

Don Dodge hired by Google - bradgessler
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/15/microsofts-loss-googles-gain-don-dodge-gets-a-new-job/

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bradgessler
Congratulations!

Everybody seemed bumed from <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=922344>, but
it looks like Don is in a better place. Google certainly meshes better with
the YC hacker/startup scene than Microsoft; I'd expect Don's job to be a tad
easier.

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jacquesm
I certainly wouldn't see either google or microsoft as 'meshing better with
the YC hacker/startup scene', they're both very large companies, with all the
downsides that brings.

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gruseom
Oh, I think you're way off base on that. Google is far more congruent with the
startup community than MS is. Just to mention one example, look at the
differences in how they relate to open source (and the web itself for that
matter). No doubt much of this relates to their origins. Google is the very
prototype of the hacker startup that goes all the way.

Google's large-company-ness no doubt slows it down in a zillion ways, but
there are still profound differences here (just as I'm sure there are between
MS and, say, Oracle).

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veemjeem
I wonder if Google has a hit list of people to immediately hire should they
leave their currently tenured job posting. It seems like it would be quite
strategic to hire away top execs from a direct competitor like Microsoft. I
can almost picture Ballmer throwing more chairs...

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sown
Neat!

I wonder if he had to do a bunch of quiz answers first, though.

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benatkin
I liked how in the TC interview a couple of weeks ago, Don said that though he
believes in Microsoft, he can believe in more than one company. He has a very
interesting and well-thought-out business philosophy. I think he'll do well at
Google.

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InclinedPlane
Note to Microsoft: when a top-tier competitor snaps up your recently discarded
"trash" employees, perhaps that's a prime indication you made a mistake.

I don't know what's going on with the top leadership at MS but there doesn't
appear to be much. They've done some good technical work (Win7 for example),
but they keep making huge missteps. Windows Mobile is a train wreck. Bing was
a step in the right direction, away from the horrific Live search, but MS has
already started patting themselves on the back instead of buckling down for
the remaining hard work it'll take for them to make bing better than google.
MS is quietly bumbling into becoming a dilbert company, if they continue on
this path at some point they will hemorrhage talent at an unsustainable rate
and find themselves a company of increasingly diminishing relevance and
prospects.

~~~
jcl
_...perhaps that's a prime indication you made a mistake._

Or it's an indication that your competitor wants everyone else to think you
made a mistake... And that they want you to make each future employment
decision based not only on its good for the company but also on how it looks
in the press. Either way, a smart move by Google.

~~~
zaphar
Google does not strike me as the kind of company where hiring decisions are
made on anything other than the merits. Just try interviewing there if you
want to see for yourself.

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andrewhyde
Way to go Don!

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jamesbressi
HA!

------
known
I think Google is a better place for people who can think out-of-the-box.

