Hit Refresh

Hit Refresh tells the inspiring story of an Indian boy named Satya Nadella, who eventually went on to become the CEO of Microsoft, one of the biggest companies in the world.

It was in the fall of 1992 when Satya Nadella first set foot on Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington. Windows 95, the most prominent consumer technology product ever developed, was already a big deal. Bill Gates was still somewhat unknown at the time, at least as a public figure.

Nadella’s function with the company was to travel around the country, convincing customers to switch to the Windows NT operating system. He was excited to be part of this initiative to get the new system off the ground. But he also wanted to go to business school.

The opportunity presented itself when he was offered a slot in the University of Chicago’s MBA program. Not wanting to jeopardize his position with Microsoft, he kept his part-time enrollment in the course a secret. Flying to Chicago for school every weekend while working at Microsoft during the week took two years to pay off finally.

By 1994, Nadella completed the MBA and received his first managerial project overseeing the development of the “Tiger Server,” a video on demand (VOD) service. His dedication and hard work made a quick impression. It was at this time he was recognized for his efforts by Steve Ballmer, who would later become Microsoft’s second CEO in 2000.

During Nadella’s career at Microsoft, his boyhood dream of becoming a professional cricket player continued to inspire him. His first rule is that whenever he feels intimidated, he knows it is time to compete. During a high school cricket game, he came up against several Herculean players from Australia. Nadella’s coach placed him right next to one of these burly Australians and told him to study his batting technique. It was a lesson to remember. Observing that this player had both strengths and weaknesses, Nadella decided to push his fear away and focus on competing alone. Nadella’s second guideline is to always put your team first. He learned that raw talent is vital, but if you’re not prepared to work with others, it’s not enough. The last rule of Nadella’s is to get to know your teammates and play to their strengths. In one game Nadella’s confidence was sagging when his bowling was below par. His captain wasn’t a great bowler himself, but he took charge and kept at it until he got a wicket. He handed the ball back to Nadella to give him the much-needed boost, and he went on to take further wickets. Applying these three rules to the world beyond the cricket field is a good…