Now in paperback, the inside story of "the greatest transformation of Microsoft since it became a multinational company" Marshall Phelps's remarkable eyewitness story offers lessons for any executive struggling with today's innovation and intellectual property challenges. Burning the Ships offers Phelps's dramatic behind-the-scenes account of how he overcame internal resistance and got Microsoft to open up channels of collaboration with other firms.
- Discover the never-before-told details of Microsoft's secret two-year negotiations with Red Hat and Novell that led to the world's first intellectual property peace treaty and technical collaboration with the open source community
- Witness the sometimes-nervous support Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer gave to Phelps in turning their company around 180 degrees from market bully to collaborative industry partner
- Offers an extraordinary behind-the-scenes view of the high-level deliberations of the company's senior-most executives, the internal debates and conflicts among executives and rank-and-file employees alike over the company's new collaborative direction
There are lessons in this book for executives in every industry-most especially on the role that intellectual property can play in liberating previously untapped value in a company and opening up powerful new business opportunities in today's era of "open innovation." Here is a powerful inside account of the dawn of a new era at what is arguably the most powerful technology company on earth.
Praise for Burning The Ships
"Told with a litigator's attention to detail, Burning the Ships recounts the journey that forced Microsoft to face its own 'succeed or die' moment. It's a powerful high-stakes lesson in strategy and survival that speaks volumes to business leaders of all stripes about the courage required to embrace radical business transformation."
-William J. Amelio, President and CEO, Lenovo
"Intellectual property does not show up on your balance sheet, and your board of directors would not recognize it if it were set out on a table in the lobby. But do not kid yourself: in an era of ever-commoditizing supply and distribution, IP is the essential fabric out of which your competitive advantage will be fashioned. Burning the Ships gives you an insider's look into how this engine of economic returns operates and what you can do to maintain it."
-Geoffrey A. Moore, author, Crossing the Chasm and Dealing with Darwin
"It would be difficult to overestimate the influence that Marshall Phelps has had on corporate thinking in regard to intellectual property. Simply put, he is the one we look to for guidance in such matters. Burning the Ships will be widely read in Japan and Europe as well as America."
-Michio Naruto, former vice chairman, Fujitsu Limited
"Phelps and Kline offer us a first look at tomorrow's business strategy, which of necessity involves the collaborative use of intellectual property. Don't miss out on the chance to see what future business leaders will be thinking about."
-Nathan Myhrvold, CEO, Intellectual Ventures
"Academics have spilled a good deal of ink over the past fifteen years on the question of how intellectual property can be deployed to enhance innovation and enterprise success. Finally we're getting the skinny on this vital issue-not just from someone who's been in the trenches, but from Marshall Phelps himself, the man who revolutionized and set the standard for the management of intellectual property across the whole information technology sector."
-Wesley Marc Cohen, PhD, Frederick C. Joerg Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Strategy, Economics, and Management, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
