Learning from Microsoft

by | Mar 8, 2019

by Ben Hess, Managing Director, ThirdPool Recruiting

If you’re a real estate leader, it might benefit you to become a student of Satya Nadella.

Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014 and has architected a remarkable turnaround of this seemingly “old school” technology company.

Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but Microsoft quietly became the most valuable company in the world a few months ago topping Amazon, Google, and Apple.

If you’d like to initiate some self-study, here are a few articles to get you started:

Forbes / Wall Street Journal / Quartz (requires a subscription)

I believe his story is relevant because the real estate industry is being bombarded by new companies who are touting seductive technologies.

Nadella’s story contains many lessons on how to compete successfully when the sirens are singing.

Here is a bit of wisdom from Nadella to start your weekend:

“One of the things that I am grounded on—and any company that has had a lot of success will ultimately go through—is that there’s no such thing as a perpetual-motion machine.

Everything has a beginning and an end. And then you have large franchises that have run out of steam. To reinvent yourself is hard work.”

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