Nadella at Microsoft is punctual, productive, and empowered

As I listen to Satya Nadella’s keynote address this week at the Microsoft #FutureUnleash event in Mumbai, I think about how well Microsoft’s new mission, “Empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more,” is written. This is exciting for two reasons: first, it demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to India, as this is Nadella’s second trip there since replacing Steve Ballmer last year; second, it is the largest event Microsoft has held in India in the 25 years it has been in business there. Third, the HR professional in me was very moved by his speech and the new mission. This is an HR mission in so many ways, empowering people to achieve more looks like a mission that an HR team could surely have.
Microsoft appears to have figured out how the workplace of the future will look and the tools, apps, and technologies that individuals, people leaders, and HR would want to use as the event unfolds. Nadella himself showed the audience a variety of Microsoft tools he uses, even showing them on an iPhone to show how they are all platform-independent. So cool.

I keep talking about how exciting our space in HR is and the more global giants get into workplace productivity and engagement, it reinforces that thought in my mind. People empowerment, productivity of individuals and teams, enabling collaboration and building products to facilitate that is happening.Microsoft revealed a series of new products yesterday at #Futureunleash and some exciting ones in HR too. Analytics for data is at your fingertips, with amazing visualization and a way to combine disparate data in a single searchable location (they claimed that you can even sync data saved in Excel sheets). From collaboration, recognition and communication platforms like Yammer, to using tools that we had used before in an integrated and social way – like OneNote and Sharepoint. Additionally, HCL, Tata Motors, and other businesses demonstrated how they are utilizing these products to increase employee engagement, document and share information among teams and individuals, and add predictability to performance and attrition. The changes around us have a significant impact on how we work and where we work. Nadella thinks about the world we live in now, where there is always a conflict between having infinite devices and data and having limited time and attention. Which is the most limited? Time is, he argues. It is time for organizations to enable individuals and teams to manage their time and attention the best possible way by leveraging access to best-in-class technology.