Microsoft co-founder on the next generation leadership

"CBS This Morning" anchor Charlie Rose spoke with Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. Rose asked Allen about the ongoing hunt for a new CEO of the global company.

 PAUL ALLEN: If you think about it, the job of running Microsoft is one of the -- and I used to tell Steve Ballmer this, is one of the toughest jobs in the world.  Because you're competing with so many different companies.  You have so many different products.  And so any new CEO coming in has to decide, do they continue to compete in so many areas?  Or do they jettison some of the -- the larger investments that have already been made and focus down on less -- on a lesser number of areas?

CHARLIE ROSE:  What would you recommend?

PAUL ALLEN: To do that, I'd have to really get in there myself.  And-- and I just try to -- to give my advice on the outside.  I think there'll probably be some amount of simplification.  But -- the argument, I think, basically is, you know, if you -- if you're thinking about the future of -- computing platforms, you know,  smartphones or co -- or laptops or whatever, can you -- something like search -- is something like search -- which, you know, Google dominates right now, is something like that integral to what you'd want to do in the future?  Or can you focus on other areas and not pursue search?  So those are really, really hard decisions.

Watch for more of the interview Friday, Jan. 31, on "CBS This Morning" from 7 to 9 a.m.