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Judge Clears the Way for Google's Microsoft Hire
MarkEst1973 was one of the first to write to tell us MSNBC is reporting that a Judge has cleared the way for Google to hire former Microsoft employee Kai-Fu Lee. The hire does come with several limitations and Lee was also found to have 'misled his former employer and taken advantage of confidential Microsoft information'. This comes as a follow up to the original story in which Microsoft sued Google in order to prevent the hire. Tom Burt was quoted as saying that "Dr. Lee is going to be the highest-paid HR manager ever."
This is good news all around (all right, maybe not for Mr. Ballmer) as it underscores faith in the rights of employees to work for whom they want when they want assuming they act in reasonably good faith (NOTE: this is a standard hardly applied equitably to corporations.
If you read the transcripts it seems clear (to me at least) Microsoft kind of blew it with this guy. They hired him for important work expanding their market into China and hamstrung him in his ideas and proposals.
Also, as an aside, I got criticized for my post and my views about this issue. Most notable I feel vindicated in this portion of the exchange:
My response (emphasis mine):Also, for the record, in contrast to Tom Burt's crowing ""Dr. Lee is going to be the highest-paid HR manager ever.", Google's main goal was to have Lee to establish recruiting and expansion in China... And I doubt for a moment Lee won't be contributing to discussions about products and company directions. That part of the "contract" is just plain unenforcable.
Here is the part I don't understand. How can the judge actually prevent him from actually working on search, natural language processing and speech recognition many years from now. Who's going to actually keep track of all the compete/noncompete activities?
If they're well-connected, HR managers can bring in an extreme amount of talent. It really comes down to who you know and how they think of you.
If they know you and trust/like you, chances are you might be able to bring them aboard. Let's face it, it doesn't matter what company we're talking about - getting the right employees can make or break you.
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
For the next year he will be the best compensated HR man around. After all MS, that is what the non-competion agreement you made him sign was for....After that, he can freely work to put MS into the ground. Which he will more than likely be very notivated to do after this debacle.
Requiem
Dr. Lee is going to be the highest-paid HR manager ever
Most expensive, is more accurate. MS's counsel's point (which previous posters seem to have missed) is that the guy is going to be next to worthless to Google by the time Microsoft is done. Still paid his salary, but unable to do anything he was hired to do (or is able to do.)
Please help metamoderate.
It should be found unconstitutional to deny someone to accept employment at any company because they worked for a competitor at one time, no matter how recent. This is called the FREE MARKET! You have to pay to play.
Of course if someone is privy to confidential information at a job and then woks for a competitor they should not be allowed to discuss trade secrets etc, but the benefit of the doubt has to be given to them until it can be proved they spilled the beans! You have to prove people guilty in my country I thought.
No company owns their employees. Make them an offer they can't refuse or eat it. These are the values we go to war and die for, after all.
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
When I was young, we used to call a "corporate blog" the "press release page." They're functionally equivalent, it's just that the web log has a more casual tone than your typical press release which usually follows a strict format.
Actually, they're not functionally equivalent. A press release necessarily contains information to help the press cover a company's announcement, such as the contact information for the company media contact, times, dates, brief company overview, pictures, etc.
You can see Google's press releases here:
http://googlepress.blogspot.com/
As I write this, there is nothing up there about Lee, nor many of the other notices posted to the Google Blog. That should be another clue to the fact that the Google Blog is not a Press Release center. It contains info on many things that the general public don't, but Google fans do, care about.
When are y'all going to realize that crap on a stick is still crap on a stick, even if you call it "aromatic material on a thin rod"?
Why is a press release "crap on a stick"? How do you propose companies release information to the press or the public in general?
They are obviously just a release of information intended as a starting point for the press (i.e. a member of the public that is good at research/writing/reporting). If you want more information, you contact the spokesman listed at the bottom of the release.
Then the job of the press is to take the release and write about it, hopefully verifying claims, gathering more information, presenting alternate viewpoints, in an unbiased way.
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
That's really not the issue here. As much as Microsoft is "evil", it's a perfectly legitimate concern to not want your competitor to hire away your employees for the purpose of learning your secrets. I'm sure I could think up many scenarios that would apply to you and your life, but you're too young to understand. Of course, the irony here is that Microsoft did this very thing to Borland (which resulted in VisualBasic), but than we know that they think the rules don't apply to them. This business with Kai-Fu Lee is not Google's finest hour.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Maybe, but the burden of proof is on MS to prove he used Confidential info. To prove this they would have to reveal that Confidential info at trial to show the judge and jury the facts and I doubt the judge would seal the transcript. So then everyone would know. This won't get in front of a trial judge, it will be settled. All it would take is for Google to not let him work on the technologies he developed at MS for one year, and I doubt the case can get heard in a year. Of course MS could then sue Google for somehow using MS "Trade Secrets" they supposedly got from Mr Lee. But that is still very hard to prove.
I guess Google's motto doesn't apply to all. Don't be evil... except its OK to be evil to Microsoft (who are of course VERY evil) apparently.
Actually, if you think about it. That's when its the truest test of how evil or not you are. And I'd say they failed.
What if, oh say, Jesus was only nice to people who where nice to him? He wouldn't be very admire in that case.
I know everyone isn't fond of the Evil Empire (myself included), but this guy did essentially "screw over" MS. Top it off with violating a no-compete and sharing confidential MS info with Google.
If I was going to jump ship with my present company, I'd at least see if they could work something out with me.
people should able to work when and where they want, attempting to prevent us doing so, is slavery essentially. i certainly agree that you can't allow employee's to steal clients or go to the competition with trade secrets and business intelligence. but a blanket ban on being able to work for anyone else? get real.corperations don't own us, they OWE us.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Does Microsoft ever win a lawsuit?
It actually goes much deeper. China is a huge market about to explode into a growth surge beyond imagination. Opportunities exist within a narrow window for both MS and Google to establish partnerships and business relationships with the companies that will become the movers and shakers in China for the next century. It will be a challenge to any company to adapt their business methods to the local environment, deal with a government much different from their experience, and earn trust and market share from the Chinese people. China also represents a huge potential source of IT talent just waiting for a direction. Google and MS will be competing for the Gorden Bells, Dan Bricklins, Gates, Jobs, Allens and Wozs of China. Influencing the directions taken in the creation of the Chinese IT industry is the equivalent of influencing the next major stage in the evolution of a connected World - and arguably the next stage in human evolution. It's an opportunity to create a new paradigm from the ground up. And there will be money. Unholy low Earth orbit high shitpiles of money.
Of course all this starts with the boots-on-the-ground presence. Google has chosen Kai-Fu Lee as their point man. He joins a growing group at the core of Google that includes some of the most influential and experienced people in the IT community. Coupled with Google's track record in product development and unique corporate culture, this collection of talent establishes Google as a driving force in the industry. It also validates Google's reputation for having its heart in the right place. Lee will bring Google and the Google vision to China. He will be one of the people shaping the relationship between China and the rest of the world. He could work anywhere. Microsoft wanted him so bad they sued to keep him. He chose Google. And he left MS, lawsuits and all. If he never speaks of his experience at MS again, he has already made a powerful statement. And if he can earn the trust of the Chinese people and government, Mr. Lee, and Google, will make many more.
billy - most noncompete contracts in the mainstream business community are about the relationships with a company's clients...to prevent you from moving to another company and taking your customers with you