Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, today released a new book that not only examines the man, but also Microsoft's path during the past few years, as well as the impact of technological change on the company and on human beings today.
Diehard Windows and Microsoft fans may want to visit a local bookstore today or hit Amazon to pick up a copy of Nadella's new book, called "Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone." At Windows Central, we didn't get any advanced review copies, so we're not recommending it at this point (though I plan to read it this week), but the story promises to deliver some juicy nuggets, including new details on Nadella's stance on the 2013 acquisition of Nokia, which he apparently resisted.
Here's a quick description of the book, from Nadella:
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.
Our writer Jason Ward recently wrote a related (and timely) story on Nadella and empathy that could serve as a nice entry point to Nadella's book.
How fathering a son with disabilities helped Microsoft's CEO transform the company
And from Microsoft cofounder and former CEO, Bill Gates:
Satya has charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology while also facing up to the hard questions.
Nadella's book is available in digital format for $15.99 on the Kindle Store or via Audible audiobook for about $19.
Reader comments
Microsoft CEO Nadella's new book promises insights on the company's digital transformation
Got my copy this morning. Good old-fashioned paper and words. Looking forward to getting stuck in.
Hope he will be digitalised too, sent to recycle bin, and then emptied.
#lier #wpkiller #xboxkiller #iekiller
Xbox killer? LOL.
"lier"? seems to be standing in that photo
Iekiller ? Yeah, since it was bad.
So now Nadella wants us to pay him to tell us what the flip's going on with this 'retrenchment' rather than just finally coming out with an announcement (in actual English rather than something cryptic)? Good grief...
Awesome...I needed new paper to start fires in my fireplace with...This would be perfect!
You really want to start a fire with this risking your entire home smelling like burned sht? :))))
BTW people...it's LIAR...not LIER.
Yeah, thanks Captain Obvious
Usually people write books when they retire....Perhaps he is thinking retirement!?
No, thanks. I don't have a bird cage.
Shouldn't this also be in the Windows Store? Or is it and I'm just not seeing it for some reason?
http://www.windowscentral.com/e?link=http%3A%2F%2Fclkde.tradedoubler.com...
They changed the title of the book after it was printed. It's now called Microsoft Biography.
So the guy was focused on writing a book instead of actually running Microsoft's fading businesses, like mobile, search, Windows, etc. Interesting
Clearly planning for a life beyond Microsoft.
Maybe the new J.K. Rowling, perhaps.
S. N. Nothing
I've seen this time and again in the IT world. Most true-to-heart eggheads can become great Technical Engineers, but few become great People Managers, and even less become great Service Managers, empathizing with customers and communicating precisely what their strategy is. That's the heart of Microsoft's problem today - they have stellar ideas and have put forth awesome conceptual products (Band 2?) but they don't have the customer connection to follow-through and make their products Top Sellers. They need a Sales Guy at the top, like back in the Gates+Ballmer time period (not sole Ballmer).
This guy does not interest me one bit. Wouldn't read it if they paid me for it.
So should I buy an Xbox or is he going to kill it one month after the x launch?
Ai? not interested...
Ar? abandoned...
Phone? Dead...
Azure? unreliable...
what else?
Cortana with Google search
And Chrome as default browser in windows
Who needs a third browser if it isn't different?
Satya Nadella is weird. His book is about humans and empathy?
What he is saying about technology is true, but Microsoft isn't leading it.
Also, his book is about the quest to rediscover Microsoft's soul? Is this why, Microsoft is always late to the tech party of innovation and design? Is it because the people from Redmond are too busy looking around campus for Microsoft's soul?
LOL...Microsoft didn't lose their soul. They never did. In Microsoft's long history of existence, they never faced the kind of competition they are facing today. For a couple of decades they have faced no competition in the tech sector. Now they have competition in Google, Apple, Sony, etc... and they are doing nothing but losing. LOL..take for example Augmented Reality. They were trying to steal it away from Google and position themselves as the leader, but they took too long and no longer control the standards.
Nadella is just so inept. He should be COO, not CEO. Take for example, Windows Phone. I have read excerpts of his reasoning to be against Windows Phone and it's dumb. Do people know why the Apple's iPod became so successful? It's because Steve Jobs did backdoor deals with providers to deliver content and form partnerships with them. That never happened with Nadella. Just because Nokia was #3 didn't mean that it was impossible for Microsoft to ever be #2 in the smartphone race.
The truth is Satya Nadella has no vision to bring Microsoft to masses. Instead of Microsoft being in the forefront, they come from the back. They need to replace him.
I think it was very possible for Windows Phone to become the #2 platform in the world. Not in the US, but in many countries WP was steadily growing market and overtaking iPhone. The issue was that it was costing a fortune to grow share and the bean counters felt it wasn't worth the long term investment that was dragging down MSFT quarterly results. The same attitude could've been used to kill Bing or Xbox many years ago before they became profitable. More offensive to me is watching how Nadella is botching Augmented Reality, AI, wearables, IoT, the browser, Skype and UWP. He is giving away the future. The cadence of progress is way too slow at MS and everyone can see it. We are going on 3 years without any tech or major software updates to HoloLens. That slow cadence isn't even acceptable in the game console industry anymore.
Good, my toilet paper ran out so this will do just fine.
Chapter 1: Lying to your consumers
Chapter 2: Investing everything in Cloud
Chapter 3: Retrenchment
Chapter 4: Virtue Signalling
Chapter 5: Killing everything not named Azure
Chapter 6: Making money admitting you lied
Chapter 7: Being the most overpaid CEO in the world
Chapter 8: Selling what's left of your company to Amazon
Chapter 10: The Golden Parachute