ABSTRACT
At Microsoft at the time, the review scale was on a 1 to 5 basis, with 5 being the best, and 1 being terrible. Ludwig doesn’t specifically remember them going on strike, but states, “Microsoft was an intense place in the 80s and 90s. In addition to St. John’s intervention on their behalf, it was very helpful that John Ludwig was probably the very first manager that Engstrom and Eisler actually respected. Ludwig remembers how Eisler and Engstrom would come into his office almost every day to tell him the ten ways he was failing as a manger. In addition to the benefits of age and his experiences as a parent, Ludwig had learned from his mentors at Microsoft, such as Brad Silverberg. Despite the near constant barrage of interruptions, non-crises, and attempts to undermine him, Ludwig says that he figured out how to deal with Eisler and Engstrom—Engstrom in particular.
