raju's review against another edition
2.0
This book doesn’t really need to exist. It could have easily been split up in to a really long memo on rediscovering the company’s soul, a blog along with a couple of interviews where Satya Nadella apologises for his public gaffe due to remarks on women’s equal pay issue and some rehashed remarks on Microsoft’s current major bets (AI, mixed reality and quantum computing)
There is very little inside baseball on things that are internal to Microsoft probably because he still the CEO there. I would only recommend the book to someone who is applying to Microsoft so that he/she can use some quotes from the book to earn quick brownie points
There is very little inside baseball on things that are internal to Microsoft probably because he still the CEO there. I would only recommend the book to someone who is applying to Microsoft so that he/she can use some quotes from the book to earn quick brownie points
snivets's review against another edition
4.0
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's current CEO (third, and the first CEO to not be a cofounder) reflects on his journey from India to the US and what it means to inherit a monolithic company on the verge of irrelevance from a perspective of empathy and wisdom familiar to me, lucky enough to be working for a small mission-driven tech company! For me, living in Seattle for ten years during peak Amazon boom, Microsoft was always the dad company, where my engineering friends that wanted work-life balance could go have a job that didn't feel quite as much a part of the exploitation economy as that big A company in South Lake Union. But there was a general sense that Microsoft's products were a bit lost and adrift because of it - Nadella has a great perspective on how to keep a company relevant while serving greater mission values. Totally a fun charming read, and definitely increased my lil' crush on Microsoft.
tjmcq's review
3.0
Overall a good book. Enjoyed the parts about his formative years and his career path. Also, interested in his deep thoughts about numerous topics. Parts got a little dull towards the end.
allthatissim's review
4.0
Full review on: FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES
This book is not for everyone. It is for those who understand technology a bit and are interested in knowing the inner workings of an organization like Microsoft. Not just about Microsoft, you need to learn what a person Satya Nadella is how is reached from a small place in India to where he is today.
Now let’s move to the probable reasons as to why you should read it.
1. To know Satya Nadella’s journey from India to Microsoft
Satya Nadella’s journey is encouraging as well as powerful. His story shows us that how hard work and talent can lead you to the places you only dream about. Satya belongs to a middle-class Indian family. He talks about his life and friends in India and how his parents shaped his future to be a better human being. He was and is a big cricket enthusiast and he explained how the game of Cricket actually helped him to learn the qualities like leadership and empathy. The part where Satya told about his initial move to the US was very moving. His wife was having trouble in getting the visa and he was ready to give up his green card in case she did not get it. But luckily she got it. I was surprised to know that their first child is disabled. I can understand the difficulties that they would have faced. There were so many things to learn from Satya’s examples. He encourages you to take challenges and to listen to your heart sometime. He tells the importance of family and how it helps make your future.
2. If interested in knowing more about Microsoft and how actually Microsoft did “hit refresh”
It was fun to know the internal working of Microsoft. When Satya became the CEO, and even the years before that, Microsoft was going downwards. He took many decisions which not only changed the face of Microsoft but allowed them to transform the Microsoft completely. The decisions were not at all easy, but it was important to take those. Satya Realised that except Office, none of their products were selling as they had speculated because of the competition going on in the market from the rivals like Amazon and Apple.
Satya did many changes in the company’s culture and took a complete 180 degrees turn (Hit Refresh) to not only encourage the employee’s satisfaction but also encouraged them to have more empathy. He encouraged them to learn more, to ask questions and to participate fully.
3. If you want to know what actually goes behind successful companies and their struggles
This is not a hidden fact that so much politics go inside big companies like Microsoft. It was amazing to know the work culture of Microsoft, its various work programmes, its team divisions and inside details. If you are someone who likes to join Microsoft someday or is simply fascinated by it, you would find it particularly interesting. It doesn’t matter how big is an organization. There is always a room for more improvement and growth. Microsoft was too lenient a few years ago and employees were unsatisfied. Satya tried to change this and thus helped Microsoft to come out of the difficult phase.
4. If you are a tech person or love technology
Oh yes! If you simply love technology you should read this whether you are in a technical field or not. Satya has talked about many technologies which I was amazed to hear for the first time. There was seriously so much to learn about the new products that Microsoft is making or the current projects they are working on. I had heard many of the names before, but I had never gone into the details of things like quantum computing and artificial intelligence. But Satya’s words will take you on that amazing journey. As per him, currently there are three big technology trends: artificial intelligence, mixed reality and quantum computing and they have to work towards making a hold on those.
