I salute this Brilliant Indian from Hyderabad..........!

A Vision Statement of an Amazing Indian who surges ahead to create

 a “Cloud-first World”……..Satya Nadella

Satya Nadella email to employees on first day as CEO

Feb. 04, 2014

From: Satya Nadella
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: RE: Satya Nadella – Microsoft’s New CEO

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.

It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.

While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.

As we start a new phase of our journey together, I wanted to share some background on myself and what inspires and motivates me.

Who am I?

I am 46. I’ve been married for 22 years and we have 3 kids. And like anyone else, a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences. Many who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning. I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me.

Why am I here?

I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft — to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. I know it can sound hyperbolic — and yet it’s true. We have done it, we’re doing it today, and we are the team that will do it again.

I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize — many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.

This is a software-powered world.

It will better connect us to our friends and families and help us see, express, and share our world in ways never before possible. It will enable businesses to engage customers in more meaningful ways.

I am here because we have unparalleled capability to make an impact.

Why are we here?

In our early history, our mission was about the PC on every desk and home, a goal we have mostly achieved in the developed world. Today we’re focused on a broader range of devices. While the deal is not yet complete, we will welcome to our family Nokia devices and services and the new mobile capabilities they bring us.

As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things.

We are the only ones who can harness the power of software and deliver it through devices and services that truly empower every individual and every organization. We are the only company with history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity.

Qi Lu captured it well in a recent meeting when he said that Microsoft uniquely empowers people to "do more." This doesn’t mean that we need to do more things, but that the work we do empowers the world to do more of what they care about — get stuff done, have fun, communicate and accomplish great things. This is the core of who we are, and driving this core value in all that we do — be it the cloud or device experiences — is why we are here.

What do we do next?

To paraphrase a quote from Oscar Wilde — we need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable.

This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to “do more.” We have picked a set of high-value activities as part of our One Microsoft strategy. And with every service and device launch going forward we need to bring more innovation to bear around these scenarios.

Next, every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this.

Finally, I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it's not just work, but something that will improve other people's lives. This is the opportunity that drives each of us at this company.

Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can’t ask for a better foundation.

Let’s build on this foundation together.

Satya

“Aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources and perseverance. ”……..Satya Nadella

 "I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career, "………Satya Nadella.

Source:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2014/feb14/02-04mail2.aspx

Wisdom from leaders!

“Leading Lights” is published in the Empower session of The Hindu on Wednesday’s. I am attempting to repost the quotes for ready reference.

Mastery in work and in life is about committing yourself to being excellent in everything you do, no matter how small and no matter if no one is watching. Do you practice excellence in your most private moments?.......... Robin Sharma 

The deeper your relationship with others, the more effective will be your leadership. People will not follow you if they do not trust you, and before someone will lend you a hand, you must first touch their heart……Robin Sharma 

To help others develop, start with yourself. …………Marshall Goldsmith 

Character creates consistency, and if your people know what they can expect from you, they will continue to look to you for leadership……John Maxwell 

Take the emotional temperature of those listening to you. Facial expressions, voice inflection and posture give clues to a person’s mood and attitude…..JohnMaxwell 

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way………John Maxwell 

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position…..John Maxwell 

Earn the right to be heard by listening to others. Seek to understand a situation before making judgments about it………… John Maxwell 

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes………..Peter Drucker 

No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings…….Peter Drucker

Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't…….. Peter Drucker

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people…..MohandasGandhi

Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve………TomLandry 

Power consists in one’s capacity to link his will with the purpose of others, leading by reason and a gift of cooperation……..Thomas Woodrow Wilson 

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out……….StephenCovey 

In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do………StephenCovey 

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall…………..Stephen R. Covey

Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary……….WarrenG. Bennis 

Power flows to the man who knows how. Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them…………Elbert Hubbard

 

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership………..Nelson Mandela 

I’ve never found an important decision made by a great organization that was made at a point of unanimity. Significant decisions carry risks and inevitably some will oppose it. In these settings, the great legislative leader must be artful in handling uncomfortable decisions, and this requires rigor……..Jim Collins 

Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business…………Mark Sanborn 

Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish…………SamWalton 

You do not lead by hitting people over the head — that’s assault, not leadership……… DwightD. Eisenhower 

The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people……….Woodrow Wilson

Power consists in one’s capacity to link his will with the purpose of others, leading by reason and a gift of cooperation…….ThomasWoodrow Wilson.

