Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone
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- Author：Satya Nadella
- ISBN：0062959727
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Summary
“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。
“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
Steve
，
For a five+ year old technology book， it was a fair read。 The first 2/3 intrigued me because much of what Satya wrote about is now the reality I work in （some isn’t quite） and it was interesting to put myself into that era （for lack of a better word） as a tech leader。 However the last 1/3 took over a month to finish and I begrudgingly picked it up in the last few days just to check the box and give to a friend who told me he wants to read it。 I won’t miss being able to revisit anything I read。
Vineesh Kumar K。K
，
What a Great BookWhile reading this book， I felt like， am doing a dreamwalk with author， and he introduces star technologists in Microsoft。He also talks about culture， empathy， and the story of Microsoft。 Final discussion on economy， technology and the startups。 Loved this。
Coco Eunkyung
，
Looking forward to seeing how MS transformsClearly taking a helm at an organisation like MS is a big challenge。 Very interested to see how it comes out under the author’s leadership
Jonathan Mckay
，
30th book of 2021: Internal Memo After any complex organization is successful enough for long enough， it develops idiosyncrasies incomprehensible to the outside。 Microsoft is a great example， achieving monopoly power only to be knocked over by the iPhone and Android。 Hit Refresh aims to answer the question: Why does Microsoft exist， and why do I exist in this new role？ Instead， it spends most chapters answering a subtly different question: “How can Microsoft employees feel good about the work 30th book of 2021: Internal Memo After any complex organization is successful enough for long enough， it develops idiosyncrasies incomprehensible to the outside。 Microsoft is a great example， achieving monopoly power only to be knocked over by the iPhone and Android。 Hit Refresh aims to answer the question: Why does Microsoft exist， and why do I exist in this new role？ Instead， it spends most chapters answering a subtly different question: “How can Microsoft employees feel good about the work that they do？” Indeed， the book reads like an internal Microsoft ad to show employees during happy hour about empowering people via a growth mindset and the democratization of AI。To Satya， a growth mindset consists of the following components: 1st obsess about our customers via empathy。2nd at our best when we actively seek diversity and inclusion。3rd we are one company。The first seems like a rehash of Amazon’s leadership principle。 The point about diversity is undermined by a lack of serious discussion of what Microsoft has done about it under Nadella。 The third point is most revealing， showing that beyond being a general ad for the positive power of Microsoft， the audience is likely internal mid-level managers。 This suspicion is furthered when Nadella writes out the mathematical formula for trust: e + sv + sr = t / t （empathy + shared values + sustained reliability = trust over time） : prose only a big-tech employee could love。 The reader is rewarded with a soft-glove explanation of where Microsoft failed after the Gates era we also got a bit overconfident in our ability to fast follow a competitor， forgetting there is inherent risk in such a strategy。 We were perhaps timid in disrupting our own highly successful business models。 We’ve learned from all this。 Yet most of the book was fluff。 Earnest， eager， written by a successful CEO that has led his company through a difficult transition， but still fluff。 。。。more
Pratap Kodancha
，
Great insight of Satya’s personal and professional journey。 Amazing practical insight on challenges of organizational transformation。 His visionary perspective of AI and Quantum Computing are really deep and mesmerizing。
Hossain Mohammad
，
I started reading this book with an expectation of getting to know about new tech applications。 However， this book was more about organizational behavior and culture; and how Microsoft played and plays in people's lives。 It also had wonderful anecdotes from Satya Nadella's life as well as from Microsoft。 Good read as a general management book。 I started reading this book with an expectation of getting to know about new tech applications。 However， this book was more about organizational behavior and culture; and how Microsoft played and plays in people's lives。 It also had wonderful anecdotes from Satya Nadella's life as well as from Microsoft。 Good read as a general management book。 。。。more
Nush
，
This book was not for me， if I could have given it half a star I would have。 Perhaps as others have suggested this book is aimed at people working in the field rather than someone with a passing interest in the company。 The first half was annoyingly repetitive， wasting time defining acronyms but then pages later reverting to spelling the acronym out again grates on me， I am not sure how many time he really had to state he was the CEO of Microsoft/was about to become CEO of Microsoft/was about to This book was not for me， if I could have given it half a star I would have。 Perhaps as others have suggested this book is aimed at people working in the field rather than someone with a passing interest in the company。 The first half was annoyingly repetitive， wasting time defining acronyms but then pages later reverting to spelling the acronym out again grates on me， I am not sure how many time he really had to state he was the CEO of Microsoft/was about to become CEO of Microsoft/was about to be announced as the CEO of Microsoft - we get it already （and thats why I was reading your book in the first place）。 