Read Online Resolve and Fortitude : Microsoft's ''SECRET POWER BROKER'' breaks his silence by Joachim Kempin - Free Book Online
Authors: Joachim Kempin
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had extended were given foremost attention. Unbeknownst to me, dark thunderclouds loomed on the horizon.
The following year, I made all OEM personnel attend the gathering and utilized it annually from then on to propagate next year’s business objectives. The event became legendary and instrumental in making my group wickedly effective. Mixing business instructions with team sports, fun, and recreational activities fostered a notably energized sales and marketing force. People talked for years about our adventures in the wilds of nature and the great team spirit they engendered. Creating such a driven and high-spirited crew was extremely rewarding. Someone used the nom de plume Marines for the OEM group. I was visibly proud and felt privileged to be their commandant!
HISTORICAL CUSTOMER VISITS
A visit to Europe opened my eyes to DRI’s successful counters. My first stop was to the UK to meet with London-born Alan Sugar, founder of Amstrad, which had roots in the consumer electronics business. Performing as a highly efficient copycat, his company caused disruptions in the retail landscape by undercutting brand-name pricing through reduced production costs. Her entry into the PC business came in the fall of ’86 with her legendary PC model 1512. Aggressively priced with a low-end CPU, it cost roughly half of what comparable PCs were going for.
Amstrad’s OS vendor of choice was DRI, instantly catching the eyes of Bill Gates, who was adamant about gaining a piece of Amstrad’s business. Winning any deal with such a cost-conscious supplier meant major pricing concessions. At first, Amstrad did not budge. Unexpected help arrived from a German consumer electronic company named Schneider. Their management’s ultimatum: if Amstrad wanted to be the supplier of Schneider PCs, it had to deliver them with MS-DOS. This ultimatum prompted Scott Oki to make a cold call and cut a shocking rock-bottom deal with Alan. Since Schneider was located in Germany, he gave me, then the German country manager, a courtesy call. Being under Bill’s gun had translated into lowering his pants in order to win. My request: “Keep the deal quiet.” To my utmost surprise, Alan Sugar kept his word. After all these years, thank you!
Over the next couple of years, Amstrad captured nearly 20 percent market share in Europe. As I prepared for my visit, the luster was fading from Sugar’s company. Struggling with quality issues and reputation, he was considering returning to his consumer roots. I had been briefed to expect a flat-out arrogant and unfriendly CEO. His played-up animosity was used to pry up a better deal and was reserved for suppliers who did not dance to his tune. When we met, I found a depressed and not-exactly-overloquacious executive. Rather than work hard to regain his reputation and get his PC business back on track, his overall interest had wandered off. This did not prevent him from attempting to wheedle lower prices out of me and threaten me with going back to DRI.
In Sir Alan’s mind, software was an unnecessary evil. It just added cost and questionable value to his PCs. Fortunately, he was no longer speaking from a position of strength. I certainly didn’t relish a direct confrontation with him, but I nevertheless told him straight-out that another sweetheart deal was most likely not forthcoming. At that time, we achieved somewhat of a truce, but after our current contract expired, I expected renewed fireworks and pricing pressure. I was frankly delighted when the short meeting concluded.
The meetings in Germany were civilized and friendly. Siemens, the gigantic industrial engineering conglomerate, was a loyal MS customer. I knew most of her executives from my days in Germany. The only time we truly disappointed them was in ’86 after they licensed Xenix together with Windows, Word, and Excel tailored for this OS. This was a unique deal personally approved by Bill and Steve, which was never repeated anywhere in the world!
The following year, I made all OEM personnel attend the gathering and utilized it annually from then on to propagate next year’s business objectives. The event became legendary and instrumental in making my group wickedly effective. Mixing business instructions with team sports, fun, and recreational activities fostered a notably energized sales and marketing force. People talked for years about our adventures in the wilds of nature and the great team spirit they engendered. Creating such a driven and high-spirited crew was extremely rewarding. Someone used the nom de plume Marines for the OEM group. I was visibly proud and felt privileged to be their commandant!
HISTORICAL CUSTOMER VISITS
A visit to Europe opened my eyes to DRI’s successful counters. My first stop was to the UK to meet with London-born Alan Sugar, founder of Amstrad, which had roots in the consumer electronics business. Performing as a highly efficient copycat, his company caused disruptions in the retail landscape by undercutting brand-name pricing through reduced production costs. Her entry into the PC business came in the fall of ’86 with her legendary PC model 1512. Aggressively priced with a low-end CPU, it cost roughly half of what comparable PCs were going for.
Amstrad’s OS vendor of choice was DRI, instantly catching the eyes of Bill Gates, who was adamant about gaining a piece of Amstrad’s business. Winning any deal with such a cost-conscious supplier meant major pricing concessions. At first, Amstrad did not budge. Unexpected help arrived from a German consumer electronic company named Schneider. Their management’s ultimatum: if Amstrad wanted to be the supplier of Schneider PCs, it had to deliver them with MS-DOS. This ultimatum prompted Scott Oki to make a cold call and cut a shocking rock-bottom deal with Alan. Since Schneider was located in Germany, he gave me, then the German country manager, a courtesy call. Being under Bill’s gun had translated into lowering his pants in order to win. My request: “Keep the deal quiet.” To my utmost surprise, Alan Sugar kept his word. After all these years, thank you!
Over the next couple of years, Amstrad captured nearly 20 percent market share in Europe. As I prepared for my visit, the luster was fading from Sugar’s company. Struggling with quality issues and reputation, he was considering returning to his consumer roots. I had been briefed to expect a flat-out arrogant and unfriendly CEO. His played-up animosity was used to pry up a better deal and was reserved for suppliers who did not dance to his tune. When we met, I found a depressed and not-exactly-overloquacious executive. Rather than work hard to regain his reputation and get his PC business back on track, his overall interest had wandered off. This did not prevent him from attempting to wheedle lower prices out of me and threaten me with going back to DRI.
In Sir Alan’s mind, software was an unnecessary evil. It just added cost and questionable value to his PCs. Fortunately, he was no longer speaking from a position of strength. I certainly didn’t relish a direct confrontation with him, but I nevertheless told him straight-out that another sweetheart deal was most likely not forthcoming. At that time, we achieved somewhat of a truce, but after our current contract expired, I expected renewed fireworks and pricing pressure. I was frankly delighted when the short meeting concluded.
The meetings in Germany were civilized and friendly. Siemens, the gigantic industrial engineering conglomerate, was a loyal MS customer. I knew most of her executives from my days in Germany. The only time we truly disappointed them was in ’86 after they licensed Xenix together with Windows, Word, and Excel tailored for this OS. This was a unique deal personally approved by Bill and Steve, which was never repeated anywhere in the world!
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