Matthew C Klein, Columnist

Six Opportunities Steve Ballmer Missed at Microsoft

Ballmer oversaw Microsoft during what's been called itsÂ lost decade, and here's a look at opportunities missed -- and botched -- during his tenure.

August 23, 2013 at 2:14 PM EDT

By Matthew C Klein

Matthew C. Klein writes for Bloomberg View about the economy and financial markets. He previously wrote for the Economist magazine and its economics blog, Free Exchange. Before that, Klein was a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he spent more than two years studying the history of the Federal Reserve and the intellectual history of monetary economics for an upcoming book by Sebastian Mallaby. He also worked at Bridgewater Associates, where he studied the economies of Central and Eastern Europe and advised institutional investors on asset-liability management. Klein has a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University. Originally from Chicago, he lives in New York.

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So now we know that Microsoft's Chief Executive Officer, Steve Ballmer, plans to retire within the next year. "Huzzah!" said the markets, as the stock price jumped on the news in what also must have been just the latest blow to Ballmer's self-esteem. No wonder, though: Ballmer oversaw Microsoft during what's been called its lost decade, and here's a look at opportunities missed -- and botched -- during his tenure.

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