New Delhi: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, an ardent cricket fan who was picked to lead the $85-billion software giant three years ago, likens his leadership style to that of Sourav Ganguly.
Nadella, who was in India on a two-day swing-by to promote his book Hit Refresh, which melds the story of his personal growth with the transformation of the gigantic corporation after his fairytale rise to the top, says: "I am obsessed with cricket. No matter where I am, this beautiful game is always in the back of my mind."
That is one of the reasons why the book draws heavily on leadership lessons drawn from playing cricket at the prestigious Hyderabad Public School that boasts an illustrious alumni including Ajay Banga of Mastercard, Prem Watsa of Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.
In fact, Nadella says in his book that he was playing with a Kookaburra ball when he learnt that he would become the "unlikely CEO" to succeed Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer as only the third CEO in the 40-year history of the software company.
"Cricket shaped my leadership style," Nadella says in the book.
It is, therefore, natural to pop the question at a roundtable with select journalists: which Indian captain from Nari Contractor down to Virat Kohli best exemplifies the Microsoft chief executive's style of leadership.
"Sourav Ganguly," is the prompt reply, whom he describes as "the unlikely captain from West Bengal" - just as he was the surprise choice to helm Microsoft.
Nadella believes that Ganguly broke the old cultural construct of Indian cricket.
"That was the first time when I saw somebody bet on kids from Uttar Pradesh.... Dhoni also came up around that time.... I am a big believer in people like that who, not because of their individual achievement on the field, have fundamentally brought about a broader change which has now come to the fore," he said.
"When you see somebody like Umesh Yadav make it into the Indian team, when you see people from every state making it on merit, (you wonder) how did that happen? Because (until Ganguly arrived) it was a system that was about the metropolis and maybe five-six states that essentially controlled Indian cricket. I don't that is the case anymore."
Nadella, who has steered Microsoft out of its Windows-centric universe and now believes he is on course to create its own $20-billion cloud business that could potentially knock Amazon off its perch, has tried to bring a similar cultural transformation within Microsoft based on diversity and inclusion, with the focus on team playing rather than individual brilliance. "In the world of technology, there is so much of self-celebration that it makes me sick," he added.
There were three critical elements that were part of this cultural transformation: first, to get the Microsoft employees to start obsessing about customers; second, to actively seek diversity and inclusion; and third to break fiefs.
The Microsoft chief believes that one of the great things that has happened is the "democratisation of Indian cricket" - which resonates with his ideas of the direction that he wants the Redmond-based company to take.
"I recently learnt that the guy who made his debut in the recent IPL league came from a neighbourhood in the vicinity of the place where I grew up in Hyderabad. He (Mohammed Siraj) was the son of an auto-rickshaw driver. When I read that, I thought this is amazing. When you think of the Hyderabadis who made it into test cricket in the era when I grew up in, there were the nawabs (Tiger Pataudi), there was the nawab's cousin (Saad bin Jung, who played for Hyderabad and was a schoolmate)... and now things have changed."
Advent of AI
The Microsoft chief believes that artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will open the new technology frontiers.
In his book The Prize, Daniel Yergin chronicles the 20th century obsession among governments and corporations to secure mastery over oil and the wealth benefits that flowed from exploitation of fossil fuels. So, will the 21st century mark a similar obsession with AI?
"People say data is the new oil. And that is why I do believe that it is super important for countries, organizations and even individuals to recognise that natural resource is both valuable and scarce. So, the question is how do you create a surplus from the natural resources? Perhaps we will create more wealth and ensure it is more well spread out than the benefits of oil were. That indeed will be the story of our times," Nadella adds.
AI, he believes, will provide great benefits in countries like India which are starting from a very low base of innovation. One ought not to cringe with fear because of the uncertainties that AI and robotics could usher in.
"If we overstate the challenges, we don't get value on the opportunity," he says, adding that Microsoft is already involved in several projects where the payoffs will be huge.
"Let's take handlooms. I had not realized that one of the scarce commodities in order to drive up productivity in the handloom sector was actual design. The master weavers are in scarce supply. When he attempts a new design, he starts with a graphic and then he tries to get it out. It's a slow, laborious process. We have this bot called Ruuh (which stands for soul). What it does is that it dips into a database of traditional craftsmanship and creates novel designs. We are working (on a project) with handloom weavers very close to Hyderabad and helping them create novel designs."
There are other examples where AI has started having a huge impact. "Take eye surgery. We are working with LV Prasad eye clinics to help early detection of cataract patients. We are creating a database from older eye surgeries to help patients and doctors find early solutions to problems," he adds.
Capitalism
The Microsoft chief says he is still a little bemused with the whole Naxalbari movement which had left a profound impact on him after he saw the dead bodies of two teachers as a kid in a strife-torn district where his father was a district collector.
He also has no special feelings about the Bolshevik Revolution on its 100th anniversary.
"Instead of holding on to some dogma from a 19th century German today, what if we can interpret what he said but absolutely in the modern context? That is what the struggle is in all our different democracies. That is an area where I am keenly interested," he added.
He strongly believes that the model of capitalism that the US has followed since the Second World War has worked very well.
"What is capitalism? At its core, it is the ability to more efficiently allocate resources so that they can create more surpluses.... When I came to the United States, the first thing that stunned me was what an equitable society it has been, especially after the Second World War.
"The real greatness of the US is that never in human history have so many people achieved so much prosperity as the United States after the Second World War. What was the leadership and what were the systems that led to that level? Clearly, it was not socialism. But it was a form of capitalism that actually worked for an increasing number of people, rather than few. So, that is what I believe is the right model."
