- Microsoft's CEO likes to schedule daily calls with CEOs to expand his network, The Information reported.
- Satya Nadella's networking reportedly includes leaders from AI but also non-tech industries.
- Leadership experts advise executives to seek external feedback while avoiding echo chambers.
Satya Nadella's daily routine consists of waking up at 7 a.m., practicing mindfulness exercises, and, in a new twist, apparently making multiple phone calls to different CEOs.
The Microsoft CEO reportedly asks staff to set up two calls a day with other executives of various companies, according to a new report from The Information detailing Nadella's networking strategies.
The phone calls reportedly range from major AI players, like Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, to leaders in unrelated industries like Pete Carroll, former head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
While Nadella's reported consistency in daily exec phone calls is noteworthy, fostering connections with high-profile industry leaders is not an uncommon practice among the corporate elites.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI — which Microsoft has reportedly funneled over $13 billion — often hosts gatherings for his friends and colleagues. He has even said that the ChatGPT maker emerged from a series of dinners.
Rebecca Arnold, a leadership coach and founder of Root Coaching & Consulting, told Business Insider that a lot of the leaders she worked with "feel like they lack a kind of affinity group, " or community — "people to really bounce ideas off of who will straight-talk them."
She advised other leaders to turn to third parties for guidance, though she noted that it's important to be aware of possible biases and echo chambers that can develop.
Arnold suggested executives remain conscious of the context of the feedback they're receiving and how they use it "in conjunction with other types of feedback from within their organization."
"What's your purpose? What are you getting from it? How are you taking the advice? What are you finding?" she said. "And then how is it playing into your wider thinking about your organization?"
For Nadella, his goal seems to stay focused on expanding his network and keeping his finger on the pulse among budding companies.
According to The Information's report, Nadella likes to ask two questions when speaking to venture capitalists or CEOs: "What new startups are you excited about, and what new people have you met that would be good to know?"
And it seems that his strategy has been successful. His frequent calls reportedly laid the foundation for crucial partnerships, including with Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of both DeepMind and Inflection AI, the latter of which Microsoft has invested in. Nadella, who reportedly remained in close contact with Suleyman for several years, eventually hired him to head up Microsoft AI.
Microsoft has also invested in various startups, including participating in a $675 million funding round in humanoid robotics startup Figure AI and another $1.5 billion for UAE-based G42 just in the past year.
There's a good chance a phone call from Nadella came first.