There is a lot of discussion about what Microsoft has done in the past and that it needs to change。 To what though？ There was very little information - spoiler- it's in the afterword （if I had known this I may have just skipped ahead）。 This front half of the book felt to me like disjointed factoids with no direction and little point （for me）。The one star rating is for the third quarter of the book where there is some actually discussion of issues such as legislation which was interesting and flowed well （and less mention of Microsoft and its CEO）。 My relief at finding out the last quarter of the book was taken up by an index was joyful！ I wouldn't recommend this book， it could have been an email - albeit a very long and boring email， but an email nonetheless。 。。。more
Sivakailash B
，
Starts with his life story and moves to the culture in microsoft and ends with Future technology
Bernard Tan
，
Book 4 of MarchThere are actually three distinct parts in this very readable book。 The first two chapters details Satya Nadella's journey from Hyderabad， as the son of an Indian Civil Servant， growing up loving cricket， to earning a double degree in Wisconsin， to becoming CEO in Microsoft。 In a quirk of US immigration law， Satya had to surrender his green card in exchange for a H1B visa for it was only the latter that allowed him to bring a dependent into the US。 Satya is today a US Citizen。 The Book 4 of MarchThere are actually three distinct parts in this very readable book。 The first two chapters details Satya Nadella's journey from Hyderabad， as the son of an Indian Civil Servant， growing up loving cricket， to earning a double degree in Wisconsin， to becoming CEO in Microsoft。 In a quirk of US immigration law， Satya had to surrender his green card in exchange for a H1B visa for it was only the latter that allowed him to bring a dependent into the US。 Satya is today a US Citizen。 The second three chapters explains the challenges that he faced in turning around Microsoft， a company that once ruled the nest but had fallen far behind in the tech race。 It failed to catch the mobile revolution， ceding leadership to Apple， Samsung and Google， and was late to enter the cloud， ending up far behind Amazon。 It is quite instructive to reflect how this happened - a siloed organisation with parts at war with each other， a lack of a growth mindset， and an inertia in defending an established market instead of taking a risk in a new hyper growing one - and the change that Satya instituted to hit "refresh" in Microsoft。The last four chapters were to me the most interesting。 Satya's perspectives on the opportunities and challenges that technology presents to society at large - the revolution that mixed （virtual） reality， artificial intelligence and quantum computing will bring， the trust issues of the digital age : privacy， security and free speech， the future of how humans and machines will interact， and the search for fairness and equality in the computer age。A recommended read 。。。more
Truong Dac Binh
，
The first few chapters were so inspired but the 3 last chapters were a bit boring and listing a lot of AI and IoT， which is a bit redundant。
Chi Ming
，
I took much longer than expected to finish this book。 Prose isn’t captivating but pressed on because of the importance of gaining perspective on themes like the importance of culture in transformation， Why Microsoft made the tech bets it did， and the role big tech plays in economic growth。 Glad I finished the book but wished I could have done so in 2 days。
Tiklu Ganguly
，
Very interesting book on the idea of Microsoft and its current CEO
Rita Lei Chen 雷晨
，
The world is changing all the time。 Only by not being kidnapped by the stock and always thinking about "If we start from scratch， what should we do" can we maintain innovation and vitality， and respond to every change with a positive "return to zero" mentality。 ！ The world is changing all the time。 Only by not being kidnapped by the stock and always thinking about "If we start from scratch， what should we do" can we maintain innovation and vitality， and respond to every change with a positive "return to zero" mentality。 ！ 。。。more
Richard I Porter
，
Who: should read this book？ Most broadly anyone who works in technology or interested one of the 3 most valuable companies in the world。 Anyone interested in the biggest and most successful turn-around of a company and its culture in modern business history。 Anyone who works in B2B technology， enterprise technology， or wants inspiration in how to lead authentically or improve a culture from a bad state to a good one。 Why: This can help you reflect on purpose-driven leadership in technology。 Saty Who: should read this book？ Most broadly anyone who works in technology or interested one of the 3 most valuable companies in the world。 Anyone interested in the biggest and most successful turn-around of a company and its culture in modern business history。 Anyone who works in B2B technology， enterprise technology， or wants inspiration in how to lead authentically or improve a culture from a bad state to a good one。 Why: This can help you reflect on purpose-driven leadership in technology。 Satya Nadella wrote this book to reflect on his perspective while in the midst of a transformation。 As he led a turn-around from a company lampooned as literally warring fiefdoms to rediscover its purpose and mission， and become one of the three most valuable companies in history。 How: Satya focuses on mission， empathy， empowering users and institutions and how Microsoft can bring a unique value to and through each of these。 What: This is a contemporary record of a cultural transformation as it happens by a ceo guiding its change。4 Star reviews mean I really enjoyed this book， I will likely read it again someday。 I would recommend it to many people and it changed my mind about something important。 。。。more
