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> Today is a very humbling day for me. The first sentence of the email, statement that seems entirely appropriate given the circumstances. Nonetheless, I find

> Today is a very humbling day for me. The first sentence of the email, statement that seems entirely appropriate given the circumstances. Nonetheless, I find it curious that we expect people who reach the highest levels of accomplishment to describe those accomplishments as humbling. It seems natural to us for someone promoted to the heights of their profession, such as Satya Nadella in this case, or the winner of a Nobel prize or an academy award, for example, to describe the accomplishment as "humbling", when logically speaking it should be anything but. Is such a statement part of a defense mechanism against egotism that prevents the honored individual from loosing the discipline that allowed them to excel in the first place? Is it an attempt to say, "this doesn't change me, I am still who I was before"? Is it just a manipulation, a defense against envy and derision, an attempt to reduce the motivation of others to "take them down a notch"? Or is it something else? Without thinking about it too deeply, it seems right to read that Satya Nadella is humbled to become one of the most powerful corporate executives in the world, but why? And is it correct?

sjg007 13y ago
It is humbling because you are elected by a group of your peers to lead. It also gives implicit credit to all the people that helped make him successful. Leadership is not zero sum and it doesn't follow specific rules. If anything the rules of promotion are codified by practice and not necessarily logical and prescribed but in general most people aspire to be fair and merit based.
- TheCraiggers 13y ago
  > It is humbling because you are essentially elected by a group of your peers to lead. I don't understand this. It would be more humbling if, being at the top of your game and fully expecting to get the job, you were turned down for the CEO position. Or they demote you to a lower position. /That/ would be humbling. You're humlbed when you suddenly are forced to re-evaluate your self-worth after it's made clear it doesn't match the real-world scenario, not when you reach the top or reaffirm your position.
  - ne0codex 13y ago
    This is a very trivial thing to focus on in the context of Nadella's letter. What exactly is your point? It's also a poor statement to chose for psycho-analysing and judging Nadella's character.
  - gaius 13y ago
    You're mixing humbling and humiliating.
merry-year 13y ago
> Today is a very humbling day for me. When I read that I knew this guy would fail as MS CEO. It's a proper jungle out there and a humble Indian guy will be eaten alive by the aggressive confident westerners.
- darkrabbi 13y ago
  what a ridiculous comment, please never post again.
  - jtheory 13y ago
    Or maybe they could just, you know, try to post something more considered next time.
- avenger123 13y ago
  I think most will ignore your comment for what it is but I want to respond. He didn't become CEO because he played it nice. I'm sure he's been as aggressive and mean when he's needed to be to advance himself and his work. It's humbling because out of the many many top candidates he got the job. It's humbling to be considered at that level among your peers and be picked. I would venture to say that he mixes the best of east indian tradition and western tradition. The board is filled with very capable people, especially John W. Thompson. He was the CEO of Symantec and took that company from its early beginnings to a major player. Time will tell if this was a right pick for CEO but I believe that most will be very happy with the choice as its a good contrast to what Steve Ballmer was.
  - overgryphon 13y ago
    It's humbling not to be chosen, but to look at the task set out before you and realize how small you are in comparison.
- skannamalai 13y ago
  It must be comforting to view the world so simply. All it takes is some stereotyping to knock your world-view right back to how you like it.
jonnathanson 13y ago
It's humbling, in the sense that you don't really know how tall the mountain is until you get to the top and look around. When you become CEO of a company as big as Microsoft, or so I'd imagine, you get a true sense of just how vast and all-encompassing your responsibilities have become. The task is much bigger than you are. That said, I'm sure at least 50% of the usage choice in his email was rhetorical gesture. It's become commonplace for people receiving awards, honors, or offices to describe themselves as "humbled." Somewhere in the semi-distant past, someone determined that this was a good PR move.
ubercow13 13y ago
Isn't it rather because it's like grabbing the controls of a star cruiser and realising how small you are?
swalsh 13y ago
He is a man in charge of the lives of thousands of people. According to wikipedia there are 100k employees. As a Microsoft platform developer myself, I too am somewhat beholden to his decisions. He needs to find a balance between making the world a better place while at the same time ensuring some sense of stability for the people who have put their trust in the company. Humbling seems like the right word.
- amaks 13y ago
  I wouldn't go that far as describing him to be in charge in lives. He's their boss, yes, but he cannot possibly control all aspects of their lives by "being in charge". This is not a feudalism, is it?
  - saraid216 13y ago
    It's easier to understand if you think of it as a military command structure. He's in charge in the sense that he has the authority to tell you to do something that may damage your future.
ensignavenger 13y ago
One can be humbled by choosing to be humbled, or they can be humbled from some outside source (being turned down, demoted, etc.) Generally, society finds it better to choose to be humble. It can be quite a complex feeling in real world practice, though.
adamman 13y ago
It's a polite way of saying "Holy shit! I can't believe it. I'm the CEO of Microsoft." Don't read into it too much.
- erokar 13y ago
  "Holy shit! I can't believe it. I'm the CEO of Microsoft." I wish his email had started like that instead.
computerslol 13y ago
Before, he was exceeding expectations. It was likely very difficult. The new set of expectations he was promoted into are exponentially greater. Being unproven in a new type of challenge is humbling.

