Bill Gates frowned and looked at Paul. This is the board of directors, a place for everyone to discuss things, not a place for you to yell randomly.
Why does Paul lose his composure whenever something involves Feng Yu? Is it because Feng Yu cursed his team to never win the NBA championship
How can such a grown-up person act like a child and get into an argument over such a trivial matter? The most correct choice is for everyone to work together to develop Microsoft well and continue to grow!
"Paul, you have to stay rational. This is related to the interests of all of us, and we can't act on impulse." Bill advised.
"Okay, let me say it first, I am opposed to cooperating with Feng Yu. I am talking about the matter. He wants absolute control. Which of you can agree?!" Paul sneered, "Who does he think he is? If there wasn't that DVD forum back then, With our support, he can perform so well? What benefits have we gained in the end?"
Microsoft only makes software, so the debate in the DVD forum about the DVD standard and the DVD drive standard has nothing to do with them. It's just a slightly different driver.
In Paul's view, it was Microsoft's support that allowed Feng Yu to finally establish the DVD Forum. Otherwise, would the DVD drive standard have been supported by so many computer manufacturers and sellers
But he didn't notice that Microsoft's support at that time was just the icing on the cake, not a help in times of need. Philips was the first company to cooperate with Feng Yu, and they attached great importance and respect to Feng Yu. For example, several large companies in Europe were contacted by Philips, and Feng Yu also had some connections, so he got received support from some businesses.
Microsoft is indeed the current leader in corporate market value, but when it comes to hardware and other electronic products, Microsoft's influence is really not that great, otherwise Sunny would not refuse to allow the new generation of PS to be built on Microsoft's system.
Being number one in the industry is great, but at the same time, it will also become a target for other companies in the industry to join forces to deal with. Those hardware manufacturers were strongly manipulated by Microsoft, so why didn't they think about checking and balancing Microsoft in turn
"Paul, it didn't make sense to mention it at the beginning. The current situation is that Feng can do it by himself, and we can also do it by ourselves. But after Feng does it by himself, the possibility of success will be higher and the cost will be lower. And if we do it by ourselves, the possibility of success will be lower." The performance is lower and the cost will be higher. I don't deny that if we are willing to invest money, we can still sell tens of millions of units, but can we make money?" Ballmer asked rhetorically.
Microsoft has been afraid to make computers because of the boycott of hardware vendors. Once Microsoft produces computers, other hardware vendors will unite and never use Microsoft systems again. This will cause Microsoft to suffer huge losses and even catastrophe. , because Microsoft has touched the interests of other companies. If they don't resist, they will be swallowed up by Microsoft sooner or later.
Microsoft's creation of gBox is also an attempt in hardware. Fortunately, there are only a few companies that will eat this cake, so it will not cause a lot of resistance. But it will inevitably not be claimed that this is a prelude to Microsoft's entry into the hardware market.
They will continue to publicize how bad Microsoft's products are, and will never give Microsoft any help. They will even privately support Sunni, Rentian, etc. to launch new products faster and defeat Microsoft's game consoles.
Not only is cooperation more likely to succeed, it also shares risks. Although losing hundreds of millions of dollars, or even billions of dollars, is nothing to Microsoft, who is willing to lose money if it can make money
Bill knocked on the table: "Do you still remember our goal? To become a daily necessity! The product we initially wanted to try was a set-top box for TV sets. In the future, ordinary satellite TVs will no longer meet the needs of families. They can use set-top boxes to , watch programs on the Internet, and even access the Internet directly through the set-top box. This TV game console and the set-top box have certain technical similarities. Our creation of gBox is also to prepare for our future production of set-top boxes."
The set-top box is the entry point that Bill Gates once thought of, a product between electronic products and household appliances. It will not affect the interests of those big companies, but once it is done well, even if the market share is only half of Microsoft's system, it will be huge profits!
Of course, they don’t have the manufacturing technology for set-top boxes, and there are currently no particularly good set-top box manufacturers, so Microsoft doesn’t have a good acquisition target. It would be a good idea to hone its own technology first, and then wait two years to enter the set-top box market. s Choice.
At that time, their skills have been developed, and they can acquire a set-top box manufacturing company. Maybe they can get rid of Feng Yu and manufacture their own video game consoles.
"Bill, I know everything you said, and I also understand our plan. Cooperation is okay, but we have to hold 51% of the shares. This is what Microsoft should do!" After hearing what Bill said, Paul It was also a rare explanation.
In fact, Paul's words are also the inner thoughts of several shareholders. They are Microsoft, the world's largest company by market capitalization. They used to acquire other companies, but now it is unprecedented to cooperate with other companies. They can't even hold a controlling stake
Even if the controlling rights are handed over to the other party, it cannot be absolute controlling rights. Then doesn't the other party have the final say in everything? Then wouldn't Microsoft be ridiculed by other companies
Ballmer said: "Paul, of course we understand that controlling Microsoft is what we should do, but Microsoft can't do everything. Although I also believe that as long as we are willing to invest, we can still do our best, but we can save money. Why spend more money? It also reduces our risk, so why not?”
"Ballmer, I know you have a good relationship with Feng, but you have to speak from Microsoft's perspective, not for Feng!" Allen roared.
Ballmer is also unhappy. He is also a shareholder and director of Microsoft. Although his shares are smaller than Paul's, Paul is not Bill Gates. Why should he point at his nose and criticize him
"I speak from Microsoft's business perspective, unlike some people who act out of emotion. Because of a little personal grudge, it affects the company's correct decision-making!"
The company's number two and three got into an argument. The other directors originally wanted to express their opinions, but now they remained silent. They all looked at Bill Gates. At this time, only Bill could suppress the situation.
"You two, let me say it again, this is the board of directors! You can express different views and even argue because of disagreements, but you cannot make personal attacks! We are all for Microsoft and ourselves. Let's vote next. I Agree to this cooperation and let Feng become the controlling shareholder!"
Bill Gates actually agreed, and Paul was shocked. Ballmer also immediately raised his hand to express his agreement. Others looked at it and also raised their hands. Only Paul did not raise his hand.
He stood up, turned around and left, and Bill Gates' voice came from behind him: "Then this proposal is approved!"
… (To be continued.)