Ballmer turns to geeks to save his own butt

The changes, which could be announced this month, would come soon afterwards Ballmer unceremoniously canned Server & Tools Business division head Bob Muglia, a 23-year veteran of the Redmond wars.

Not that there isn't a place at Microsoft for a sales guy with a penchant for clownish, over-the-top public behavior. Or incandescent fits of rage. The question is whether that place is the corner office, and Ballmer assuredly knows that unless he can make Microsoft competitive with Google and Apple in the mobile computing and web services markets -- not to mention increase shareholder value by reigniting the company's moribund stock -- he could end up being one of the wealthiest, temporarily unemployed guys in the world. And who would wish that fate on anyone?

Don't think it can't happen, either. A September regulatory filing revealed that Microsoft's board of directors is publicly questioning his leadership because the company effectively dropped out of the mobile phone market when its Kin handheld device bombed. How bad was the Kin? Even this target market thought it was too primitive.

The game with the Windows Phone 7 smartphone

Microsoft recently has tried to get back in the game with the Windows Phone 7 smartphone, which has gotten some good reviews. Sales, now, might be another matter.

Kin's failure, and Microsoft's lagging performance in smartphone software, cost Ballmer half of his target bonus last year. He recently has been seen prowling the aisles of a Redmond Walmart afterwards midnight, looking for fantastic deals on hand towels and developers, developers, developers! If Ballmer can't revive the company's fortunes in emerging markets just as cloud computing, smartphones and tablets, he before long could be greeting Walmart clients. Nevertheless at least he'll have the nicest shoes of all the associates.

The business side of research market strategies

Chris Nerney writes about the business side of research market strategies and trends, legal issues, leadership changes, mergers, venture capital, IPOs and innovation stocks. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisNerney.