I can’t help but mention another bit of Microsoft culture shock. Of course, it’s less shock now, more amusement.
When Brian (from Oracle) went on his honeymoon in Honduras over a year ago, Kevin had the brilliant idea of doing… something… to Brian’s office when he was gone. Kevin’s inspiration: a practical joke pulled at his prior employer, PeopleSoft, where the floor of a golf lover’s office was lovingly covered with sod. We never got much further than ideas, though, but the thought was there.
At Microsoft, it’s all about execution. P——-, my boss’s boss, regularly works from home and anyone who would like borrow his office when he’s out may do so. Last week, someone adjusted his chair. P——- was not pleased, and left this note on his white-board.
I’m not too sure who started it–I remember being confused on Tuesday seeing P——-‘s chair sitting on top of his desk. But by Friday morning, every conference room in our building had been raided (just one chair per conf room), and his office looked like this:
