????比如2005年，湯普森斥資100億美元收購數據存儲企業(yè)維爾軟件公司（Veritas Software）后來就證明是一大敗筆。與此同時，在卸任前的那幾年間，他還得不斷與由于經濟不景氣和競爭加劇造成的增長放緩作斗爭。

????微軟和賽門鐵克由湯普森著手再造時的情況類似，現(xiàn)在也很需要進行業(yè)務聚焦。Windows軟件、Xbox游戲機、Surface平板、云計算以及必應（Bing）搜索引擎全都在爭搶關注度和資源。一些業(yè)務部門可能需要關停，剝離到獨立公司，甚至干脆賣掉。要做出決定，重點發(fā)展哪些業(yè)務，剝離哪些業(yè)務，既需要老到的策略，也需要預判未來的本事。

????投資公司Menlo Ventures的投資人文奇?加納森說：“微軟的策略十分分散，它想努力涉足所有業(yè)務領域——但卻沒有哪方面出類拔萃。他們需要脫穎而出，力爭卓越。”

????湯普森是科技行業(yè)少有的幾位非裔美國人之一，他在南佛羅里達長大，父母是教師和郵政員工。當年他曾獲得獎學金進入密蘇里州的一個大學樂隊吹奏黑管，之后轉到佛羅里達農工大學（Florida A&M）學商科。在業(yè)內，他是一位沉著鎮(zhèn)定、技巧嫻熟的知名銷售。而在工作之外，他是一位勁頭十足的獵手，還對美酒情有獨鐘。

????2012年，就在微軟開始面臨重組高管層的壓力之際，它將湯普森任命為董事。之后他就開始擔綱一項使命——尋找史蒂夫?鮑爾默的接班人。鮑爾默是長期領導微軟的統(tǒng)帥，但多年來始終沒能讓微軟的股價擺脫低迷，因此難免被客氣地請下臺去。分析師們普遍對微軟最終選擇了納德拉表示贊賞。不過很多人也對湯普森將這個選帥進程拖了近六個月之久頗有微詞。這段時間不斷走漏出各種小道消息，同時有好幾位候選人公開表示不會參與角逐。

????經紀公司BGC Partners的分析師科林?吉利斯說：“可能對這么高規(guī)格的獵頭行動來說，這也很自然，但我不認為這是一種很上檔次的做法?！?/p>

????而湯普森本人一直對自己作為董事長將如何作為沒怎么表過態(tài)。在上周二發(fā)布的關于這個職務任命的簡短視頻中，他做了一個含糊的承諾，表示要“與股東同心協(xié)力，繼續(xù)致力于通過共同努力，為市場帶來偉大的創(chuàng)新，同時推動股東利益實現(xiàn)長期強勁增值?！?/p>

????去年在接受電視采訪時，湯普森曾表示董事會的職責更多地不是制定公司戰(zhàn)略，而是對它進行監(jiān)督。湯普森說：“戰(zhàn)略是否正確，更重要的是，團隊是否很好地執(zhí)行了這一戰(zhàn)略？”在微軟，這一戰(zhàn)略的一部分就是要繼續(xù)開展公司重組，這是董事會去年就已經批準的。它還包括一旦對芬蘭手機廠商諾基亞（Nokia）斥資72億美元的收購交易完成后，如何對它與微軟進行整合。

????投資人甘尼森表示，對湯普森來說，最明智的做法就是讓納德拉不要受到董事會的干擾。他說：“他需要確保薩提亞不被過去所束縛，而是能放眼未來。他應該對他說，‘看，你現(xiàn)在有充分的空間和時間來思考各種問題，做出那些艱難的決策了’?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）

????譯者：清遠

????Thompson's $10 billion acquisition of Veritas Software, a data storage firm, in 2005 turned out to be dud, for example. Meanwhile, in the years before resigning, he struggled with slowing growth caused by the economic downturn and intense competition.

????Like Symantec, when Thompson started, Microsoft (MSFT) is now in need of focus. Windows software, Xbox video game consoles, Surface tablets, cloud computing and the Bing search engine all compete for attention and resources. Some units may be shut down, spun out into separate companies or sold off. Deciding which ones to nurture and which to unload requires diplomacy and a knack for predicting the future.

????"Microsoft had a very scattered approach of trying to be everything to everybody -- but nothing great," said Venky Ganesan, a venture capitalist with Menlo Ventures. "They need to come out and try to be great."

????Thompson, one of the few African-Americans executives in the technology industry, grew up in South Florida as the son of a teacher and postal worker. He received a scholarship to play clarinet in a college band in Missouri before he transferred to Florida A&M to study business. He's known as unflappable and a skilled salesman. In his private life, he's an avid hunter and wine aficionado.

????In 2012, Microsoft appointed Thompson to its board just at the time the pressure for an executive shakeup started rising. He led the search to replace Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's longtime leader who was eased out following years of stagnant stock performance. Analysts generally praised the choice of Nadella. But many criticized Thompson for dragging out the process for nearly six months, a period marked by repeated leaks and several candidates publically withdrawing their names from consideration.

????"Perhaps that's natural for any high-profile search as this, but I wouldn't say it was a majestic effort," said Colin Gillis, an analyst for BGC Partners.

????Thompson has been largely quiet about what exactly he'll do as chairman. In a brief video clip released on Tuesday to mark his appointment, he made a vague promise to "engage with shareholders and keep focused on how together we can bring great innovation to the market and drive strong long-term shareholder value."

????In video interview last year, Thompson described the board's role as not so much setting the company's strategy, but rather monitoring it. "Is the strategy right, and more importantly, is the team executing well against that strategy?" Thompson said.

????At Microsoft, part of that strategy is to continue with a corporate reorganization that the board approved last year. It also involves integrating the $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia, the Swedish phone maker, once that deal is finalized.

????Ganesen, the venture capitalist, said that wisest thing for Thompson would be to give Nadella freedom from interference by the board. "He needs to make sure Satya isn't a prisoner of the past but rather a seer of the future," Ganesen said. "He should tell him, 'Look, you have the space and time now to think about the problems and make the hard decisions.'"