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Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by
schwarmgiven's review against another edition
4.0
I actually enjoyed this self serving book more thean I thought I would--this review comes off as much more negative then intended--there were some AMAZING quotes:
* We were already expecting a Christmas Day attack from Lizard Squad.
* Find the rose petals in the shit.
* Beer fuels their creativity.
for which I cannot thank Microsoft enough--I will likely be using these on a weekly basis for years.
Satya does do a great job of identifying some of the smartest people working at Microsoft which is helpful in an "IT Watch" kind of way...I respect Vista more now knowing who built it...
The focus on the International, on AI, on Merged Reality, and (mostly) on Quantum Computing is kind of missing the point in a lot of ways. The stuff on Cricket does not help. The frothy emotional appeal from the author is hard to hear...the Music Metaphor from a TED talk I am sure Satya never heard is odd...However, and this is coming out of a much more negative review thean I had hopedm the models of:
Employee, Customer, Products, & Partners
Concept, Customer, Capabilities, & Culture
are smart and worth thinking about...
I loved the recommendation for [b:MirrorWorld|22545462|MirrorWorld|Jeremy Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426664424s/22545462.jpg|42001562]...and[a:Tim O'Reilly|18541|Tim O'Reilly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1199698411p2/18541.jpg] ...
* We were already expecting a Christmas Day attack from Lizard Squad.
* Find the rose petals in the shit.
* Beer fuels their creativity.
for which I cannot thank Microsoft enough--I will likely be using these on a weekly basis for years.
Satya does do a great job of identifying some of the smartest people working at Microsoft which is helpful in an "IT Watch" kind of way...I respect Vista more now knowing who built it...
The focus on the International, on AI, on Merged Reality, and (mostly) on Quantum Computing is kind of missing the point in a lot of ways. The stuff on Cricket does not help. The frothy emotional appeal from the author is hard to hear...the Music Metaphor from a TED talk I am sure Satya never heard is odd...However, and this is coming out of a much more negative review thean I had hopedm the models of:
Employee, Customer, Products, & Partners
Concept, Customer, Capabilities, & Culture
are smart and worth thinking about...
I loved the recommendation for [b:MirrorWorld|22545462|MirrorWorld|Jeremy Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426664424s/22545462.jpg|42001562]...and[a:Tim O'Reilly|18541|Tim O'Reilly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1199698411p2/18541.jpg] ...
stralins's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciated the focus on culture in the first half and had some nice takeaways, didn’t love the latter part of the book (lack of critical analysis, I think, but the passion is great)
ppetropoulakis's review against another edition
4.0
I like big tech tentpole books. Hit Refresh is one of these titles that try to humanize the megacorporation that is Microsoft. Satya Nadella's narrative is intimate and reflective. He tries to make sense of the tech industry and give bright, optimistic predictions for the future. At times it reads like corporate propaganda but overall a collection of interesting anecdotes and contemplations.
nushhetti's review against another edition
1.0
This book was not for me, if I could have given it half a star I would have.
Perhaps as others have suggested this book is aimed at people working in the field rather than someone with a passing interest in the company.
The first half was annoyingly repetitive, wasting time defining acronyms but then pages later reverting to spelling the acronym out again grates on me, I am not sure how many time he really had to state he was the CEO of Microsoft/was about to become CEO of Microsoft/was about to be announced as the CEO of Microsoft - we get it already (and thats why I was reading your book in the first place). There is a lot of discussion about what Microsoft has done in the past and that it needs to change. To what though? There was very little information - spoiler- it's in the afterword (if I had known this I may have just skipped ahead). This front half of the book felt to me like disjointed factoids with no direction and little point (for me).
The one star rating is for the third quarter of the book where there is some actually discussion of issues such as legislation which was interesting and flowed well (and less mention of Microsoft and its CEO). My relief at finding out the last quarter of the book was taken up by an index was joyful! I wouldn't recommend this book, it could have been an email - albeit a very long and boring email, but an email nonetheless.
