Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella read a book that changed his outlook on leadership and business. The book was Mindset by award-winning Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. In the 2006 book Dweck explores the habit of having a “growth mindset:” the belief that our potential is not stagnant. We can learn and grow. It’s a revolutionary approach to leadership and success.
Dweck makes the persuasive case that successful people in business, sports and art started out rather ordinary, but they believed they could learn and get better. People with a ‘fixed mindset’ believe their qualities (intellect, skills) are carved in stone. They fail to grow because they don’t think they can get better. People with a growth mindset are consumed with learning because they believe they can get smarter, be better leaders, or more innovative. In short, change your beliefs; change your life.
In Nadella’s own book, Hit Refresh, he references the growth mindset 24 times. As Nadella puts it, successful people are “learn-it-alls” and not “know-it-alls.” Nadella believes that a fixed mindset will limit your growth while a growth mindset will propel you and your organization forward. Nadella could have simply cited the evidence in his book and never mention it again. Instead, Nadella refers to the concept again and again in his public presentations and company-wide communication. He articulates a consistent vision and a consistent approach to building a company. Microsoft’s 120,000 employees know what their CEO believes, how he sees the world, and where he wants the company to go.
In his book, Nadella writes that when he became Microsoft’s CEO in 2014, he realized that employees needed “a clear, tangible and inspiring vision.” He was determined to communicate his vision and worldview clearly and regularly. Nadella’s book and his recent email about Microsoft’s focus on a cloud-based future reflect how effectively he communicates his vision.
1. Start with the big picture
The subject line of Nadella’s March 29th email is: “Embracing our future: Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge.” In eight words, Nadella gives his employees a reason to read the email and in one sentence summarizes the email’s main message.
2. Use consistent language and themes.
In his book, Nadella wrote, “The core of our business must be curiosity and desire to meet a customer’s unarticulated and unmet needs with great technology.”
In his March email announcing the company’s focus on cloud, Nadella wrote:
“Having a deep sense of customers’ unmet and unarticulated needs must drive our innovation…This is why a growth mindset culture matters.”
In his book, Nadella wrote: “We are at our best when we actively seek diversity and inclusion… Finally, we are one company, one Microsoft…innovation and competition don’t respect our silos…we are a family of individuals united by a single, shared mission.”
In his March email, Nadella wrote: “It will take courage to keep learning and growing together — encouraging one another’s individual strengths, building more diversity and inclusion across our teams, and collaborating as One Microsoft. It’s amazing what we have been able to accomplish together.”
Nadella’s communication is consistent because he understands the power of a consistent vision to rally employees around a common purpose.
3. Stick to the rule of three.
The rule of three simply means that most people think in groups of three or four. We can’t handle too many items in a list before we forget the entire list. In this week’s email, Nadella articulates the vision of a cloud-based future in one short paragraph of three points. It’s so concise, the entire paragraph fits in a few short sentences:
“Over the past year, we have shared our vision for how the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge will shape the next phase of innovation. First, computing is more powerful and ubiquitous from the cloud to the edge. Second, AI capabilities are rapidly advancing across perception and cognition fueled by data and knowledge of the world. Third, physical and virtual worlds are coming together to create richer experiences that understand the context surrounding people, the things they use, the places they go, and their activities and relationships.”
Early in his career Nadella learned that great institutions are built on a clear vision. “Leadership means making choices and then rallying the team around those choices,” according to Nadella. Nadella has made a choice about Microsoft’s future. Rallying the team around that choice is a critical step in bringing the vision to life.