that the company “will deliver the next big thing… we will change the world again.”
According to The Next Web, he also took the opportunity to aim a few digs at Microsoft’s competitors. Apple, apparently is about being “fashionable,” Amazon is about being “cheap,” Google is about “knowing more,” but Microsoft is about “doing more.”
“I believe in you, I believe in the mission…” Ballmer told the employees who he will leave behind in just under a year, “We’ve been a great company for years. We will be a great company for many more years.”
