Why are Microsofties jumping ship?

First Kai-Fu Lee, then Marc Lucovesky, then Robert Scoble, then Martin Taylor, and now Vic Gundotra have announced that they're leaving Microsoft.  All except for Scoble (and Taylor, yet?) are going to Google.  This exodus has set the blogosphere abuzz about the reasons why this might be happening.  My guess is, it's one of the following reasons:

1. It's a coincidence.  It's only five people, a very small percentage of the over 70,000 people who work for Microsoft.  My money's on this horse.
2. Microsoft's vision has stopped resonating with it's employees, and the ones who have the ability to jump to another high-profile company are doing so.
3. Microsoft has become too beaurocratic with too many layers of management for visionary employees to make a difference.  This seems to be a common complaint from Microsoft employees.  Hopefully new execs such as Ray Ozzie will be able to fix this.
4. Microsoft isn't paying well enough to keep top talent.  I doubt it.  With billions in the bank, Microsoft can afford to give important employees rides to work in personal jets while getting full body massages and washing down caviar with Dom Perignon.
5. High-profile employees have more fulfilling opportunities available.  I'm pretty sure this is why Scoble left, as he's basically starting his own company now.  There's no better feeling than working for yourself.  I'm not sure what, if anything, Microsoft can do to prevent this.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Comments

[Jojo]

Ummm...Read the press release about Taylor again. It looks like he was fired, he didn't leave on his own accord.

And in the case of Scoble and Gundotra, Microsfot isn't really losing anything. Microsoft did way more to enhance Scoble's profile than Scoble did to enhance Microsoft's. If it weren't for Microsoft, most people wouldn't know who Scoble is.

[Jason Kolb]

Looks like you're right about Taylor... although it's still under debate as far as I've been able to tell, see http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/104425.asp. I love the "pimp my Office" theory, it cracks me up, although I don't know if that's enough to actually get somebody fired.

[LayZ]

Can you point me to the press release by Taylor where he "announced he was leaving"? Moreover, can you point to a press release where either Google or Taylor himself say Taylor is going to Google? Afterall you did say "All except Scoble....."

[Jason Kolb]

Well, I unfortunately can't find it again, maybe I misread it. Pretty sure it was in a CNN Money article, which was actually where I saw that he left vs. getting fired as well. I changed the post though, thanks for pointing that out.