Microsoft shouldn't hire any CEO who wants to kill Bing and Xbox

According to "people with knowledge of his thinking," Bloomberg is reporting that, should Stephen Elop become Microsoft's next CEO, he would consider shutting down or selling parts of the company to "sharpen its focus." The two divisions mentioned specifically are Xbox and Bing.

The "kill Bing" and "kill Xbox" memes have become popular among certain kinds of analysts. Though obfuscated by Microsoft's new reporting structure, both Bing and Xbox share one feature: they're not great money makers.

It's important to be a little wary of this kind of anonymous, unsourced commentary. It may not be accurate, and it may be agenda-driven. This kind of "thinking" appeals greatly to short-term investors who are more interested in boosting the next quarter's numbers than the long-term health of the company. The anonymous leak could, therefore, tend to make Elop seem more appealing to Wall Street.

Conversely, the leak shows a lack of strategic thinking and somewhat undermines the Xbox One, a product that launches in a couple of weeks. That's not likely to inspire confidence in a CEO candidate.

Microsoft's head of corporate communications responded to Bloomberg in typically robust fashion, saying "We appreciate Bloomberg's foray into fiction and look forward to future episodes."