LEVY: There’s been a lot of rumors about your departure, including a story that Microsoft president Steve Ballmer wanted you out. MYHRVOLD: Steve had nothing to do with this. Two years ago, I told Bill I was thinking about taking a leave of absence, or doing something radically different, because I wanted to spend my time in a different way. Bill didn’t want me to do it, but said that if I waited another two years I could have an honorable discharge. So I worked the last two years.
There were also rumors you were less focused on the business lately.
That’s wrong. If I could have all the benefits of my job and pursue my outside interests, that’s what I’d be doing. [Yes,] I do weird stuff. I went fly-fishing in Mongolia last fall. But that was only a week. I haven’t even used up my vacation time at Microsoft.
Was it tough to finally leave?
Sure. Microsoft has been good to me. Success can be more of a trap than failure can. I love my job. I know I’ll have times in the next year when I’ll say, “What have I done? Why am I taking an opportunity that many people would kill for, and walking away from it?”
So what will you do?
If I had every minute planned out, it wouldn’t be much like a vacation. In July I’ll travel a lot, take my kids [10-year-old twin sons] to Europe. I’m going to dig up some dinosaurs in Montana. Fly-fishing, this time in Alaska, in September. After that I really don’t have plans.
By making its execs rich on stock options, does Microsoft risk an exodus?
Giving people their economic freedom is a good thing. It means that everyone is there because they want to be there. And the esprit de corps you get from sharing the wealth is a good thing. It’s better to share and put up with the fact that sometimes someone’s going to want to dig dinosaurs.
What will you not miss?
The likelihood that I will wake up and miss a budget-review meeting is zero. Then there are tense and unpleasant things like this crazy antitrust trial. It’s going to be interesting to see if I can distance myself from that. Am I going to look away, or read everything and fire off mail to lawyers like I do now? It’s been a distraction from my job. It would be worse if it were a distraction from my personal stuff.
