With Just 5 Words, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Taught a Lesson for Every Leader

Remaining week, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella published his annual letter on LinkedIn. It’s a lengthy read—bigger than 4,500 words—and it’s largely about how AI is changing how we spend technology, and what that methodology for Microsoft.

There’s plenty there. In the end, Nadella has known as the emergence of AI “as principal as the PC modified into once to the ‘80s, the bag within the ‘90s, cellular within the 2000s, cloud within the 2010s.” Microsoft has rather mighty guess your entire company on the premise that AI often is the foremost contrivance folk interact with computers, and it makes sense that Nadella would employ quite loads of time speaking about that shift.

As I read thru it, I saved returning to 5 words reasonably bigger than halfway by which would be worth a more in-depth peep. I would argue they are the largest words to your entire letter and attend as a lesson for every chief.

Below the ask “How will we invent trust?” Nadella writes:

“We detect that trust is earned, now not given. And we dwell dedicated to incomes trust on daily basis, spanning cybersecurity, honest AI, privacy, and digital security.”

I will’t judge of a more relevant lesson within the “age of AI,” as Nadella calls it, than the premise that “trust is earned, now not given.” Lawful now, every big tech company is attempting to integrate generative AI into their merchandise, even supposing most folk accrued judge of it basically as a gimmick. ChatGPT is relaxing, but it’s now not the foremost computing interface for anyone. One amongst the largest reasons is that of us don’t trust

There are pretty about a reasons, now not the least of which is that of us possess a unfamiliar feeling regarding the premise that these fashions had been trained by slurping up the total thing of the bag, with out providing any worth assist to anyone who could well perhaps perhaps possess created that pronounce. Then there’s the truth that all of us know that AI has the aptitude to surpass our skill to tag or control it, which is a thing AI companies acknowledge but proceed pressing in direction of anyway.

Furthermore, there’s the truth that chatbots moral invent stuff up. It’s arduous to rely on a skill of interacting with computers that isn’t in actuality, correctly, first price.

For Microsoft, the total thing is subtle. On the one hand, Microsoft is playing a principal operate in bringing generative AI to companies and consumers. On the opposite hand, it is some distance cashing in quite loads of its popularity to invent all of it happen.

Nadella’s five words are a in actuality main lesson for leaders to endure in mind. I’ve stated time and again that trust is your most priceless asset. It’s the motive folk will purchase your product. It’s the motive they come up with their non-public knowledge. At its simplest level, it’s the motive they’re exciting to put their credit ranking card knowledge correct into a manufacture on your web space.

The point is that now not most exciting need to you now not elevate it as a right, but trust is an asset that requires a astronomical amount of work to invent and preserve. It’s also worth noting that trust is also incredibly fragile. It’s easy to lose when something goes unsafe, and—with AI—there are moral so many issues that could well perhaps dart unsafe.

Even need to you’re Microsoft, you don’t catch trust moral due to you’re one among the largest companies on the planet. You can need to invent it. In the end, that’s actual for nearly every change, even need to you’re now not attempting to invent the following computing platform. That’s why these five words are this kind of in actuality main lesson for every chief.