Viral post poignantly shares Satya Nadella’s humble beginnings as an Excel ‘product demonstrator’ at Microsoft to now running the entire company
From making minute-long Microsoft Excel demo videos to now running the entire ship — Satya Nadella ascends to the top seat.
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What you need to know
We’re a few hours shy until Thursday, and the Throwback Thursday trend (#TBT) is seemingly back in full swing. Talk about a blast from the past —a post on Xrecapping Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s humble beginnings at the company as a Technical Marketing Manager making Microsoft Excel demo videos has gone viral.
from “i make excel demo videos” to “i run the company that will build the machine god” in 30 years pic.twitter.com/chT55itnlUNovember 21, 2023
In the minute-long video, Nadella demonstrates to users how to integrate data that exists on a host or a mainframe intoMicrosoft Excel. It’s evident that at the time, Nadella hadn’t garnered as much popularity as he does now, which begs the question, how didSatya Nadellanavigate his way from making Microsoft Exxcel video demos to leading a Fortune 500 company?
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Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, recently touched base with Insider’s Mathias Dpfner and discussedAI,Activision Blizzard, and more. But what might have stood out (at least for most people) might behow Satya became CEO.
Satya explained that he’d worked at the company throughout Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer’s tenure and blatantly stated, “I don’t think I ever got up in the morning and thought that someday Microsoft would have neither Bill nor Steve. And quite frankly, when Steve announced that he would leave, it was a real shock to me.”
Shortly after making the announcement, one of the board members tasked with finding the company’s next CEO reached out to Nadella and outrightly asked him if he wanted to be CEO. He responded, “Only if you want me to be the CEO.”
And the rest, as they call it, ishistory. Of course, this is only the short version of the story. And while we aren’t going to get into the intricate details of his ascend to the top seat, Satya’s love for Cricket, empathy, and more.
Has Satya Nadella made any mistakes during his tenure?
The executive has admitted that he has made many mistakes while running the company. While he didn’t list them don’t, he recountspulling the plug on Windows Phone as his biggest mistake, terming it as a “strategic mistake”.
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Satya’s biggest win at Microsoft
Microsoft’s CEO refers to his leadership skills after taking up the lead position at the tech firm from the founder as his most remarkable win. According to Satya:
“We needed to run the company as a team of senior leaders who are accountable to the entire company. And even the senior leaders cannot be isolated, they need to be grounded. So we found a way to be able to work together. There used to be this characterization, this caricature of Microsoft as a bunch of silos – which I thought was unfair. We were able to debunk that by showing that we are one team working together, flexible in our own ways but very fixed on our outcome goals. And that, I think, was probably the most important thing.”
Empathy is the “hardest skill to learn,” yet so vital
The company lead has mentioned the importance of having empathy as a skill when it comes to leadership. Raising his son, Zain Nadella, who suffered from asphyxia in utero, leaving him with cerebral palsy, and hisunfortunate passing early last yearcompletely reshaped Satya’s outlook on life, as it is no easy undertaking.
Satya believes that empathy is a vital skill at work, and it plays a more crucial role in career development.
Empathy is not a soft skill. In fact, it’s the hardest skill we learn — to relate to the world, to relate to people that matter the most to us.
When will Satya Nadella retire?
Taking the lead at Microsoft for nearly ten years now, one might wonder when Satya is set to retire. Well. The answer isn’t as simple as you Might think. While speaking in an interview earlier this year, the company disclosed that retirement plans weren’t on his horizon as he’s still in the middle of multiple projects that require his input.
What will Satya Nadella be remembered for beyond his retirement?
The CEO believes he’ll be remembered for his contributions at Microsoft, particularly his AI ventures. He added that it’s up to the people to decide and choose what to remember him for, further stating that the company has made significant strides in the technology space in the past few years, with AI transformation at the forefront.
Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.