Perhaps as others have suggested this book is aimed at people working in the field rather than someone with a passing interest in the company.
The first half was annoyingly repetitive, wasting time defining acronyms but then pages later reverting to spelling the acronym out again grates on me, I am not sure how many time he really had to state he was the CEO of Microsoft/was about to become CEO of Microsoft/was about to be announced as the CEO of Microsoft - we get it already (and thats why I was reading your book in the first place). There is a lot of discussion about what Microsoft has done in the past and that it needs to change. To what though? There was very little information - spoiler- it's in the afterword (if I had known this I may have just skipped ahead). This front half of the book felt to me like disjointed factoids with no direction and little point (for me).
The one star rating is for the third quarter of the book where there is some actually discussion of issues such as legislation which was interesting and flowed well (and less mention of Microsoft and its CEO). My relief at finding out the last quarter of the book was taken up by an index was joyful! I wouldn't recommend this book, it could have been an email - albeit a very long and boring email, but an email nonetheless.
makragic's review against another edition
3.0
Hit Refresh gives you insights into how Satya sees himself, his role at Microsoft and where the tech world is headed. He shares his thoughts on current state of Cloud, Virtual Reality, AI, Privacy, Feminism, MS's acquisition of LinkedIn, Minecraft, Future jobs, etc.
In general it is OK book, but I'm not amazed with it.
In general it is OK book, but I'm not amazed with it.
wosomac's review against another edition
4.0
Struggled with the narrator, his accent was so lyrical I found my mind drifting. Great info around AI and perspectives on Tech companies responsibilities.
ninj's review against another edition
5.0
Some Nadella biography, where Microsoft came from and how Nadella has redirected it, the big directions of the future, general economics and global improvement areas.
fivetilnoon's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.0
An okay book. I was hoping for more on the "growth mindset" but did get a takeaway to read another book focused on that topic. Found a few nuggets and I liked learning about Nadella's background and early years at Microsoft.
Danger of too much formality and focus on accountability
Danger of too much formality and focus on accountability
Accountability—delivering on time and hitting numbers —trumped everything. Meetings were formal. Everything had to be planned in perfect detail before the meeting. And it was hard to do a skip-level meeting. If a senior leader wanted, they had to bring the individual's manager.
Make it happen
Reminds me of, "You don't have to ask permission to take responsibility"
I became irritated once during an employee Q&A when someone asked me, "Why can't I print a document from my mobile phone?" I politely told him, "Make it happen. You have full authority."
Three things to look for in a leader
The first is to create clarity to those you work with. This is one of the foundational things leaders do every day, every minute. In order to create clarity, you've got to synthesize the complex. Leaders take internal and external noise and synthesize a message from it, recognizing the true signal within a lot of noise.
Second, leaders generate energy, not only on their own teams but across the company. It's insufficient to focus exclusively on your own unit. Leaders need to inspire optimism, creativity, shared commitment, and growth through times good and bad.
Third, and finally, they find a way to deliver success, to make things happen. This means driving innovations that people love and are inspired to work on; finding balance between long-term success and short-term wins; and being boundary-less and globally minded in seeking solutions.
namakurhea's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to read a business book that’s written by someone other than a white guy and also by someone is tech… This was read about the same time when I was reading “HR Disrupted” so I wanted to have an accompanying non-technical book. So yep! I went for Satya Nadella’s book.
There is really one portion that I remember most: the one about leadership. He says being a leader entails a certain responsibility. You cannot whine. You cannot say the coffee is bad. Or there are no good people. Constraints will always be there.. But what sets you apart (since you are a leader) is overcoming those constraints.
That is 2 pages out of a 245 pages book but it is all I needed to hear.
There is really one portion that I remember most: the one about leadership. He says being a leader entails a certain responsibility. You cannot whine. You cannot say the coffee is bad. Or there are no good people. Constraints will always be there.. But what sets you apart (since you are a leader) is overcoming those constraints.
That is 2 pages out of a 245 pages book but it is all I needed to hear.