Look No Further Than Microsoft When Cultivating Positive Mindsets Within Your Business
Microsoft Serves as an Excellent Example of Harnessing the Mindsets Chakra!
In our previous post we outlined the Mindsets Chakra and how it will help create a corporate culture of creativity and innovation. This is done through several processes, which include:
Innovating Internal Processes such as how meetings are run
Utilizing Design Thinking
Developing a Growth Mindset
Many organizations have utilized these processes to great effect. These are the types of organizations that your business should be looking towards as being an ideal to strive towards when attempting to balance the Mindsets Chakra. One organization who has done an expert job of utilizing all three of these elements is Redmond, Washington based software company, Microsoft. We're sure you’ve never heard of them.
Pictured: A render of Microsoft's Redwood Washington Campus for a planned modernization of the campus. (Source: Microsoft News)
How Microsoft Transformed Its Performance Reviews
The way performance reviews are handled can inform a great deal of a company’s culture. Following the departure of the company’s CEO Steve Balmer, the company decided to revamp performance reviews. Prior to this the company had a fairly traditional method of conducting performance reviews. One of the key changes was a process called “Stack Ranking”. Stack Ranking refers to “a practice in which managers are asked to rank employees on a curve according to their performance”. The company kept the pre-existing annual performance evaluations but added a check-in system in place of Stack Ranking. A Check-In refers to “A check-in is a structured conversation between managers and direct reports to touch base on goal progress, development or competencies”. This process provided managers with more sway when it came to things like promotions, raises, awards and bonuses. This change was evident in the innovative philosophy of the company’s incoming CEO, Satya Nadella.
Image Source: Microsoft News
How Microsoft Has Prioritized a Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset allows organizations to create a corporate culture that values learning and betterment. Microsoft has prioritized a Growth Mindset as it considers it to be a “necessary part of every business”. This mindset is harnessed particularly for the benefit of its hardware and software business. A Growth Mindset is baked into how Microsoft trains its employees as it “trains employees to identify potential avenues for new business growth, such as new ideas and solutions”. Microsoft rewards employees who are effective in this regard in a variety of ways.
How Microsoft Utilizes Design Thinking
Design Thinking is a theory of design informed by human-centric data and research. Microsoft has utilized this philosophy in the creation of its own methodology, which it calls “Inclusive Design”. Inclusive Design features many of the core elements of Design Thinking. The methodology is rooted in Microsoft’s belief in the importance of diversity and inclusion”. An excerpt from the company’s website reads “Inclusive Design is a methodology, born out of digital environments, that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity. Most importantly, this means including and learning from people with a range of perspectives”. One of the core goals of the methodology is to promote inclusion and avoid exclusion. The company seeks to avoid exclusion through three key pillars:
“Recognize Exclusion”
“Solve for One, Extend to Many”
“Learn from Diversity”
Image Source: Microsoft.com
Microsoft is an excellent example of harnessing its Mindsets Chakra. The company has utilized the various processes such as Design Thinking and a Growth Mindset that are central to the Mindsets Chakra, as well as building upon these efforts to create methodology that are more aligned with the company’s culture. Microsoft should serve as an example to follow for businesses big or small who aim to harness their Mindsets Chakra.
Would you like a more customized solution on how to harness the Foundation Chakra of your business? Visit us at 7chakrasofbusiness.com, on Instagram/Facebook @Chakrasofbusiness or reach out to us directly at Katrina@7chakrasofbusiness.com.
Sources
Microsoft: Inclusive Design - https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/
Panmore Institute - http://panmore.com/microsoft-corporation-organizational-culture-characteristics-analysis
INC - https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/microsofts-ceo-knows-how-to-run-a-meeting-heres-how-he-does-it.html
Business Insider - https://www.businessinsider.com/how-microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-runs-meetings-2015-10
The Adecco Group - https://www.adeccogroup.com/future-of-work/latest-insights/what-can-we-learn-from-microsofts-growth-mindset-culture/
Image Sources
Banner Image - Pexels.com
Microsoft Inclusive Design Webpage - https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/
Satya Nadella Image - https://news.microsoft.com/exec/satya-nadella/