“The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition, the best way to put distance between you and the crowd, is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose,” wrote Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in his book, Business at the Speed of Thought .

Surprisingly, Satya Nadella, the third to succeed him as CEO at Microsoft, never ever dreamt of going to the US as he was content with the way life was treating him in Hyderabad. He had flunked the IIT entrance test and had almost decided what his future would look like: attend a small-time college, play cricket for his hometown and eventually take up a job in a bank. But fate had better plans for him, and that was to transform the world's leading IT company.

Hit Refresh by the Indian-American Nadella chronicles his journey from Hyderabad to Redmond, the headquarters of Microsoft; about the various choices he had to make; and, most importantly, as a father and husband who gives undivided attention to his family in the midst of challenges.

It is not a look-back by a retired CEO but, as he puts it, “about transformation — one that is taking place today inside me and inside the company”.

Truth-telling Nadella makes honest confessions in the book. He is unapologetic about his obsession with cricket. He says the cricket field taught him several lessons — how to succeed as a bowler, a batsman and a fielder, and the importance of team spirit. These tips shaped his leadership style as an executive charged with building new business opportunities, and as a father and a husband. The most important lesson he learned was to be able to compete vigorously and with passion in the face of uncertainty and intimidation.

When Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992, the company that was responsible for the PC revolution was heading in the wrong direction. Innovation was being replaced by bureaucracy and teamwork by internal politics, and the first assignment he gave himself after being promoted as CEO in February 2014 was to hit the refresh button. Renewing the company’s culture was top priority.

Back to fundamentals Nadella asks certain existential questions: Why are concepts such as culture, ideas and empathy so important? His father was a civil servant with Marxist leanings and his mother a Sanskrit scholar; he picked up many things from his father, including intellectual curiosity and love of history.

He was deeply cared for by his mother; she wanted him to be happy, confident and live life without any regrets. Both of them had a tremendous impact on his career and personal life. When he was 15, his father, who was a visionary, bought him a Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer kit from Bangkok. This made him fall in love with computers and was a launchpad to success.

After failing to make the cut at IIT, he decided to join Manipal Institute of Technology for a bachelor’s in electrical engineering to be ‘closer’ to computers and software. From there he moved to a prestigious industrial engineering college in Mumbai. He still wasn’t very keen to leave India, but when his US visa came through for a master’s at the University of Wisconsin, he could see life taking an unexpected turn.

That took him to Microsoft. Nadella had slowly begun to write a new code for his life and career. But his heart was still in India. And with another person whom he had known since childhood. Anu’s family and Nadella’s were very close and they grew up together in Hyderabad, and during a visit to India he got the ‘yes’ from her and they were married. Later when Anu had issues getting a US visa, Nadella was ready to forsake his green card. Their first child, Zain, was born in 1996 with physical deformities; they bravely coped with the situation. Being an empathetic father, trying to understand others’ problems, helped him in his career.

Nadella often asks himself: Why does Microsoft exist in the first place? He borrows the original philosophy of its founders — to build products that empower others — but executes it in his own style with grit. Rediscovering the soul and bringing about a cultural change were a priority when he was crowned CEO, and tangible results began to be seen, a sea change from the earlier days of internal politics. This was a growth strategy in the making and it began to work for him and the company, and they were on their way to building bridges with their competitors.

The Apple factor When their main rival Apple was ready to incorporate Office to the iOS platform, it was a cultural renaissance that was mutually beneficial.

Nadella also discusses the importance of trust, and some of the tough decisions that the company had to take to ensure that privacy, security and free speech were not compromised for vain gains. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is frowned upon by many, with some predicting that computer intelligence will surpass human intelligence by 2100. Nadella is quick to offer a solution: Do not think of technological intelligence as being artificial, but rather as intelligence that can augment human capabilities. He asserts that even when more autonomous machines are made, the respect for human autonomy must be maintained.

Questions are also being asked if the next industrial revolution will be a jobless one. He quotes the MIT economist, Daron Acemoglu, who says that the proliferation of industrial robots could have an impact on jobs, but this may also encourage firms to create new tasks where humans will still have an upper hand. And to make that a reality, Nadella will continue to hit the refresh button.

The book is overall an interesting read and provides thought-provoking insights into some issues that corporate leaders and those entering the corporate world will have to be ready to face in the future.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Satya Nadella is currently CEO of Microsoft. Hit Refresh is his first autobiographical book

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