#18 Hit Refresh
It's summer of 2019. I just came back from my 1 month holiday in Indonesia and during my stay, I realized there weren't so much things to do. If you live in Indonesia (especially Surabaya) and you want to hang out with your friends, chances are you go to mall. While it's true that there are some new mall(s), I found them the same. Plus most of my friends had already started a new term in university and so finding time when everyone can hang out together was basically impossible.
Thankfully, I brought my Kindle with me so naturally I began looking for a good book to kill time. At the same time, I watched a video on Youtube in which the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, tells you about his daily schedule. I found it quite alluring and I wondered whether this guy has ever written a book or not. And yes, he has.
You know what, for some reason, you can find it extremely cheap in Amazon (102 JPY or 0.95 USD). I doubt its quality initially since I believe a good book can't be cheap and a cheap book can't be good. But it's just 102 JPY, right? There is nothing to lose, my friend.
As the title suggests, this book is more about how he changed Microsoft. Don't expect touching story of his childhood that will make you sob. While that kind of story is certainly written, it's clear that the focus is not there. In my opinion, this book is not here to inspire you, it's here to tell you how Microsoft shifted from being stagnant to being relevant once again.
For you who probably have no idea who Satya is, I will give you an overview. He was born in India and he stayed there until receiving a bachelor degree in electrical engineering. After that, he traveled to US to study for his master. Before joining Microsoft, he worked at Sun Microsystem. In 2014, he was chosen to be the new CEO of Microsoft replacing Steve Balmer.
This guy is the reason why Microsoft becomes the way it is. Have you ever wondered why Microsoft seemingly "disappeared" before "reappearing" again? From what I read, in the past, Microsoft didn't even consider working together with their enemies (the other operating system like Mac OS or even Android). The proof? Remember Lumia? That was Microsoft attempt to face Android and iOS and yet it failed miserably. The world has changed and people want to work wherever they want and with whatever they want, not just with a PC. However, after Satya became the CEO, from day one he stated that the world is about cloud first, mobile first. And by that, Microsoft became less obsessed with Windows. Now, Microsoft extends their service to every operating system. You have Mac OS? No problem. You still can download and use Office. And if you need a cloud storage, Office 365 is here for you. It's not always about Office, Microsoft also has Microsoft Azure. I, personally, have never used Azure so I can't tell you much about it, but it's technically a cloud computing service which helps you make your business even better. See...?? This wasn't possible if Microsoft stayed the same.
After reading this book, there is 2 things that particularly stay in my mind.
The keyword is empathy. Empathy helps you to stay relevant. I forgot what he said exactly but it goes like this.. With empathy, you are able to understand the others from your own frame of reference and if you make a product, understanding leads to better products. It's also the spirit of developing Microsoft Azure. It empowers businesses all over the world, hoping to make world a better place. He also tells some story how Microsoft (or technology in general) enables people to do what they couldn't. I want to be an engineer myself and stories like this never fail to amaze me.
The other story is about privacy. Do you remember when Apple was asked to open a terrorist's iPhone and yet they refused? I read the news and I couldn't come up with an answer. I know terrorism should be eradicated but if I were in Apple's position, opening someone's iPhone also risks my clients' personal information. It was such a morally confusing case (at least for me). This book dedicates a chapter to explain all of this. It was all about laws and complicated stuff so I couldn't fully keep up with it. However, I believe he mentioned that a new, more relevant law is needed to govern this digital-based society.
Overall, this is a pretty good book. I learned new things from it. There is so much more written in the book like how Satya changed the culture inside Microsoft, the development of Hololens, etc. I won't go into detail about those. If you're not into technology or heavy stuff, this book is not your cup of tea. But hey you know what, for the price, it really is worth it and you should definitely check it out lol. My complain is that I wish it is a little longerrr (?)
Rating: 8/10
Thankfully, I brought my Kindle with me so naturally I began looking for a good book to kill time. At the same time, I watched a video on Youtube in which the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, tells you about his daily schedule. I found it quite alluring and I wondered whether this guy has ever written a book or not. And yes, he has.
You know what, for some reason, you can find it extremely cheap in Amazon (102 JPY or 0.95 USD). I doubt its quality initially since I believe a good book can't be cheap and a cheap book can't be good. But it's just 102 JPY, right? There is nothing to lose, my friend.
As the title suggests, this book is more about how he changed Microsoft. Don't expect touching story of his childhood that will make you sob. While that kind of story is certainly written, it's clear that the focus is not there. In my opinion, this book is not here to inspire you, it's here to tell you how Microsoft shifted from being stagnant to being relevant once again.
For you who probably have no idea who Satya is, I will give you an overview. He was born in India and he stayed there until receiving a bachelor degree in electrical engineering. After that, he traveled to US to study for his master. Before joining Microsoft, he worked at Sun Microsystem. In 2014, he was chosen to be the new CEO of Microsoft replacing Steve Balmer.
This guy is the reason why Microsoft becomes the way it is. Have you ever wondered why Microsoft seemingly "disappeared" before "reappearing" again? From what I read, in the past, Microsoft didn't even consider working together with their enemies (the other operating system like Mac OS or even Android). The proof? Remember Lumia? That was Microsoft attempt to face Android and iOS and yet it failed miserably. The world has changed and people want to work wherever they want and with whatever they want, not just with a PC. However, after Satya became the CEO, from day one he stated that the world is about cloud first, mobile first. And by that, Microsoft became less obsessed with Windows. Now, Microsoft extends their service to every operating system. You have Mac OS? No problem. You still can download and use Office. And if you need a cloud storage, Office 365 is here for you. It's not always about Office, Microsoft also has Microsoft Azure. I, personally, have never used Azure so I can't tell you much about it, but it's technically a cloud computing service which helps you make your business even better. See...?? This wasn't possible if Microsoft stayed the same.
After reading this book, there is 2 things that particularly stay in my mind.
The keyword is empathy. Empathy helps you to stay relevant. I forgot what he said exactly but it goes like this.. With empathy, you are able to understand the others from your own frame of reference and if you make a product, understanding leads to better products. It's also the spirit of developing Microsoft Azure. It empowers businesses all over the world, hoping to make world a better place. He also tells some story how Microsoft (or technology in general) enables people to do what they couldn't. I want to be an engineer myself and stories like this never fail to amaze me.
The other story is about privacy. Do you remember when Apple was asked to open a terrorist's iPhone and yet they refused? I read the news and I couldn't come up with an answer. I know terrorism should be eradicated but if I were in Apple's position, opening someone's iPhone also risks my clients' personal information. It was such a morally confusing case (at least for me). This book dedicates a chapter to explain all of this. It was all about laws and complicated stuff so I couldn't fully keep up with it. However, I believe he mentioned that a new, more relevant law is needed to govern this digital-based society.
Overall, this is a pretty good book. I learned new things from it. There is so much more written in the book like how Satya changed the culture inside Microsoft, the development of Hololens, etc. I won't go into detail about those. If you're not into technology or heavy stuff, this book is not your cup of tea. But hey you know what, for the price, it really is worth it and you should definitely check it out lol. My complain is that I wish it is a little longerrr (?)
Rating: 8/10
thanks for updating your blog, its really help me
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