A real leader has the ability to motivate others to their highest level of achievement; then gives them the opportunity and the freedom to grow…….Buck Rodgers 

Feedback is the breakfast of champions……….Ken Blanchard 

There’s something unique and different that makes a leader, and it’s not about creativity or courage or integrity…. A leader’s job is to rally people toward a better future………….MarcusBuckingham 

The only real training for leadership is leadership…………..Anthony Jay 

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other……. John F. Kennedy

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet……….TheodoreM. Hesburgh 

Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery………Warren G.Bennis 

Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great………Ralph Waldo Emerson 

You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader…….Anthony D’Angelo 

One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognize and to develop talent in others………..Frank Tyger 

If you wish others to believe in you, you must first convince them that you believe in them………Harvey Mackay 

No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it……….AndrewCarnegie 

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better…….Jim Rohn 

Vision comes alive when everyone sees where his or her contribution makes a difference…….Ken Blanchard 

Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do. Because then they will act……..Jack Welch 

It is hard to look up to a leader who keeps his ear to the ground……James Boren 

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led…..Warren G. Bennis 

Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary. ………WarrenG. Bennis 

Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better…….Bill Bradley 

A leader certainly needs a clear vision of the organisation and where it is going, but a vision is of little value unless it is shared in a way so as to generate enthusiasm and commitment. Leadership and communication are inseparable…..Claude Taylor 

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit……Arnold Glasgow 

The price of greatness is responsibility……..Winston Churchill 

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them………GeneralColin Powell 

A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline….Harvey Mackay 

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be……..Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

Leaders don’t create followers; they create more leaders……Tom Peters 

The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity………TomPeters 

 

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great…….John D. Rockefeller 

If someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of encouragement, extraordinary things begin to happen…….Loretta Girzartis

Ask your team, they know the answer…..Chuck Carlson 

There are some people that live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who have a plan to make one into the other. ………Douglas Everett 

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd…………… Max Lucado

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader………..John Quincy Adams

Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led………. Ross Perot

Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position………..Brian Tracy

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say we did it ourselves……….. Lao Tzu

Satisfaction does not come with achievement, but with effort. Full effort is full victory……….. Mahatma Gandhi

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower……… Steve Jobs

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet………Theodore M. Hesburgh

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other…… John F. Kennedy

When the creative impulse sweeps over you grab it. You grab it and honor it and use it , because momentum is a rare gift.....Justina Chen

The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just......Abraham Lincoln

Optimists enrich the present, enhance the future, challenge the improbable and attain the impossible......William Arthur  Ward


We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents .........Eric Hoffer


It is (often) the quiet gesture which carries themost significance ---- the one which suddenly directs the symphony........Mary Anne Radmacher

When you give appreciation in order to get something -- its manipultion and perole sense it. Appreciate genuinely ......Marilyn Suttle

You say I started out with practically nothing, but it isn't correct. We all start with all there is , it's how we use it that makes things possible......Henry Ford.

Every day is a journey filled with twists and turns. Every day, if you smile, you will feel alive. my son......Santosh Kalwar
 
Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy....General H Norman Schwarzkopf

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.....Theodore Roosevelt

Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end.......Immanuel Kant

Because a thing seems difficult for you , do not think it is impossible for anyone to accomplish.......Marcus Aurelius

It is never too late to be who you might have been........George Eliot

If you ar the master, be sometimes blind; if you are the servant, be sometimes deaf.....R Buckminster Fuller

The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people  through work....Agha hasan Abedi

Good Management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.....John Fockefeller

If the career you have chosen has some unexpected inconvenience, console yourself by reflecting that no career is without them.....Jane Fonda

If you don't wake up in the morning excited to pick up where you left your work yesterday ,you have not found your calling yet.....Mike Wallace

Think big and don't listen to people who tell you it cant be done...Life is too short to think small.....Tim Ferriss

Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.......Confucious

A good manager is a man who is not worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him...H S M Burns

A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke her resents.....Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it: the tree is the real thing......Abraham Lincoln  

The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make not decision and escape all responsibility....... Brooks Atkinson 

Designing your product for monetisation first and people second will probably leave you with neither........Tara Hunt

Good design can't fix broken business models........Jeffrey Veen

Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Lets love turbulence and use it for change....Ramsay Clark

In the field of observation chance favors only the prepared mind....Louis Pasteur.