Satya Nadell's first letter to the employees of Microsoft as CEO.

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.

It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I've been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I've asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I'm also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.

While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition - it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places - as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.

As we start a new phase of our journey together, I wanted to share some background on myself and what inspires and motivates me.

Who am I?

I am 46. I've been married for 22 years and we have 3 kids. And like anyone else, a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences. Many who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning. I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me.

Why am I here?

I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft - to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. I know it can sound hyperbolic - and yet it's true. We have done it, we're doing it today, and we are the team that will do it again.

I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize - many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.

This is a software-powered world.

It will better connect us to our friends and families and help us see, express, and share our world in ways never before possible. It will enable businesses to engage customers in more meaningful ways.

I am here because we have unparalleled capability to make an impact.

Why are we here?

In our early history, our mission was about the PC on every desk and home, a goal we have mostly achieved in the developed world. Today we're focused on a broader range of devices. While the deal is not yet complete, we will welcome to our family Nokia devices and services and the new mobile capabilities they bring us.

As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things.

We are the only ones who can harness the power of software and deliver it through devices and services that truly empower every individual and every organization. We are the only company with history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity.

Qi Lu captured it well in a recent meeting when he said that Microsoft uniquely empowers people to "do more." This doesn't mean that we need to do more things, but that the work we do empowers the world to do more of what they care about - get stuff done, have fun, communicate and accomplish great things. This is the core of who we are, and driving this core value in all that we do - be it the cloud or device experiences - is why we are here.

What do we do next?

To paraphrase a quote from Oscar Wilde - we need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable.

This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to "do more." We have picked a set of high-value activities as part of our One Microsoft strategy. And with every service and device launch going forward we need to bring more innovation to bear around these scenarios.

Next, every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this.

Finally, I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it's not just work, but something that will improve other people's lives. This is the opportunity that drives each of us at this company.

Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can't ask for a better foundation.

Let's build on this foundation together.

Satya

-Yogesh Babu
(www.fb.com/yogesh87)

That moment when a part of your past disappears

Today, I am writing with a heavy heart. So heavy that it cannot be explained with the English language. Or any other language for that matter.

Why? I lost four of my family members in a freak fire accident on the 9th of October. They were on their way back from Thirupathi. That day I wondered, is there God? Is there?

My dad's brother Satyanarayana who was 52, his wife Mahalakshmi who was 45, and their children, Prashanth Kumar who was 26 and Deepa Mala who was 25 were the victims. We lived in the same (big) house from the day I was born till I turned 14. It was "one big happy family". And now they are no more.

Prashanth and I were like twins. He was born five days before me. We took our first steps together, probably said our first words together, did all the stupid things kids do for the first time together, And then some. We had each others back. No matter what the situation. It was an unclassifiable vow. We never said it to each other. Not even once but I knew that "Prashanth was there for me" and I was for him.

Golden moments are one too many with Prashanth. Still remember when we walked back home from school. Ten kilometers we walked and walked fearlessly only to come home to see our parents freaked out as they thought we got kidnapped or something. We got "PLASTERED" that day. That day did not go very well.

L-R - Me (Yogesh) and Prashanth - NOTE: We're wearing the same thing.

He was crazy about cricket. To this date, I have not met a single person who is as mad about cricket as he was. Honestly, he had the potential to make it big. He took his cricket so seriously that I remember him bunking classes in school to watch different batting strokes "in the nets". Today, I saw the news and it said that Sachin Tendulkar is going to retire from all forms of cricket within the next fortnight and I thought to myself "If Prashanth was here to see it, he would've cried like a baby to watch the legend retire".

L-R - Still wearing the same thing - Prashanth and Me (Yogesh) while Deepa overlooking- HAPPY TIMES

Deepa was my younger sister. I cannot count the number of pranks we've played on her and she would fall for all of them over and over again. Like how people "suck" on their thumbs while asleep, Deepa had the habit of putting both her ring finger and middle finger in her mouth while asleep. A habit which our parents struggled to get rid off. They tried every trick in the book to do away with that habit but couldn't. Finally, after a considerable amount of time, it passed. And I must say, everyone was happy.

Deepa was the "cry-baby" amongst us. No food, she would cry. No hot water, she would cry. No cold water, she would cry. No electricity, she would cry. Homework not done, she would cry. Homework done, she would cry. Yes, that is how much she cried.

I remember the day when she wanted to use lipstick and ended up painting her complete face red. Needless to say, our mothers laughed till they dropped to the floor looking at her while Deepa had no clue what was going on. Today, she was on her way to become a fashion designer. I know she would've done well. It was a skill she gained the day she picked up the lipstick twenty years ago. Jaws dropped then, jaws would've dropped again. Only this time, she would've been awesome in the acceptable way.


My Uncle and Aunt- They raised me as much as my own parents did. They loved me truly. When my parents would "ground" me, I would run to them for support and without a second thought, I would get it. "Bad mummy... Mummy is bad" I would say to her and she would console me.

"My favorite son", that is how my uncle would describe me to everyone. There had been times when Prashanth has felt bad for it but his dad did not stop referring to me like that. My Aunt was known to have the laugh of a lifetime by looking at Prashanth and me upto our mischief be it playing a prank on Deepa or dismantling the newest most expensive toy to bits and not knowing how to put it back together. I still remember they way they looked at me, carried me around, fed me, cared for me and consoled me when I needed it the most.

Over the years, although a lot of bad blood had piled on due to issues unimportant at the moment, I loved them and respected them from the bottom of my heart. I wish I had told them that.

Clockwise - Me teaching Deepa how to balance on a cycle that is already balanced,  Joint family batch 1, Prashanth and Me (Twins mode), Prashanth and Me out of the shower.(Prashanth and Me still wearing/not wearing the SAME THING)

I was going through my childhood snaps today. One thing was very clear. EVERY SINGLE snap had one of them. EVERY ONE. Now that is saying something.

I close my eyes to "see" them. The good times and bad. From the moments we fought to buy our first bicycles to when we (Prashanth and I) drank whiskey off the bottle and spoke about how our future will be and how different we'll make it. It was pure gold.

It hurts me that I need to come to terms that they are no more. It's like a part of my childhood was taken away in a flash.

Life is unfair, I've heard. Now I know.

Rest in Peace Prashanth, Deepa and family. When its my time to meet you, I sure hope you're at the gates waiting for me.

-Yogesh Babu

(www.fb.com/yogesh87)