New Delhi: Satya Nadella, one of the most celebrated Indians in the global technology sector, has penned the inside story of his journey of becoming the CEO of software giant Microsoft, offering rare insights into his personal and professional life.
The book, titled ‘Hit Refresh’ and co-authored by Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols, will go on sale globally on 26 September. It also includes a foreword by Microsoft co- founder Bill Gates.
Nadella, in a blog on LinkedIn, said it was about two years ago when he set out to “tell the story of Microsoft’s quest to rediscover its soul and imagine a better future for everyone”.
The title draws inspiration from the digital world where the screen is refreshed by hitting the function ‘F5’ key. “We believed hit refresh was the perfect metaphor for all three storylines of the book—my personal journey so far, the company’s ongoing transformation, and the coming wave of technological and economic change,” said Nadella.
Nadella, who took over the reins of Microsoft in February 2014 from Steve Ballmer, goes on to stress that the book is no “victory lap or a how-to manual” but a set of reflections, ideas and principles on transformation. He hopes his book inspires people to discover more empathy in their own lives.
Drawing parallels with his personal life, Nadella recounted how his wife helped him learn the quality when their son was born with severe disabilities 21 years ago.
“It’s (also) a quality that shapes our mission of empowerment at Microsoft and our quest to meet unmet and unarticulated needs of customers. And it’s the quality that helps us as a society move forward in creating new opportunity for all,” he wrote in the blog. Nadella will donate all proceeds from the book to Microsoft Philanthropies.
