Satya's Message on Finding Meaning and Growth at Microsoft

//oneweek
This ebook records some
key events at //oneweek
2015,
Satya’s monthly Q&A; a global
hackathon, new products expo and
speakers corner.
These are the specifics, but overall,
there’s a mindset shift happening at
Microsoft.
More to follow.

//oneweek
How does a one-hundred
thousand person company
invent what has never been
done before?
By adopting a growth mindset. By
empowering ways for people to deliver
their personal best on a massive scale.
By creating an environment that honors
a new philosophy about how we work.
And by understanding that amazing
products and services are really created
through very individual, very human
beliefs.

//oneweek//hackathon
The point of hackathons
is not to invent the next
big thing. Sure, it’s
been known to happen
occasionally, but that’s
not the main point.
The main point is to come together as
One Microsoft, collaborate like crazy
to make dreams real. And remind us
what we’re really capable of when
nothing comes in between ourselves
and our A game.

Automated farming via technology
Imagine turning all those abandoned
warehouses and factories in post-industrial
areas into productive farmland, by filling their
empty spaces with hydroponic farms, to
grow lettuce, tomatoes, flowers, etc.
And then wiring each hydroponic mini-farm
to sensors that monitor the health and status
remotely, saving labor, cost and perhaps
most importantly, water.
Sure, it’s a model that is a way off from
being financially viable. But as megacities
increase in size and number, as demand for
local produce becomes more of an issue
(especially where water is scarce), this points
to a more sustainable future.

The computer hack is to Microsoft what the
brush stroke was to Picasso- it is our basic
unit of value.

Microsoft’s success comes from innovation.
That innovation comes from insatiable
curiosity, from taking risks and finding
comfort with uncertainty. And in the wee
hours hacking around a problem on the
way to innovation.

Hacking is our currency. Hacking is what
makes us world class. When we lose that,
we lose the company.

Windows 10 Launch
//oneweek//product expo
A major highlight of //oneweek was the
Windows 10 launch. A platform released by
Microsoft to #upgradeyourworld.
People are very fond of talking about the
“Big Things” that technology can do to
change the world. But it’s the little things we
do that really do the most good over time.

We can make a difference on this planet.
One human life, changed for the better
forever. Not a bad unit to measure
ourselves by.

When thinking about “Mobility First”,
it’s too easy to get stuck, worrying
about the hardware. The phone, the
tablet, whatever.

But “Mobility First” is much bigger
than that. It’s not about what you
carry, it’s about how you live.

Unencumbered.

The definition of beauty in a software
platform (PC, phone, tablet, whatever)
is not in the molecules per se.

It is in how much easier it makes the
cloud to engage with.

How much easier it makes people
(and organizations!) able to transform
their lives for the better.

Products come, products go. What
was hot last week was already
forgotten this week.

The journey, however, remains. The
journey is unending.

That’s what real innovation means.
That’s what the industry respects.

A startup competition for Microsofties
//oneweek//science fair
Microsoft employees showcased their
startup ideas in exchange for votes to win.
It’s not about just creating more stuff to sell.
It’s something far more important.

At the end of the day, if we haven’t helped
people lead more meaningful lives, then we
have failed.


Raspberry Pi around the house
Cook smart is a project that
uses Raspberry Pi with
Windows 10, Microsoft
Azure, and mobile phone to
make it so people can get
dinner started before they
get home.

Wearables that make us feel safe
Hold is a project that uses the
Microsoft band to make people
feel safe when they are in a
dangerous area, by allowing
friends to follow along with them
and giving haptic feedback to the
user that makes if feel as if their
hand is being held.

When I was a kid, I hated reading. But
I loved drawing. Maybe things would
have been different if I had both.
OneNote for Learning hacks learning
with audio, interactive tools like
highlighting, and Microsoft Research
magic to help you understand stuff
better.
So kids with learning disabilities don’t
fall behind the rest of us.
Congrats team. And thanks.
This is what real customer obsession
looks like.
Winning Hack: OneNote for Learning

The point of software is not
just to do stuff faster.

The point of software is to make it easier
for people to achieve more, more than
they ever thought possible.

Otherwise we’re just wasting other
people’s lives.

Without our humanity, we are nothing.

//oneweek//speaker’s corner
A random lot of authors and artists
were invited to talk, including myself.
I think the overriding theme was this
idea of empathy, creativity, humanity.
Everything may just mouse click away
nowadays.

The being said, the human condition
is still with us.

