Steve Ballmer To Microsofties: 'Full Steam Ahead!'

A message from Microsoft executives to employees says "Yes, we've just kicked off a year-long $45 billion acquisition, and yes, your lives are going to be turned upside down. But don't let that distract you! Full steam ahead!"

According to The Huffington Post, Microsoft execs had repeated the last line of that message three times during a company "town hall" meeting. Ballmer, sounding hoarse from the meeting had said "Full steam ahead, nothing changes until it changes." He handed things off to Kevin Johnson for a pep talk to his online services team saying "You're doing a great job!" What does this Yahoo deal mean to the brand, jobs, or synergies? Some would ask from the company "Do we need to change current plans of record?" But knowing Ballmer's response don't be surprised to hear "No. Full steam ahead. Go, go, go, go, go! We've to got to stay focused!" Some general talk about strategy for the company has arised such as "create a more credible alternative to an increasingly dominant player in the search industry" according to Ballmer. CFO Chris Liddell had nothing to add. Ballmer continued his speech with three things left to say: 1. "Let me reiterate: We want to do this deal. We'll do this deal. But it's not going to happen overnight. It will take probably over a better part of a year to consummate." 2. "This is entirely consistent with strategy already articulated." 3. "Winning in search is fundamental to our success. There couldn't be anything more serious than this."