Hit Refresh The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone

Jill Tracie Nichols, Greg Shaw, Satya Nadella — 2019

“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.” – Satya Nadella from Hit Refresh “Satya has charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology while also facing up to the hard questions.” – Bill Gates from the Foreword of Hit Refresh The New York Times bestseller Hit Refresh is about individual change, about the transformation happening inside of Microsoft and the technology that will soon impact all of our lives—the arrival of the most exciting and disruptive wave of technology humankind has experienced: artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and quantum computing. It’s about how people, organizations, and societies can and must transform and “hit refresh” in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, and continued relevance and renewal. Microsoft’s CEO tells the inside story of the company’s continuing transformation, tracing his own personal journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant technological changes in the digital era. Satya Nadella explores a fascinating childhood before immigrating to the U.S. and how he learned to lead along the way. He then shares his meditations as a sitting CEO—one who is mostly unknown following the brainy Bill Gates and energetic Steve Ballmer. He tells the inside story of how a company rediscovered its soul—transforming everything from culture to their fiercely competitive landscape and industry partnerships. As much a humanist as engineer and executive, Nadella concludes with his vision for the coming wave of technology and by exploring the potential impact to society and delivering call to action for world leaders. “Ideas excite me,” Nadella explains. “Empathy grounds and centers me.” Hit Refresh is a set of reflections, meditations, and recommendations presented as algorithms from a principled, deliberative leader searching for improvement—for himself, for a storied company, and for society.

Reviews

Timeo Williams@timeowilliams

Jun 5, 2024

Satya's thoughts on Microsoft's culture -. heavy on empathy, intelligence and having a growth mindset. Includes thoughts on where AI is going and on finding balance between freedom and safety.

Domenico Di Leo@domedileo

Dec 28, 2023

A great book about empathy and values and how the CEO is pushing Microsoft to meet customer unstated needs

Rohit Arondekar@rohitarondekar

Jul 23, 2023

My first book of 2019 was a disappointment. I wanted to enjoy the book and the beginning showed promise, but it devolved into an advertorial for Microsoft. I'm sure Satya Nadella meant everything, but I was interested in behind the scenes happenings and not the public policy or future vision. After being appointed the CEO I lost interest in the book. You might enjoy the book if you'd like to read about how AI, mixed reality and quantum computing might shape our future. It will also be useful if you are a manager or CEO. However, if you want to read interesting tidbits about events that have shaped the new Microsoft, you might want to look elsewhere.

Mark Palfreeman @markpalfreeman

Jul 11, 2023

Quick summary read from the newest CEO of Microsoft. The most interesting and inspiring parts were discussions of Microsoft's trajectory over time, and getting to the core questions of what the company is about and their role in the world going forward.

Cristian Garcia@cristian

Feb 5, 2023

Last year, I started reading Phil Kinght's Shoe Dog. It gave me a lot of energy and ideas to start my year. This time, I followed the same notion with Satya Nadella's Hit Refresh. I finished the whole book in just a couple of days. Nadella's writing is inspiring, insightful, wise and very emotional, his words convey so many feelings and emotions to describe his personal and professional life. His vision is based on being empathic and also using technology to build a better world; his ideas and hopes for the future (with AI, Mixed reality and quantum computers) feel so real and at the same time, so magical, I can't wait to experiment it myself. India CEO's have this heavy mind-work balance; I could not help but think about R Gopalakrishnan style as a CEO, very insightful, spiritual yet effective and always evolving. Amazing book!

Ahmed Salem@salem309

Sep 6, 2022

Book was refreshing and inspiring when it was dedicated to Satya personal/professional experience. Some good information about the time before Satya getting to the CEO position, and the way to create business of cloud in Microsoft. Anything else is a pure PR $hit.