Bill Gates has officially left Microsoft. He leaves to run an absolutely gigantic charity with the power to institute real world change. His future and the acts of his charity will be a fascinating story, but not the one I’m focusing on for this post. I’m more interested in how Microsoft fares without Gates.

Will the departure of the driving force behind Microsoft result in the company’s decline? I say no.

The biggest reason is the sheer size and breadth of Microsoft. A company this size does not react on day-to-day decisions from up top. A monster like Microsoft has the appropriate culture already in place, and divisional managers are the ones making the real decisions. The guys at the very top are really just providing input and giving the go ahead for projects created by others further down the chain. Plus, Gates will still be the Chairman of Microsoft’s board, so he will have a big say in any major projects.

Another way to examine the exodus is to look at a similar historical event. A great example is one of Microsoft’s rivals…Apple. When Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple the company foundered. Initially this could be chalked up to Apple’s difficult market, but Jobs’ value became apparent when he was put back in charge. Since that time Apple has consistently pushed itself to the forefront of our culture and in the process sold a ton of gadgets.

However, Gates is not Steve Jobs and Microsoft is not Apple. Apple sells products because they are cool. Microsoft sells products by brute force. Cool is hard to figure out, while brute force is not. I’m sure there are plenty of people at Microsoft who know how to pummel the market into submission.

With Gates still in the Chairman’s position and with Microsoft being the 800lb. guerilla, I see no reason Gates’ immigration to the non-profit world will cause any major issues at Microsoft.

Note: This is only an analysis of what affect Mr. Gates’ retirement will have on Microsoft. It is not an analysis of the company as a whole.