That's what I hear, too -- that with Mickelson out of the way and Phil moved up, they are in a much better position to execute and much better funded.
I think it also comes from their own experience. They've seen how it worked out when they got too intrusive and hands-on with development studios (e.g., what happened with Lionhead). This is my conjecture, but they may also have taken some notes from Sony, who seem to be good at giving their studios a lot of creative freedom, and as a result get some amazing games out it (and some duds, too, but that's the way it goes). Whatever the reason, I think they've really changed their management philosophy, regarding oversight of their developers. They've learned to give them plenty of space and creative freedom. If you watch the Ninja Theory video about this, it's pretty convincing. That isn't the type of studio that is going to sign away their independence, if they don't trust what MS is telling them about creative freedom.
All of that bodes well for the future. It's one of the reasons I think MS is going to be a real contender next gen.