I pick apart and detail some of the ideas that struck me as interesting from the thought provoking book, Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella.
When I first picked up Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella, the first thought to cross my mind was, "An autobiography seems premature, he's only been CEO of Microsoft a couple of years?"
I was wrong on two accounts. Hit Refresh is neither an autobiography nor is it premature. When Nadella elaborates on his intent with this book, the pieces start to come together. Hit Refresh is a mission statement. It's a statement to the world. It's a statement to Microsoft's employees but I feel more so than anything that it's a statement to himself. Unlike many people in power, Nadella wishes to hold himself accountable. The book is loosely split in three parts, all focussing on transformation. The first part explores Nadella's transformation as he reached the position of CEO. The second part discusses Microsoft's transformation. Lastly and arguably the most interesting part of the book, Nadella discusses the transformation in our daily lives as the Fourth Industrial Revolution takes place.
Firstly, Hit Refresh is a statement to the world firstly because as only the 3rd CEO of the 43 year old company, Nadella has some big shoes to fill. He's CEO of a company which most people feel hasn't innovated in almost 2 decades. A company which used to be a leader in tech is now a follower. A company whose brand was starting to scream mediocrity (need I remind you, Vista, Vista and Vista). In these dire times, a statement to the world spelling out his intent of steering Microsoft back to its original path is necessary. Nadella strongly believes in empowerment. A lot of what is made in the creative space of tech arises to empower ourselves and others around us. That's the foundation that Microsoft was built upon. Microsoft's PC, Microsoft Office Suite, hell, even Microsoft Paint all existed to empower us. However, somewhere along the way, Nadella notes that the structure became too rigid. The hierarchies became too solid and creativity started to dwindle. Nadella is fully intent to bring back a growth mindset culture. He outlines an aim to put the customer and every single one of their unarticulated and unmet needs at the very core of Microsoft. Ask questions at every step of the way, not questions that challenge people's authority, rather questions that challenges the product's authority. Slowly but surely, Nadella has started changing the company culture to reflect Microsoft's original quest.
Secondly, it's a statement to Microsoft employees because they of all people need to hear it. Building a culture of listening has allowed Nadella to understand sullen employee confidence. He wants all of his employees to give this book a read because it will help them join him on his quest to manoeuvre the company back on track because at the end of the day, if Nadella is the only one with a vision and no one around him is able to follow, then he might as well be flying a rudderless plane. Moreover, Nadella wants this to be the Microsoft culture, not Nadella's culture. I believe this is a true testament to a strong and empowering leader.
Finally, as a measure of accountability, Nadella might feel as writing his thoughts down early on as the CEO will help him keep his aim and continue to keep his focus. Years down the line, this book will keep him accountable. How did he outline Microsoft's future and how has the company developed? Has he stayed true to his own culture and identity? I don't doubt that Nadella will continue to evolve as a leader on the job but as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Nadella can't afford to slip up. While he has the room to grow and evolve as a leader, the thoughts he outlined in this very book should be at the core of what he continues to do a year, 5 years or 10 years down the line.
I feel that Nadella has given a new energy to Microsoft, a new confidence. Since his arrival, Microsoft is swiftly but surely catching up to their cloud computing rivals Amazon, they're innovating within their own line of Surface computers and most of all, with the Windows 10 launch being hosted in Kenya acting as a true testament to his promise, Microsoft is empowering the global community to achieve more. I have confidence in Microsoft and judging by the tremendous incline in MSFT stock since his takeover, I assume the rest of the world has confidence in him too.