BE BOLD AND BE RIGHT. On the surface, these five words seem very simple, even obvious, for a person holding a leadership position. But digging down, they define leadership. When Microsoft’s former CEO, Steve Ballmer, passed these golden words of wisdom to Satya Nadella, he wasn’t just offering advice but handing over the key to steering one of the world’s most influential tech companies. 

For Microsoft CEO Nadella, being bold means putting the job of a large number of employees at risk, saving huge investments from loss while making reckless decisions, and pushing the boundaries for innovation and advancements. At the same time, to be right requires excessive brainstorming, strategic planning, and turning vision into reality by following the right direction.

Nadella Took Bold and Right Steps 

When Nadella took charge of Microsoft’s first cloud business, Steve Ballmer warned there would be ‘no parachute’ if Nadella failed. He was right then, and he is right now. Every step of Nadella counts for the company and millions of people associated with it as employees or as customers. 

Ever since Satya Nadella took the position of Microsoft CEO, the company’s stock soared by more than 1000%, taking its market value to more than $3 trillion. This transformation did not happen overnight, but it took years of bold decisions in the right direction. Nadella entered the company into the cloud business and AI technology, which was a bold decision at the time he took it. It took years of small steps in the right direction to make this decision profit-making for the company and investors.

Microsoft’s investment in Azure and Partnership with OpenAI 

In 2014, the CEO shared his vision that a tech company only grows with innovation, and in more than eleven years, Nadella has been investing in innovative ideas, a bold move with the right strategy. His investment in Azure and Partnership with OpenAI was undoubtedly a masterstroke, as Raimo Lenschew, a stock analyst at Barclay, explained, 

 “So the fact that he [Nadella] got OpenAI to commit to Azure was an amazing masterstroke … it gives him a massive, competitive advantage over Google and Amazon.”