Glen Enlow Public Page: Hit Refresh: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s Book Aims to Inspire

Satya Nadella - Hit Refresh book

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he learns more from studying brands that failed—and turned things around to become a success again—than outright successes in his new book, Hit Refresh, released today. It’s a tale of personal success (his own) and corporate success and was previewed Monday at the Microsoft Ignite event in Orlando.

#HitRefresh is out today, I hope it starts a meaningful dialogue & chance to learn from others’ hit refresh moments https://t.co/ufTassSzpb

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) September 26, 2017

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Since assuming the helm of Microsoft in 2014 as the third person to hold the CEO title, the company’s stock price has more than doubled as he focused on cloud computing and online productivity software, acquired more than 40 companies, made Office available on smartphones that run other operating systems, and became a proponent of AR with the HoloLens headset.

Satya Nadella / Hit Refresh As for why write this book now, Nadella writes: “We needed to rediscover the soul of Microsoft, our reason for being. I have come to understand that my primary job is to curate our culture so that 100,000 inspired minds—Microsoft’s employees—can better shape our future.”

Perhaps more importantly, Nadella has refocused the tech giant’s culture from siloed fiefdoms of “know-it-alls” to a collaborative ethos of people whose mindset makes them “learn-it-alls.”

The title reflects his belief that people, organizations and societies must hit refresh, and in a world dominated and defined by technological innovation, rediscover empathy and individual empowerment.

As Nadella said in his keynote speech at Microsoft Ignite 2017 in Orlando, “Most importantly, for us, it’s not about our technology. It’s to have real impact in moving our society and our economy forward.”

A mixture of business acumen and memoir, bite-sized tidbits such as his opposition to the Nokia acquisition are juxtaposed with buying LinkedIn for $26 billion, while his thoughts on trust in a post-Snowden world, “The Future of Humans and Machines” and “Restoring Economic Growth for Everyone,” outline the need for new privacy laws to address technology innovation.

He also cites education, creativity, judgment and accountability as requisites for staying relevant. Microsoft fell behind rivals Apple and Google in the shift to smartphones, Nadella acknowledges. So even while he’s empathetic, he’s also realistic—and had to let 18,000 employees go who were working on smartphones when he realized it was a business Microsoft couldn’t win. “I was thinking of the 100,000 people who work at Microsoft and how the future of this company would be jeopardized if I didn’t pick right,” he said.

Fond of quoting authors, Nadella cites literary theorist Terry Eagleton’s description of culture as “a kind of social unconscious” created through everyday customs and practices as a touchstoe. As a technologist, he cites the “razor precision” of that description as impetus to better understand and address the collective mindset.

Nadella also credits Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, as inspiration in reshaping the behemoth’s culture. “The book is about fixed mind-sets versus growth mind-sets—when you have a growth mind-set, you’re always willing to learn. I started thinking about what was happening in my head and asked whether as a company we have a learning culture,” he told the Wall Street Journal in a rare joint interview with Bill Gates.

Nadella is betting on AI, quantum computing and MR (mixed reality) as key businesses to drive growth.

He told the WSJ, “Technological displacement is a real issue. But it’s not going to be a binary transition. There will be new kinds of jobs. We’ll need education and re-skilling. Over a lifetime, if we have to find different types of employment, we’ll need continuous learning. Without the technological breakthroughs, we’re not going to have enough growth, and that’s not going to be good for anybody. So let’s optimize for growth and at the same time solve for the displacement and bring meaningful cohesion to society so that people feel they’re able to participate and contribute.”

“Digital technology is impacting all aspects of our society and economies, creating unprecedented opportunity for organizations of all sizes,” said Nadella. “I’m optimistic and inspired by the ingenuity of customers, partners and developers everywhere that are pushing the frontiers of what’s possible with mixed reality and artificial intelligence infused across Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Azure, to transform and have impact in the world.”