Abhishek
，
A perfect book to get out of the rut。
Ghada
，
The book reads like a long Microsoft mission statement。 I was really hoping to get more insight about Satya's life and upbringing。 It's shocking that there were only around a couple of paragraphs about the passing of his mother （presumably， one of the most important characters in his life！）。 I just wish the tone of the book was less robotic and more personal。 Also， there are too many issues explained using points （I'll break this down in six points， I'll elaborate about that in five points etc）。 The book reads like a long Microsoft mission statement。 I was really hoping to get more insight about Satya's life and upbringing。 It's shocking that there were only around a couple of paragraphs about the passing of his mother （presumably， one of the most important characters in his life！）。 I just wish the tone of the book was less robotic and more personal。 Also， there are too many issues explained using points （I'll break this down in six points， I'll elaborate about that in five points etc）。 There is virtually no narrative/story arch whatsoever （I can't help but feel he certainly could've afforded a better editor/ghost writer！） and also the prose can get a bit repetitive at times。 Finally， Satya's insistence on showing the human/humanitarian side of Microsoft does not go down well if you are a skeptic of big tech companies and have legitimate concerns over privacy and security etc。 。。。more
Sibel Akoglu
，
Although some episodes are boring， I think it adds a vision of the future in general。
Sandip Gupta
，
The book review of “Hit Refresh” by Satya Narayan Nadella， CEO of Microsoft， succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014。Satya was born in Hyderabad， India in 1967。 He completed his schooling in HPS before moving to Manipal Institute of Technology to complete his bachelor’s in electrical engineering。 He then moved to US for doing master’s in computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee。 He also completed his MBA from the University of Chicago。In this book， Satya have shared his journey from Hy The book review of “Hit Refresh” by Satya Narayan Nadella， CEO of Microsoft， succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014。Satya was born in Hyderabad， India in 1967。 He completed his schooling in HPS before moving to Manipal Institute of Technology to complete his bachelor’s in electrical engineering。 He then moved to US for doing master’s in computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee。 He also completed his MBA from the University of Chicago。In this book， Satya have shared his journey from Hyderabad to becoming the CEO of Microsoft。The book has total of 9 chapters in around 240 pages。 If I must pick some important words from the book， they will be:1。tEmpathy2。tCulture3。tPartners4。tCloud5。tAI， etcSatya in the book， starts the journey with his life in Hyderabad， his parents， his passion for cricket， his schooling in HPS。Talking about HPS， this school have produced not only one but many great leaders of the current time。 The list of alumni are:Santanu Narayant- CEO of AdobeAjay bangatt- CEO of Master CardSyed Alittt- Head of Kavin NetworkPrem Watsatt- founder of Fairfax Financial。Satya also talks about his passion for cricket in the book。 He has referenced couple of instances from a cricket match which have helped him in Learning to lead。 He also has talked about the other leaders he have worked with and the learning he have got。 After completing master’s degree， Satya joined sun Microsoft as a software developer before finally moving to Microsoft in 1962。Satya Nadella have led many important projects in the company before he was given the responsibility of Microsoft cloud， known as Microsoft Azure。 The success of Azure changed everything and helped Satya to climb the ladder。 He has even mentioned his discussion with Bill Gates before taking up this responsibility， where Bill said to him， this might be your last job， in the book。Satya was made the CEO in 1914， only becoming the 3rd CEO in this Microsoft history after Bill gates and Steve Ballmer。 Satya talks about the advantage he had due to being with Microsoft for a long time which helped him to understand the core value and culture he needed to bring back to take the company to newest heights。 Satya also talks about importance of partnership in the book and how sometime even partnering with the competitors can help in a long run。 He has mentioned about his feeling after the company’s collaboration with Apple and what it meant for him to see application built by Microsoft to be available on the iPhone。Satya in the book， have also mentioned about his personal life， his son zain and his 2 daughters。One of the most interesting part in the book is， how he had to get away with his green card for H1 to get his life partner Anu in US due to immigration laws。In the book， Satya have highlighted many a times to find the core value of Microsoft， why it was built at the first place and how the company can stick to its core value。 Satya have also touched upon the future of technology。 AI， machine learning， quantum computing， etc which are the need of the hours and only time will say how much impact it will have on the world。Must say， this book is one of the best in the market however the reader needs to relate to the things Satya have mentioned in the book。 It’s not one of those reads which will inspire every reader but people in tech world will love it。 For me personally， I loved the part where Satya have referenced the cricket match for the learning to lead。 Also， the story of him giving away the green card for his wife has to much in it， considering how much it means for an IT professional。 Go get the gem added to your collection。 。。。more
