
215Dimension of Variations
innovation does not come naturally to the rm but has to be sustained through a concerted effort of
all the members of the enterprise.
Microsoft sustains this atmosphere of innovation through a stafng strategy consisting of three
crucial components: hiring very smart people, maintaining a loose operating structure, and orga-
nizing workers in small, intense, task-oriented groups. One crucial component of the strategy is
Microsoft’s investment in intellectual talent. Since a software company is foremost a provider of
solutions for people’s information problems, hiring the brightest people has several benets: smarter ...