We still have suffering, we still have
disease and sadness and inequality.

We still have a lot of work to do.

Nick Romero started his company, The Ave, on
a blank sheet of paper after seeing some cool
t-shirt designs. He decided he was going to
learn everything he could about t-shirt printing.
He then wondered if the t-shirt process could
be applied to shoes. He developed a device
that holds a shoe in place for the printer to
spray ink on. Everyone passed on his idea. This
didn’t stop Nick.
“Not everyone is going to like your products,
and not everyone is going to like you.” he said.
He eventually made a pair of Breaking Bad shoes that went viral. The Ave started receiving massive
orders. Other celebrities started wearing them like Danny Trejo, Sofia Vergara, and Johnny Knoxville.
The rest is history.
Nick Romero

Jane McGonigal
The opposite of play isn’t work it’s depression.
Take video games seriously. Video games help
inspire people to tackle tough challenges. Help
people learn fast from failure.

Gamers experience positive emotions like creativity,
contentment, awe, wonder, love and joy.
And play offsets negative emotions.

Scientifically, what happens in gamers brains while
playing is the exact opposite of depression. The
reward motivation center is activated, every game
has a clear goal.
As two people play, they both start making the same facial expressions. Breathing and heart beats sync
up. The only other instances of brainwave syncing are in dancing and moving heavy furniture.

Playing video games help us like each other more, offer and ask for more help. more empathy.

Joshua Davis & Lorenzo Santian
The classic David and Goliath, I really loved
this one.
Joshua Davis, a national journalist, calls
Lorenzo Santian, a high school hacker. He
and some other kids made a robot out of
$800 and spare parts. Codename Stinky
because it smelled so bad.
At a robotics competition, Stinky began
leaking. The kids realized thought up the idea
of using tampons to absorb leaks.
The idea is: always be thinking differently.
That’s what innovation is all about.

Lorenzo didn’t expect to win, and ended
up beating MIT for first prize, to a standing
ovation.

Satya reinforced the need for all of us to approach
our roles with a growth-mindset. To learn and push
ourselves in new directions to foster growth.
He specifically made two points about what he’d
personally like to help make happen as CEO.

Remove all obstacles leading to innovation.
2. Focus on that which makes Microsoft truly
unique.

Sales, customer satisfaction and delivering value to
shareholders are all great external markers to have,
and Microsoft does very well by them. But those
are the rewards, not the thing itself. The game is
innovation. The game is changing the world. The
game is being the company no other company
can be – the one no competitor can get near. And
winning the game starts with the right mindset – a
growth mindset.
//oneweek//Satya Nadella Q&A

Satya’s message for
Microsoft’s employees
was very simple. External
markers are all very well
and good, but real success
begins on the inside. Real
success begins when we
find meaning in our work.


A big part of a successful working life is
in the search for meaning. Does what I do
matter? Is it making a difference? Is it worth
all the sacrifice?

The answer may be ‘yes’ or ‘no’, one thing
it’ll never be is static. Meaning changes over
time, as we evolve, as we learn, as we fail,
as we gather wisdom. What worked last
year may not work so well this year. Getting
comfortable with uncertainty is a good thing.

Which is exactly how it should be. If we hold
on to our ideals too strongly, they suffocate.

Meaning is a work in progress. Stay strong,
but stay flexible. Stay curious and open to
ideas. Most of all, keep learning.

“Do More” is easy. Any fool can
add another job to the list.

“Do More Meaningful” is hard.

Because it requires you doing
stuff that matters. The path to
meaningful requires being open
to uncertainty, even failure.

But that’s what makes it worth
fighting for, don’t you think?

Satya spoke about fans,
not customers. A big
shift for Microsoft.
We’re obsessed by
customers, but a true fan
is a gift. They are to be
cherished.

Software is just a lot of ones and zeros,
processed through a little microprocessor,
made from little more than common sand.

And yet, here we are, helping the world create
billions of dollars worth of extra value to the
human race, every day.

Even only a few decades ago, that would’ve
been considered miraculous.

They say the mark of a good entrepreneur is
somebody who can create something out of
nothing.

As we have proven many, many times, you
can say the same thing about a decent coder.

Satya's Message on Finding Meaning and Growth at Microsoft

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (12)

Ähnlich wie Satya's Message on Finding Meaning and Growth at Microsoft

Ähnlich wie Satya's Message on Finding Meaning and Growth at Microsoft (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Satya's Message on Finding Meaning and Growth at Microsoft