Simon
，
A reasonable insight into the mind of Satya and how he is trying to transform Microsoft back into an innovative force for good in the modern world， branching out from mere operating system and Office products to anything that can help anybody using Cloud and artificial intelligence。 Although he never quite admits they lost their way under Steve Balmer （who was great for their finances but destroyed them as a respected Tech company） he strives to make them relevant again， embracing competitor and A reasonable insight into the mind of Satya and how he is trying to transform Microsoft back into an innovative force for good in the modern world， branching out from mere operating system and Office products to anything that can help anybody using Cloud and artificial intelligence。 Although he never quite admits they lost their way under Steve Balmer （who was great for their finances but destroyed them as a respected Tech company） he strives to make them relevant again， embracing competitor and open source products along the way。It's not quite techy or geeky enough for me but is a great read from an extremely intelligent man， not scared to make people think outside the box and to drive Microsoft forward again。 。。。more
Vlad
，
Sehr spannend für alle， die sich langfristig als CEO sehen bzw。 bereits in leitenden Positionen sehen: alle Firmen erleben aktuell einen digitalen Wandel， und müssen sich neu erfinden。 Microsoft ， wie Satya es 2014 in die Hände bekommen hatte， war in einem Tiefpunkt und hatte einen sehr schlechten Image。 Im Buch gewinn man gewisse Insights in das， wie es gelungen ist， dorthin zu kommen， wo MS heute steht - Firmenkultur， Kooperationen， klare Ziele und Visionen und viel Kommunikation
Kerry McGowan
，
Interesting read One can surmise from the content of this book why Microsoft has experienced a renaissance。 Thoughtful and articulate with a viewpoint that shifts from microscope to telescope and back rather seamlessly。
Karthik Tammana
，
Okayish read。 After reading， I realized that Mr。 Nadella might have been a great leader but definitely not a great writer。 I found the book to be a scatter platter of different topics/themes and the writing style to be less engaging。
Mark Tidmarsh
，
Essential reading - Satya Nadella is a leading light globally and able to evolve a group of people hell-bent on self-destruction into one of the key forces for good。 He has put Microsoft into a position to help others improve the planet （see his planetary computer initiative）， tackling the big challenges and helping other businesses from their example， whilst helping others thrive （for every $ it makes someone else makes 8）。His story is humbling and inspiring and the culture he and his team has Essential reading - Satya Nadella is a leading light globally and able to evolve a group of people hell-bent on self-destruction into one of the key forces for good。 He has put Microsoft into a position to help others improve the planet （see his planetary computer initiative）， tackling the big challenges and helping other businesses from their example， whilst helping others thrive （for every $ it makes someone else makes 8）。His story is humbling and inspiring and the culture he and his team has developed and how he cultivated it is fascinating with tech-only-minded employees evolving into humans lay-people can understand。 （OK， hands-up， I worked for the company but I think his effect and methods are well worth studying if not emulating。） 。。。more
Hung Du
，
I read this book to learn more about the culture of Microsoft which empowers everyone in the global to achieve more。 Overall， the book begins with a great back story which connects to points discussed in later chapters。 In addition， I think 80% of the book has clearly covered some keys in the culture of Microsoft （e。g。 empathy， sharing knowledge， willing to learn， employee-first， etc。） and the rest of the book presents the current mission of Microsoft and the future vision on technology such as I read this book to learn more about the culture of Microsoft which empowers everyone in the global to achieve more。 Overall， the book begins with a great back story which connects to points discussed in later chapters。 In addition， I think 80% of the book has clearly covered some keys in the culture of Microsoft （e。g。 empathy， sharing knowledge， willing to learn， employee-first， etc。） and the rest of the book presents the current mission of Microsoft and the future vision on technology such as mixed-virtuality， quantum computing and artificial intelligence （AI）。After reading this book， I think empathy is the key that moves everything around us。 It can empower your team to be more productive， help you understand your customers to build better products， and drive innovations。 。。。more
Bruno Paz
，
Uma lição sobre a transformação de cultura numa empresa。
Emily
，
a bit boring
Matthew Seo
，
Hit refresh refreshed meRecommend this book for the people would like to understand a new era of Microsoft and the ultimate goal of Satya Nadella。
Saied
，
کتاب خیلی کند نوشته شده。 برای من فقط دو فصل اول و فصل آخر جذاب بودبیشتر مناسب برای افرادیه که تو تصمیمگیریهای کلان مملکت میتونن تاثیر داشته باشندر کل کتابی نیست که خوندنش رو به کسی پیشنهاد بدماگر کتابهایی مثل سختی کارهای سخت رو ۱۰۰ بگیریم این کتاب بین ۲۰ یا نهایتا ۳۰ خواهد بود
Dylan Sri
，
I admire his mandate to infuse all technology with empathy。
Achmad Lutfi
，