Sometimes we can lose ourselves in our professions, especially if we really like our job. It can become a labor of love, not just a source of monetary benefits. In a recent episode of the "Acquired" podcast, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer revealed that he had a difficult time emotionally detaching from the company he'd helped build from the ground up (via Business Insider).
Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 as the company's first business manager. Fast forward to the early millennium, and he took over from Bill Gates and became the company's CEO through 2014.
Spending most of his professional life at Microsoft, Ballmer admits in this podcast that he had a difficult time letting go of the company:
"It was my baby. I was there so early, and I hired basically everybody."
Even after Satya Nadella took over as Microsoft CEO, Ballmer remained proactive in the company's affairs as an ultra-engaged investor. reading everything and attending shareholder meetings. He indicated that he was "kind of a dick" for it.
I was too emotionally attached. You can't control anything anymore, so it's hard. You don't want to stay quite that emotionally attached because it's like, 'Oh, I got to get back in and fix everything.'
Former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer
In the end, Ballmer indicated that it took him a little over a year to emotionally detach from Microsoft. He even considered selling his Microsoft stocks to expedite the detachment process. "It was nothing to do with money," he added. "My only thought process was emotional detachment."
However, he says a former colleague managed to discourage him from making the move. Ballmer indicated that his loyalty to Microsoft trumps emotional attachment. Luckily, the executive managed to strike a balance, retaining his loyalty to Microsoft but emotionally detached from its highs and lows.
Bill Gates suffered from imposter syndrome in the early Microsoft days
Running a multi-trillion-dollar company like Microsoft isn't an easy feat. As you may know, Bill Gates and Paul Allen started the software giant in 1975, and the company celebrated its 50th birthday earlier this year in April.
Bill Gates admitted that he had a difficult reveling in Microsoft's immense success in the tech landscape despite its impressive market capitalization that propelled him into a billionaire. The philanthropic billionaire indicated that the new reality only started dawning on him in 1998.
The executive officially left his day-to-day role as Microsoft CEO in 2008, though he remained the chairman of the company's board until 2014. While he has since shifted his focus to philanthropic efforts via The Gates Foundation and is on the precipice of giving away all his wealth, recent reports suggest that Gates is still intimately involved in Microsoft's affairs, with his word being treated as "the gospel."
