Hit Refresh
Educational
Dry

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

“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.
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Reviews

Photo of Timeo Williams
Timeo Williams@timeowilliams
3 stars
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.

Photo of Domenico Di Leo
Domenico Di Leo@domedileo
3 stars
Dec 28, 2023

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

Photo of Rohit Arondekar
Rohit Arondekar@rohitarondekar
2 stars
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.

Photo of Mark Palfreeman
Mark Palfreeman @markpalfreeman
3 stars
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.

Photo of Cristian Garcia
Cristian Garcia@cristian
5 stars
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!

Photo of Ahmed Salem
Ahmed Salem@salem309
3 stars
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.

Photo of Nick Copelin
Nick Copelin@yoitscope
2.5 stars
Nov 19, 2022
+2
Photo of Thiago Valentim
Thiago Valentim@thiagovalentim
4.5 stars
May 7, 2022
Photo of Niels Andersen
Niels Andersen@nielsandersen
3 stars
Apr 30, 2024
Photo of Brian Wikene
Brian Wikene@bjwikene
4 stars
Mar 11, 2024
Photo of Sanket Pathak
Sanket Pathak@sanketpath
3 stars
Jan 2, 2024
Photo of Furculita Alexandru
Furculita Alexandru@furculita
4 stars
Dec 20, 2023
Photo of Mani Mohan
Mani Mohan@manee
4 stars
Aug 29, 2023
Photo of Ben Roberts
Ben Roberts@benjammin
5 stars
Jan 31, 2023
Photo of Prayash Mohapatra
Prayash Mohapatra@prayash
4 stars
Jan 24, 2023
Photo of A M
A M@codito
4 stars
Jan 22, 2023
Photo of Rohini Anandamurugan
Rohini Anandamurugan@rohini-anandamurugan
4 stars
Jan 20, 2023
Photo of Andy Sporring
Andy Sporring@andysporring
4 stars
Nov 20, 2022
Photo of Alex Spurrier
Alex Spurrier@alspur
3 stars
Oct 15, 2022
Photo of Ketan Nayak
Ketan Nayak@ketan
3 stars
Oct 14, 2022
Photo of Ian Betteridge
Ian Betteridge@ianbetteridge
4 stars
Oct 3, 2022
Photo of Emily Haniotis
Emily Haniotis@emilyhaniotis
4 stars
Sep 3, 2022
Photo of Brianna Ritter
Brianna Ritter@britterally
3 stars
Aug 14, 2022
Photo of Nimish
Nimish@nimsaw
4 stars
Aug 13, 2022