BOOK · [069]
The Boys in the Boat
Narrative History
The story of the 1936 University of Washington eight-oar crew that won Olympic gold in Berlin. Nadella quoted the book's description of 'swing' — the moment when all eight rowers move as one — in his first major memo as CEO to describe what he wanted Microsoft's leadership to look like.
Endorsed By
1 PERSON-
Satya Nadella
“There is a thing that sometimes happens in rowing that is hard to achieve and hard to define. Many crews, even winning crews, never really find it. Others find it but can't sustain it. It's called 'swing.' It only happens when all eight oarsmen are rowing in such perfect unison that no single action by any one is out of synch with those of all the others. ... Poetry, that's what a good swing looks like.”
Quoted by Nadella in his first major leadership memo as CEO (early 2014), reproduced in full by GeekWire. He used Daniel James Brown's image of 'swing' as the metaphor for how he wanted Microsoft's senior team to operate.