眾所周知，比爾.蓋茨宣布將在兩年后將主要精力放在他與妻子的慈善基金會上，而只保留微軟主席和顧問的角色。同時，人們對于鮑爾默的在職也頗有意見，認為其也應該在二至五年里離開微軟。而且，人們難免會有疑慮，在比爾.蓋茨退居幕后之后，微軟的領導層能夠繼續微軟的輝煌嗎？ 在一封比爾.蓋茨給員工們的一封電子郵件中向我們展示了這一切。（請參照原文閱讀）
我想我最好還是花些時間分享一下我的一些想法。
因為鮑爾默的郵件表明，我已經決定從現在起的兩年，也就是到2008年7月，我想把我的更多時間奉獻給比爾和梅琳達蓋茨基金會。
現在及接下來的兩年里，我的專職工作就是在這里——微軟，而我的其他時間會放在基金會上。從2008年7月開始，這種情況會反過來，我的專職工作是在基金會，而剩余時間會作為微軟的主席和關鍵開發項目的顧問。
為了準備這次交接，我們仔細考慮了這次交接過程。而且，我將繼續全職在微軟工作兩年時間，在那之后，我的日常職責就會轉換到一組難以置信的技術領導人中，他們已經在公司里做出了許多引人注目的成績。
我覺得很幸運，我們公司擁有非凡的技術領導者，像Ray Ozzie和Craig Mundie，他會接替我現在扮演的角色。我認識Ray已經20年了，他創造了一些最重要的開發工作。Craig和我已經一起工作了14年，他的整個職業生涯一直是一位技術預言家和策略上領軍人物。隨著Ray和Craig的提升，我對于這些非常能干的人的掌握微軟的技術工作很有信心。
對于我們的商業領導層也是同樣。我們的核心商業是強健的，對于我們將遇到怎樣的新挑戰和機會我們很清楚。我們第一個季度已經收入120億美元，我們將繼續產生大約每月10億美元的利潤。我們即將在Windows、Office和Exchange產品上進行突破，而且已經產生了許多令人激動的成果。
六年前，當史蒂夫提升為CEO時，他和我做了一次重大的交接。從各種尺度來看，他所做的工作都是顯著的，無論是他介紹引進的人、運行公司的新方式，還是客觀目標——六年中的收入加倍。史蒂夫已經驅使我們在許多事情上加上了重重的一筆賭注，如：Xbox、實時通訊、商業應用程序、IPTV和許多包括Live平臺在內的許多其他方面。史蒂夫是我能想象到的微軟最好的CEO，他正在以需要變化的方式改變著這個公司。他正在介紹引進所有級別的新領導層，并且，他將注意力集中在長期目標上——讓微軟成為不僅是現在，而且還是未來幾十年偉大的公司。
隨著史蒂夫的公司組織進入由我們杰出的總裁——Jeff Raikes、Robbie Bach和Kevin Johnson——領導的三個部門——我們已經為我們產品組中更大的獨立性、機敏快捷和企業活力布置了一個堅實的基礎。隨著Kevin Turner成為我們的COO，我們的領導團隊變得從未有過的強大。
我們深厚的技術力量是我相信微軟在未來能夠取得更大成功的關鍵因素。我很高興，除了Ray、Craig、David和Rick外，史蒂夫已經讓J Allard、Bob Muglia和Steven Sinofsky在修整公司商業和技術策略方面扮演了擴展角色。當你想想我們遍及世界的所有非凡的技術伙伴、卓越的工程師、所有在MSR工作的有才氣的研究員們以及所有商業組中的技術人員時，我可以確切的說，我們的技術天才已經是前所未有的更加強大和深厚。
顯然，這對我來說一直是一個非常困難的決定。微軟將一如既往是我生命中巨大的一部分，我很幸運我有兩個如此重要和富有挑戰性的職業。
在一份個人筆記中，我了解到我在基金會對于全球健康和教育問題的的工作沒有微軟更大的成功是不可能的，所以我想感謝你們和所有過去和現在為微軟做過大量奉獻的員工們。
過去32年，我一直做著世界上最好的工作。我與世界上最聰明、最具有熱情的人們一同工作，我們一起創建了一個偉大的公司，它的產品授權給全世界的人們所使用。
我們還處在軟件所能的初級階段，并且我對于微軟能夠擁有的影響感到激動。我將同我的家人在這個夏季度一個長假，但是在8月底我會回來，我希望在接下來的兩年里和更長時間里與你們一同工作，為了讓那些夢想成為現實。
謝謝。
比爾
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Bill Gates' e-mail to employees
From: MSBILLG
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 1:41 PM
To: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTE
Subject: My Transition Plans
I wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts, as well.
