Two articles in the same issue of “The Street” recently caught my eye. Both are about Microsoft, and both mention the layoff news that’s emerging as a result of the company’s annual re-organization.
The first, Microsoft Gets Rebooted Under Satya Nadella Here Are His Six Biggest Achievements, describes how many of Microsoft’s products were struggling in 2014, when Nadella became CEO. But then, during the course of just three years, Nadella dramatically increased market share and successfully transitioned the company to a cloud computing leader.
The second article, This Basically Explains Microsoft’s Fresh Round of Layoffs – It’s All About the Future of Computing, discusses this year’s round of anticipated layoffs in the context of Microsoft’s shift from legacy software applications to cloud services. It concludes that the anticipated layoffs are an essential part of the company’s new strategy, and speculates that the cuts will be followed by a round hiring, to add employees with cloud services skills.
I think that a large part of the reality of Nadella’s success has been due to his power to focus Microsoft as a business solutions company, not an “everything-that-moves” software company. This has required discipline both in the company’s strategy and in internal company management.
Nadella also has a different leadership style than former CEO Steve Ballmer. Ballmer’s approach was highly competitive – internal groups all competing for funds and recognition. Nadella, on the other hand, broke barriers internally at Microsoft – he sat down with the various groups and teams and got them working more collaboratively, focused on common goals.
At the end of the day, delivering on the promise of online applications and the cloud must have an impact on people. Microsoft’s fresh commitment and focus is ensuring that they can be a great partner, with a great product suite for customers, as well as a great opportunity for investors.