Apple and Microsoft are “two trick ponies” according to Steve Ballmer

Speaking to students at The Oxford Union, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer offered his thoughts on the importance of passion, Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Microsoft’s future. “I’m nervous,” he said at the beginning of his talk. “This is the first speech I’ll give — and maybe the last, too, if it doesn’t go well — as something other than a Microsoft employee.” Ballmer, who stepped down in February, reflected on the 34 years he spent at Microsoft and shared several lessons from his days leading the Redmond-based company that he joined all the way back in 1980. One of the interesting tidbits from the talk came when Ballmer referred to Microsoft as “two-trick pony.” He said that many successful companies are “one-trick ponies,” in that they do one thing really well. For example, Coca-Cola invented one thing, got it right, and has sustained a profitable business for decades.