Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to next generation of leaders: Listen and get after it

You don't become the CEO of software giant Microsoft (MSFT), owner of the NBA's LA Clippers, and one of the most well-known leaders from the upper echelons of corporate America by sitting on your rear end.

In a nutshell, that is the leadership story of Steven "Steve" Ballmer.

"My father was an immigrant from Switzerland. I don't even know if he finished high school. He never went to college. And early on he started talking to me about going to a good school, but he had an expression that really resonated. It'll sound both silly and prescient," recalled Ballmer, the USAFacts founder, inside a Washington, D.C., office in a new episode of Yahoo Finance's Lead This Way.

While somewhat holding back from serving up a dose of his trademark superhuman energy — which has been seen everywhere from the sidelines of LA Clippers games to Microsoft product unveilings in the 1990s — Ballmer said leaders have to decide if they are all in on something or all out.

"If you are going to do a job, do a job. And if you're not going to do a job, don't do a job. And, you know, it's kind of like if you're going to get into something, get after it. I'll use the word hardcore," Ballmer, 67, added, pointing to his father's early leadership advice.

Clearly, Ballmer has been getting after life for decades.

He was employee No. 30 at Microsoft, where he started as Bill Gates's assistant in 1980. By 2000, he was named the CEO at the height of the dot-com bubble.

His rallying cries at Microsoft product launches became legendary. Ditto his behind-the-scenes hustle and nearly unmatched love for the company.

It was that combination of heart and hustle that saw a host of innovations from Microsoft come to market under Ballmer. The Xbox gaming platform launched in 2001. In 2011, Ballmer helped pull together the $8.5 billion acquisition of online communication company Skype — years before remote work became a thing.

"I used to pride myself on my awareness and ability to think about my environment and hard work," Ballmer said, adding that listening to others has also been a key ingredient in his leadership journey.

Ballmer's tenure atop Microsoft wasn't without a few challenges, however.

The company ceded the mobile phone market to rival Apple (AAPL) and entered the search engine market late with the release of Bing in 2009.

Ballmer went on to announce his departure from Microsoft in August 2013.

Over Ballmer's 13-year tenure as CEO, Microsoft shares lost about 30% of their value, while the S&P 500 rose roughly 22%.

But a challenging final few years at Microsoft didn't slow Ballmer down. Quite the contrary.

In May 2014, Ballmer purchased the LA Clippers for a reported $2 billion. Forbes estimated the team is now worth $4.65 billion, the fifth most valuable in the league. The team has had winning seasons each year under Ballmer's ownership, in part because of his willingness to invest in the organization.

And in 2017, Ballmer launched USAFacts to share insight into how the country is being run — something not accurately reflected in typical government data, he contends.

Next year, he will open the LA Clippers' new home, dubbed the Intuit Dome. In classic Ballmer form, he told Yahoo Finance he has been very active in the stadium's designs and overall fan experience.

Ballmer says he isn't keen on thinking about his legacy and hopes to be remembered for his leadership and philanthropic endeavors.

"If you say outside of my kids and my family and my friendships, what will I feel most proud about? I mean, it's going to be that I was employee 30 at Microsoft and really [helped make] Microsoft the company it is. I feel a lot of pride in having led that. And I think it creates jobs. We helped change the world. The company keeps changing the world. [There's a] good successor in place, who's taken the company to higher heights. I have a lot of pride in that. I have a lot of pride in helping Clippers fans realize kind of their enthusiasm," Ballmer explained.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.

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