Satya Nadella turns author with 'Hit Refresh'
More than three years ago, on a cold February day, Microsoft's board of directors placed a huge responsibility on Indian-origin business executive Satya Nadella. People should have gotten an idea of the literary bug in the new CEO when he quoted Oscar Wilde in his first communication to the IT giant's employees. Cut to September 2017, and here he is with his debut book, 'Hit Refresh'.
Why did Nadella decide to write a book anyway?
"The most compelling argument was to write for my colleagues, customers and partners," Nadella writes on LinkedIn. Leaders author books after their reign, Nadella observes, but "what if we could share the journey together, the meditations of a sitting CEO in the midst of a massive transformation?" He calls his primary job "curat(ing) our culture so 100,000 inspired minds can better shape our future".
And what does the book talk about?
"'Hit Refresh' isn't a victory lap or a how-to manual," Nadella clarifies, but "a set of reflections, ideas and principles on transformation". There are three storylines: his "personal journey" including his wife Anu, who helped him develop empathy. Then "the company's ongoing transformation": "We needed to rediscover the soul of Microsoft." The "coming wave of technology" focuses on AI, mixed reality and quantum computing.
What's with the intriguing title?
"When you 'hit refresh' in your web browser, or hitting "function+F5," it updates. It doesn't wipe everything away and start new— it actually keeps some things and replaces others," Nadella explains. He hopes the reader will take away from the book "the power of taking action driven by empathy"- "a quality that helps us as a society move forward in creating new opportunity for all".
Cool! So when's the book coming?
Writing the book was a "messy" process, Nadella says, but the end of a two-year journey is here. 'Hit Refresh' will hit bookstores on September 26 and is already available for pre-orders. All proceeds will go to Microsoft Philanthropies. We wish him good luck!