5. If you want to learn the basic importance of leadership, empathy, equation of trust etc.
This was my favourite part of the book. It was more like a moral teaching. Satya told that in today’s world we should try to make friends even with our enemies. He describes how partnerships with companies like Samsung, Adobe and Apple have provided benefits to Microsoft and have given future alliances to strengthen themselves with a clear focus. With making the enemies friends (fre-enemies) often we can get profits in some fields, if not at all. He talked about the importance of leadership and how that leadership quality helped him to overcome the failure that Microsoft was going towards.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to learn from this book. Not only you can learn many things about Satya himself, but also about the Microsoft’s journey and the changes, it incorporated in order to survive. This book can get a little technical in between. But if you are a technology enthusiast you should definitely read this. You should read this to understand how technology is going to change and is going to affect YOU and what role you can play into this.
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This book is not for everyone. It is for those who understand technology a bit and are interested in knowing the inner workings of an organization like Microsoft. Not just about Microsoft, you need to learn what a person Satya Nadella is how is reached from a small place in India to where he is today.
Now let’s move to the probable reasons as to why you should read it.
1. To know Satya Nadella’s journey from India to Microsoft
Satya Nadella’s journey is encouraging as well as powerful. His story shows us that how hard work and talent can lead you to the places you only dream about. Satya belongs to a middle-class Indian family. He talks about his life and friends in India and how his parents shaped his future to be a better human being. He was and is a big cricket enthusiast and he explained how the game of Cricket actually helped him to learn the qualities like leadership and empathy. The part where Satya told about his initial move to the US was very moving. His wife was having trouble in getting the visa and he was ready to give up his green card in case she did not get it. But luckily she got it. I was surprised to know that their first child is disabled. I can understand the difficulties that they would have faced. There were so many things to learn from Satya’s examples. He encourages you to take challenges and to listen to your heart sometime. He tells the importance of family and how it helps make your future.
2. If interested in knowing more about Microsoft and how actually Microsoft did “hit refresh”
It was fun to know the internal working of Microsoft. When Satya became the CEO, and even the years before that, Microsoft was going downwards. He took many decisions which not only changed the face of Microsoft but allowed them to transform the Microsoft completely. The decisions were not at all easy, but it was important to take those. Satya Realised that except Office, none of their products were selling as they had speculated because of the competition going on in the market from the rivals like Amazon and Apple.
Satya did many changes in the company’s culture and took a complete 180 degrees turn (Hit Refresh) to not only encourage the employee’s satisfaction but also encouraged them to have more empathy. He encouraged them to learn more, to ask questions and to participate fully.
3. If you want to know what actually goes behind successful companies and their struggles
This is not a hidden fact that so much politics go inside big companies like Microsoft. It was amazing to know the work culture of Microsoft, its various work programmes, its team divisions and inside details. If you are someone who likes to join Microsoft someday or is simply fascinated by it, you would find it particularly interesting. It doesn’t matter how big is an organization. There is always a room for more improvement and growth. Microsoft was too lenient a few years ago and employees were unsatisfied. Satya tried to change this and thus helped Microsoft to come out of the difficult phase.
4. If you are a tech person or love technology
Oh yes! If you simply love technology you should read this whether you are in a technical field or not. Satya has talked about many technologies which I was amazed to hear for the first time. There was seriously so much to learn about the new products that Microsoft is making or the current projects they are working on. I had heard many of the names before, but I had never gone into the details of things like quantum computing and artificial intelligence. But Satya’s words will take you on that amazing journey. As per him, currently there are three big technology trends: artificial intelligence, mixed reality and quantum computing and they have to work towards making a hold on those.
5. If you want to learn the basic importance of leadership, empathy, equation of trust etc.
This was my favourite part of the book. It was more like a moral teaching. Satya told that in today’s world we should try to make friends even with our enemies. He describes how partnerships with companies like Samsung, Adobe and Apple have provided benefits to Microsoft and have given future alliances to strengthen themselves with a clear focus. With making the enemies friends (fre-enemies) often we can get profits in some fields, if not at all. He talked about the importance of leadership and how that leadership quality helped him to overcome the failure that Microsoft was going towards.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to learn from this book. Not only you can learn many things about Satya himself, but also about the Microsoft’s journey and the changes, it incorporated in order to survive. This book can get a little technical in between. But if you are a technology enthusiast you should definitely read this. You should read this to understand how technology is going to change and is going to affect YOU and what role you can play into this.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon
malavikagk's review against another edition
4.0
This books will make you think about what it would be like after the tsunami of new technologies like AI, ML and quantum computing has hit us. It raises important questions like - will most of the blue and white collar jobs we know today be completely replaced by machines ? Will there be a massive displacement toward high skilled jobs? What human skills will be valued in an age where machines can be programmed to do almost anything a human can. At the same time it is exciting to think about the infinite possibilities these technologies will bring us and their impact on human life for generations to come.
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