A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open. Frank Zappa certainly makes a great analogy here, doesn’t he? Yesterday, the Microsoft Board of Directors confirmed Satya Nadella as only the third Microsoft CEO in history.
Let’s hope he has a very open mind and an imaginative vision. Our objective in this article is to examine the Microsoft CEO employee letter for what we learn about his personality and style. Each topic heading is followed by an excerpt from Satya’s letter and our thoughts about them.
Lack of ego
Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago.
Let’s hope he maintains this attitude. It would be a welcomed change from the Steve Ballmer personality.
Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and Microsoft. We are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.
While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. I’ll pin most of my hopes on their ability to do more to change the world.
What defines him?
… a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences.
Many who know me say my curiosity and thirst for learning also defines me.
I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity, and hunger for knowledge all define me.
Family, curiosity, and hunger for knowledge … hope he sticks with them.
Why am I here?
I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft — to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things.
Avoiding any ego statement.
Vision / insight
I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize — many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.
Not much new or insightful here … probably because he doesn’t want to tip his hand?
Self-confidence
I am here because we have unparalleled capability to make an impact.
I like his use of we in this context.
Why are we here?
In our early history, our mission was about the PC on every desk and home, a goal we have mostly achieved in the developed world. Today we’re focused on a broader range of devices. While the deal is not yet complete, we will welcome to our family Nokia devices and services and the new mobile capabilities they bring us.
… empowers the world to do more of what they care about — get stuff done, have fun, communicate and accomplish great things. This is the core of who we are, and driving this core value in all that we do — be it the cloud or device experiences — is why we are here.
Can they rekindle even a small amount of their earlier historical spirit of new product creation?
New mission?
As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world and do new things.
To paraphrase a quote from Oscar Wilde — we need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable.
This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to “do more.”
Priority on the need for creativity, innovation, and a reimagination of everything would be a welcomed focus.
Next, every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this.
Like the comment and emphasis on company culture and employee engagement.
Find meaning
Finally, I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it does not work, but something that will improve other people’s lives. This is the opportunity that drives each of us at this company.
Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can’t ask for a better foundation.
Looks like a good motivator, doesn’t he?
Hubspot’s Dan Lyons call to action
Dan Lyons of Hubspot posted an interesting article yesterday with several calls to action for the new CEO. Here is some of what Dan had to say:
But there’s one thing I’d love to see him do right away, and that drops the nutso anti-Google “Scroogled” campaign that Microsoft has been running for the past two years. For good measure, Nadella should boot Mark Penn, the political hatchet man and Ballmer appointee who orchestrated this idiotic crusade.
The only thing that the Scroogled movement has accomplished is to draw attention to how badly Google is beating Microsoft in these markets. As Danny Sullivan of Marketing Land put it after viewing the anti-Chromebook ads: “Wow. How sad.”
The bottom line
I suspect the reviews on Satya’s selection won’t be that great. But I also suspect there will be a lot that won’t be apparent to most of. So we’ll have to wait a while. It will be very interesting to see some of Satya Nadella early initiatives, won’t it? We wait with a lot of anticipation for what we expect will be some surprises.
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to Satya.
It’s up to him to keep improving his abilities in learning to learn. Lessons are all around him. In many situations, his competitors may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within him already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your continuous learning?
Do you have a lesson about making your learning better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add to the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
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Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
