Satya Nadella, the new CEO of Microsoft is a man who will take over one of the world’s largest and most influential corporate organisations. It is heartening to learn that one of the most important business lessons he learned came through sport.
In an interview with the Deccan Chronicle in India last summer he revealed that in his youth he was bowling in a match for his school cricket team. Things were not going great until his captain walked over and took the ball from him. ‘Let me have a go for one over’, he said before bowling six balls that were near perfect in line and length and got the team the breakthrough they needed.
At the end of the over he walked back to Nadella and handed him back the ball. He went on to complete the job and the lesson of when and how to intervene either when things are going badly or even just bumping along is one that he says has stayed with him through his career.
Microsoft has become increasingly involved in the world of sport and stories like this are likely to inspire team leaders and managers throughout the company to look towards sport as a means to teach, lead and inspire.
There are solid business reasons behind the company involvement through Microsoft Dynamics in Formula One and windows tablet sytems with the British and Irish Lions last summer when players were each given a device with which to work and play on tour.
The biggest investment though has been in NFL. A deal was announced worth $500 million on the same day as the X Box One game console was launched last year and throughout the season just ended players were able to watch and get involved in social and fantasy games through their home entertainment systems.
It is believed that next season will see players and coaches dropping their ‘playbook’ on reams of paper and using surface tablets on the side of the pitch instead.
Fans may ask at first what they are doing with their iPad but over time the message will get out that this is not an Apple but a Microsoft initiative and the hope is that if it is good enough for the world of professional sport, that the same will be true for leisure and business.
It wil be interesting to watch as Microsoft develops its relationship with sport.
