Hit Refresh

Microsoft's CEO tells the inside story of the company's continuing transformation, while tracing his own journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant changes of the digital era and offering his vision for the coming wave of intelligent technologies.

Hit Refresh is about individual change, the transformation happening inside Microsoft, and the arrival of the most exciting and disruptive wave of technology humankind has experienced – including artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and quantum computing. It examines how people, organisations, and societies can and must transform, how they must ‘hit refresh' in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, and continued relevance and renewal. Yet at its core, it's about humans and how one of our essential qualities – empathy – will become ever more valuable in a world where technological advancement will alter the status quo as never before.

In addition to his thoughts on these stunning scientific leaps, Satya Nadella discusses his fascinating childhood before immigrating to the U.S. and how he learned to lead along the way. He then shares his meditations as sitting CEO – one who is mostly unknown following the brainy Bill Gates and energetic Steve Ballmer. He explains how the company rediscovered its soul – transforming everything from its culture to its business partnerships to the fiercely competitive landscape of the industry itself. Nadella concludes by introducing an equation to restore digital trust, ethical design principles, and economic growth for everyone.

‘Ideas excite me,' Nadella explains. ‘Empathy grounds and centres me.' A series of recommendations presented as algorithms, Hit Refresh is an astute contemplation of what lies ahead from a conscientious, deliberative leader searching for improvement – for himself, for a storied company, and for society.

About the Author

Satya Nadella is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Before being named CEO on February 4, 2014, he held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Washington. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. Nadella serves on the board of trustees to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He is married and has three children.