The Words That Changed Microsoft's Culture

Stanford researchers gave two groups the same crime statistics. One group heard crime described as a beast, the other as a virus. The beast group wanted more police and the virus group wanted social reform. Almost nobody noticed that a single word had driven their view. In this episode, Soren Kaplan connects that research to a failed snack called McCrackin that became a culture-killing nickname at a Fortune 500 company, and to Satya Nadella's decision to replace Microsoft's know-it-all culture with a learn-it-all culture by changing the language leaders used. Leaders will walk away with three moves: review the default labels your team already uses, name the mindset you want to build, and make sure the experience behind your words is real. Further reading: Stanford metaphor study, https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/803162 View original on Inc. Magazine: https://www.inc.com/soren-kaplan/satya-nadella-transformed-microsofts-culture-by-changing-2-words-leaders-used/91408690 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU3e5k8HJeOGEa7AGA97kvVjtpi6uqG0t Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033iseLQje3RnPGqUlh2I8?si=cb19276a3c68459d Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leapfrogging-the-headlines-with-soren-kaplan/id1896880297 Learn more about Soren's work at sorenkaplan.com.