Chapter 13 — Tzimtzum of the Leader: How a Founder Makes Room Without Abandoning

Opening: The Man Who Replaced Microsoft's Operating System

When Satya Nadella stepped into the role of CEO of Microsoft in 2014, the company was a giant, profitable—and stuck. Microsoft's organizational DNA was written by Bill Gates. It was a brilliant but aggressive culture, terrifyingly competitive, which believed that intelligence was a religion and that the answers always lay with the smartest people in the room. Under Steve Ballmer, this system continued to generate cash, but the "know-it-all" culture transformed from an engine of innovation into a defense mechanism, and Microsoft missed out on mobile and the first cloud revolution.