sjg007 13y ago

It is humbling because you are elected by a group of your peers to lead. It also gives implicit credit to all the people that helped make him successful. Leadership is not zero sum and it doesn't follow specific rules. If anything the rules of promotion are codified by practice and not necessarily logical and prescribed but in general most people aspire to be fair and merit based.

TheCraiggers 13y ago
> It is humbling because you are essentially elected by a group of your peers to lead. I don't understand this. It would be more humbling if, being at the top of your game and fully expecting to get the job, you were turned down for the CEO position. Or they demote you to a lower position. /That/ would be humbling. You're humlbed when you suddenly are forced to re-evaluate your self-worth after it's made clear it doesn't match the real-world scenario, not when you reach the top or reaffirm your position.
- ne0codex 13y ago
  This is a very trivial thing to focus on in the context of Nadella's letter. What exactly is your point? It's also a poor statement to chose for psycho-analysing and judging Nadella's character.
- gaius 13y ago
  You're mixing humbling and humiliating.

merry-year 13y ago

> Today is a very humbling day for me. When I read that I knew this guy would fail as MS CEO. It's a proper jungle out there and a humble Indian guy will be eaten alive by the aggressive confident westerners.

darkrabbi 13y ago
what a ridiculous comment, please never post again.
- jtheory 13y ago
  Or maybe they could just, you know, try to post something more considered next time.
avenger123 13y ago
I think most will ignore your comment for what it is but I want to respond. He didn't become CEO because he played it nice. I'm sure he's been as aggressive and mean when he's needed to be to advance himself and his work. It's humbling because out of the many many top candidates he got the job. It's humbling to be considered at that level among your peers and be picked. I would venture to say that he mixes the best of east indian tradition and western tradition. The board is filled with very capable people, especially John W. Thompson. He was the CEO of Symantec and took that company from its early beginnings to a major player. Time will tell if this was a right pick for CEO but I believe that most will be very happy with the choice as its a good contrast to what Steve Ballmer was.
- overgryphon 13y ago
  It's humbling not to be chosen, but to look at the task set out before you and realize how small you are in comparison.
skannamalai 13y ago
It must be comforting to view the world so simply. All it takes is some stereotyping to knock your world-view right back to how you like it.

jonnathanson 13y ago

It's humbling, in the sense that you don't really know how tall the mountain is until you get to the top and look around. When you become CEO of a company as big as Microsoft, or so I'd imagine, you get a true sense of just how vast and all-encompassing your responsibilities have become. The task is much bigger than you are. That said, I'm sure at least 50% of the usage choice in his email was rhetorical gesture. It's become commonplace for people receiving awards, honors, or offices to describe themselves as "humbled." Somewhere in the semi-distant past, someone determined that this was a good PR move.

ubercow13 13y ago

Isn't it rather because it's like grabbing the controls of a star cruiser and realising how small you are?

swalsh 13y ago

He is a man in charge of the lives of thousands of people. According to wikipedia there are 100k employees. As a Microsoft platform developer myself, I too am somewhat beholden to his decisions. He needs to find a balance between making the world a better place while at the same time ensuring some sense of stability for the people who have put their trust in the company. Humbling seems like the right word.

amaks 13y ago
I wouldn't go that far as describing him to be in charge in lives. He's their boss, yes, but he cannot possibly control all aspects of their lives by "being in charge". This is not a feudalism, is it?
- saraid216 13y ago
  It's easier to understand if you think of it as a military command structure. He's in charge in the sense that he has the authority to tell you to do something that may damage your future.

ensignavenger 13y ago

One can be humbled by choosing to be humbled, or they can be humbled from some outside source (being turned down, demoted, etc.) Generally, society finds it better to choose to be humble. It can be quite a complex feeling in real world practice, though.

adamman 13y ago

It's a polite way of saying "Holy shit! I can't believe it. I'm the CEO of Microsoft." Don't read into it too much.

erokar 13y ago
"Holy shit! I can't believe it. I'm the CEO of Microsoft." I wish his email had started like that instead.

computerslol 13y ago

Before, he was exceeding expectations. It was likely very difficult. The new set of expectations he was promoted into are exponentially greater. Being unproven in a new type of challenge is humbling.