Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone

by Satya Nadella, Greg Shaw, Jill Tracie Nichols, Bill Gates (Foreword by)

Overview

“At the core, Hit Refresh, is about us humans and the unique quality we call empathy, which will become ever more valuable in a world where the torrent of technology will disrupt the status quo like never before.” – Satya Nadella from Hit Refresh

“Satya has charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology while also facing up to the hard questions.” – Bill Gates from the Foreword of Hit Refresh

The New York Times bestseller Hit Refresh is about individual change, about the transformation happening inside of Microsoft and the technology that will soon impact all of our lives—the arrival of the most exciting and disruptive wave of technology humankind has experienced: artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and quantum computing. It’s about how people, organizations, and societies can and must transform and “hit refresh” in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, and continued relevance and renewal. 

Microsoft’s CEO tells the inside story of the company’s continuing transformation, tracing his own personal journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant technological changes in the digital era. Satya Nadella explores a fascinating childhood before immigrating to the U.S. and how he learned to lead along the way. He then shares his meditations as a sitting CEO—one who is mostly unknown following the brainy Bill Gates and energetic Steve Ballmer. He tells the inside story of how a company rediscovered its soul—transforming everything from culture to their fiercely competitive landscape and industry partnerships. As much a humanist as engineer and executive, Nadella concludes with his vision for the coming wave of technology and by exploring the potential impact to society and delivering call to action for world leaders.

“Ideas excite me,” Nadella explains. “Empathy grounds and centers me.” Hit Refresh is a set of reflections, meditations, and recommendations presented as algorithms from a principled, deliberative leader searching for improvement—for himself, for a storied company, and for society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062652508
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/26/2017
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	313,442
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Satya Nadella is Chairman and CEO of Microsoft. Before being named CEO in February 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company. Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings. Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. In this role he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business, which outperformed the market and took share from competition. Previously, Nadella led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Washington. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. Nadella serves on the board of his alma mater the University of Chicago, as well as the Starbucks board of directors. He is married and has three children. 

Table of Contents

Foreword Bill Gates ix

Chapter 1 From Hyderabad to Redmond 1

How Karl Marx, a Sanskrit Scholar, and a Cricket Hero Shaped My Boyhood

Chapter 2 Learning to Lead 35

Seeing the Cloud Through Our Windows

Chapter 3 New Mission, New Momentum 63

Rediscovering the Soul of Microsoft

Chapter 4 A Cultural Renaissance 97

From Know-It-Alls to Learn-It-Alls

Chapter 5 Friends or Frenemies? 121

Build Partnerships Before You Need Them

Chapter 6 Beyond the Cloud 139

Three Shifts: Mixed Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing

Chapter 7 The Trust Equation 169

Timeless Values in the Digital Age: Privacy, Security, and Free Speech

Chapter 8 The Future of Humans and Machines 195

Toward an Ethical Framework for AI Design

Chapter 9 Restoring Economic Growth for Everyone 211

The Role of Companies in a Global Society

Afterword 235

Acknowledgments 243

Sources and Further Reading 247

Index 257

Editorial Reviews

08/28/2017
In this inspiring memoir, Nadella, CEO of Microsoft since 2014, details how the company is undergoing a significant change of mindset, moving away from internal conflict and stagnation and toward “empathy and a desire to empower others.” As Nadella reveals his plan for transformation within Microsoft, he weaves in his own personal story and how life events—his emigration from India as a young man, his (initially seemingly disastrous) job interview at the company, the birth of his first child—have influenced his perspective. He shares how his boyhood love of cricket shapes his leadership style today and how having a new sense of mission has reenergized the organization. He touts the wisdom of partnering with the competition, even with rival Apple, in order to meet customer needs, and perceptively speculates about the future of “computer-human relations.” Unpretentious and stirring, this well-written book provides surprising and welcome insights into a corporate giant. Agent: Arielle Eckstut, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2017-07-17
Microsoft CEO Nadella describes the empathetic leadership he hopes will spark a renaissance at the software giant in "the coming era of ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence."Three years ago, when he succeeded Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, the author found the once-dominant software company was "sick" and its employees "disheartened" after a period of stalled growth. The world, once PC-centric, had given rise to mobile and cloud technologies, and Microsoft lagged behind others. In this thoughtful debut, the Indian-born Nadella tells the story of his personal life and his work as a change-making leader, and he explains the coming importance of machine intelligence. The author emerges as a modest, likable individual from an accomplished family; his mother, a Sanskrit scholar, taught him the importance of balance, and his economist father the value of intellect. Arriving in the United States just before the 1990s tech boom, he earned a computer science degree at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a master's degree at the University of Chicago; he joined Microsoft in 1992. He writes with candor about his challenges as CEO: "hierarchy and pecking order" reigned at the fiefdom-ridden company, stifling spontaneity and creativity. His response has been to listen with empathy to employee concerns and to help build and curate a new, open culture that empowers staffers to act on their passions and "make a real difference" in a "mobile-first, cloud-first world" in which 3 billion people will soon be connected to the internet, sensors, and the internet of things. To achieve that culture, the company "must exercise a growth mindset by being customer-obsessed, diverse, and inclusive and act as One Microsoft." His book includes descriptions of experimental retreats, "hacks" meant to fire passions, and leadership principles and other tips. A valuable blueprint for techies and others in a culture-change state of mind.

Kirkus Reviews

In this thoughtful debut, the Indian-born Nadella tells the story of his personal life and his work as a change-making leader, and he explains the coming importance of machine intelligence. The author emerges as a modest, likable individual from an accomplished family… A valuable blueprint for techies and others in a culture-change state of mind.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher