Microsoft

I've been a long-time employee after starting several years ago, right out of college. I have been on teams ranging from amazing to fantastic. There are certainly a diverse set of personalities to deal with, but generally, if you are not abrasive yourself, you will find yourself immediately part of the engineering community. The shifts in HR policy in recent years have really put Microsoft at the forefront of progressive changes, and they do a good job of rewarding top performers.

Satya's new vision for the company is fantastic, and the different divisions are taking different approaches to realize it. As can be expected, some divisions are struggling to make the culture change promised by Satya. Few other companies have as many products and features to coordinate for aligning releases and delivering the customer "pop" that investors need to see. There is an aversion to taking risks after the Win8 debacle, so executive and senior leadership seem to continue relying on old instincts and preconceptions for planning and executing. I wouldn't bet against Microsoft eventually figuring it out, but it's struggling right now.

Windows VP-level engineering managers need to take their hands off the controls and trust the Director-level managers to align with the vision and embrace a bottoms-up culture change. This will enable this supertanker of a product to change direction.