As Steve's mail indicates, I've decided that two years from now, in July 2008, I want to devote more time to the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Right now and for the next two years, my full-time job is here at Microsoft, and my part-time job remains the Foundation. Beginning in July 2008, I will switch that, to be full-time at the Foundation, while remaining involved with Microsoft as Chairman and an advisor on key development projects on a part-time basis.
To prepare for this change, we have a well-thought-out transition process. Again, I will continue at Microsoft full-time for the next two years, but over the course of those two years, my day-to-day responsibilities will shift to a team of incredible technical leaders who are already doing amazing things at the company.
I feel very lucky that we've got extraordinary technical leaders at the company, like Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie, who can step up to assume the roles that I've played. I've known Ray for the last 20 years, and he has created some of the most important developments in the industry. Craig and I have worked together for nearly 14 years, and he's been a technical visionary and a leader on policy throughout his career. With Ray and Craig stepping up, I feel very confident that the technical stewardship of Microsoft is in very capable hands.
And I feel the same way about our business leadership. Our core businesses are strong and we have a clear vision for how we will meet new challenges and opportunities. We just had our first $12 billion quarter, and we continue to generate almost a billion dollars in profit every month. We are about to launch breakthrough versions of Windows, Office and Exchange, which are already generating a lot of excitement.
Six years ago, Steve and I made a major transition when he stepped up to be CEO. He's done a fantastic job by every measure, whether it's the people he's brought in, the new ways he's running the company, or just the objective results - like doubling our revenue in six years. Steve has driven us to make bold bets on things like Xbox, Real Time Communications, business applications, IPTV, and many others including the Live platform. Steve is the best CEO I could imagine for Microsoft - he is changing the company in ways it needs to be changed. He is bringing in new leadership at all levels. And, he is focused on the long-term - making Microsoft a great company not just today but for decades to come.
With Steve's organization of the company into three divisions led by our incredible presidents - Jeff Raikes, Robbie Bach, and Kevin Johnson - we've laid a solid foundation for greater autonomy, agility and entrepreneurial spirit in our product groups. And with the great addition of Kevin Turner as our COO, our leadership team has never been stronger.
Our deep technical strength is one of the key reasons I believe Microsoft is well-positioned for great success in the years ahead. I'm very pleased that in addition to Ray, Craig, David and Rick, Steve has asked J Allard, Bob Muglia, and Steven Sinofsky to play an expanded role in shaping the company's business and technology strategy. And when you consider all of our remarkable Technical Fellows, Distinguished Engineers, all of the brilliant researchers working at our MSR labs around the world, and all the technical people in the business groups, I can safely say that our technical talent has never been stronger or deeper.
Obviously, this has been a very hard decision for me. Microsoft will always be a huge part of my life, and I'm lucky to have two callings that are so important and so challenging.
On a personal note, I know that my work on global health and education issues at the Foundation would never have been possible without the enormous success of Microsoft, so I want to thank you and all of the employees past and present who have contributed so much to this company.
For these last 31 years, I've had the best job in the world. I've worked with some of the brightest and most passionate people in the world. Together, we've built a great company whose products have empowered people around the world.
We're only at the beginning of what software can do, and I'm excited about the impact that Microsoft can have. I'm going to take an extended vacation this summer with my family, but I'll be back in late August and I look forward to working with all of you for the next two years and beyond, to make those dreams a reality.
Thanks.
Bill
（第三媒體 2006－06－20）