1. What changes did Lisa Brummel make to Microsoft’s performance and reward practices? Why did Microsoft have these performance and reward practices in place?
2. In your opinion, which actions, if any, introduced by Lisa Brummel have improved feelings of empowerment at Microsoft?

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer had an epic morale problem; the company suffered from software delays, Google envy, and a stock price that had been drifting sideways for too long. To help the world’s largest software company out of this morass, Balmer asked veteran product manager Lisa Brummel to become the next human resources chief. Brummel couldn’t do much about the company’s stock price, but she did transform many of Microsoft’s performance and reward practices.