Satya Nadella redefines Productivity

19 November 2014

Steve Ballmer has the “Buy American” thoughts and mentality. He is the reason why executive employees of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were only allowed to use the phones produced by their own company. They were allowed to just have a peek of the rival phones.

However, this trend changed when Satya Nadella became the CEO of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). The executive members of the company were given the liberty to use whatever device they wanted. The executives were allowed to use the phones of the rival companies in public as well. This small change is actually very significant for the outlook of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).

The employees of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) will in this way be able to experience the advantages and disadvantages of rival phones and will be able to make a comparison between their own product and that of the rivals’. They will be able to evaluate the execution of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s software and applications on “foreign” devices. This is where the significance of Satya Nadella’s policy comes to light.

Earlier this month, Satya Nadella invited some reporters over for dinner at the Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) headquarters. He wanted to explain his new policy over long hours of meeting and discussions. According to the CEO, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) needs to clearly establish its identity. What makes the company unique? What does the company stand for? He said that productivity is what drives the use of technology for fulfilling the lives of the people and generating gains for organizations and companies.

Nadella understands that when people hear the word “productivity”, they will think about software that helps make one more efficient at work. He is hoping that people will consider the broad pitch that the company defines in a single word: productivity. Productivity in Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) means Cortana, Skype, Revolv and Xbox Fitness altogether! According to Nadella, the essence of his company is to give power to organizations and individuals so that they are able to make new things happen and get work done.

However, Nadella’s productivity mantra may not show the results that he expects. While he attempts to redefine and reposition the company, he may end up turning the customers against Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). Introduction of new tools to make work easier and better is not new – Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has done that since the beginning. It will take quite long for Nadella to make the people understand his new idea of “productivity”. People will not sit down and listen for that long.

The CEO, however, believes that his idea is authentic. He sat down and imagined a world without Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). That meant that the world will no longer have a company that produced useful, efficient and PRODUCTIVE tools. Because Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) trades devices while Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is involved in data management and advertisement. The tool-maker is Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). This is why he believes that his company will own the idea of productivity instead of dropping it.