I woke up this morning, made coffee, showered, shaved, started reading some blog news, and unltimately got smacked in the face with an awesome wake-up call.

I was reading Rory’s latest posting about a blog called Mini-Microsoft. Rory says it is the most important Microsoft blog there is. I am not going to follow that line until I have read a bunch more MS related blogs. Mini-MS *is* the most interesting and thought provoking read so far though.

Mini-Microsoft stirs up some emotional issues regarding employee morale, review compensation and broken processes. All things a bunch (not all ,unfortunately…) of us at Microsoft think about but rarely voice.

I am not going to go on and on and on singing the praises of the 6 or 7 most recent posts I read. I want you to read and make your own decision on how good they are and how important they are. I will only say one thing about it because this is a hot-spot for me…..

The posts are anonymous. I understand why. Being opinionated and being a blogger doesn’t always mix very well. We all need the freedom to be critical (not malicious), and honest (though tempered) about our work places. Most of us choose to work somewhere for a reason. For those of us that have chosen to work somewhere because of the mission of the company, we should be allowed to provide input and direction if we think the company is beginning to stray from that mission. We should not be afraid being smacked down for offering up honest opinions and thoughful resolutions to problems we see. We should be able to do this whether we are a shipping clerk or a public figure without fear of unemployment.

Someday….

Cheers!