Microsoft top executives talk about company’s increasing emphasis on productivity and how that benefits consumers

Under the realm of Satya Nadella, Microsoft has been aggressively trying to comply with his “productivity and productivity” strategy. But what does “productivity and productivity” really mean? And how do other executives taking it? To answer that and several more questions, Microsoft’s Chief Experiences Officer Julie Larson-Green and the company’s “chief storyteller” Steve Clayton recently sat down with NBC for an interview.

First off, what does productivity mean? Does it depend on the kind of devices we use? According to Larson-Green, that’s not really the case. “We’re defining it as people-centric. It’s not so much about the tools I need, it’s about what I’m trying to achieve. And overall, we’re not really defining the world in enterprise and consumer anymore. People are people. They do work at home, they do home stuff at work. That’s just life.” she said.

“To some people it means getting stuff done. To me it means being creative about how we work in this world where we have infinite devices, but we have this finite thing called time. How do we help people do less, rather than more. That’s being productive.”, said Clayton.

How has that vision changed company’s thinking while looking at customers? According to Larson-Green, the company now gives more emphasis on human reasons. “I have a 14-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter, and they expect things to rewind, to be constantly connected and updated, to be searchable. They talk to their friends through Snapchat, texts, FaceTime, Xbox. My daughter thinks of email as mainly for communications from the university, that it’s only for serious stuff once in a while. That is so unlike me, and it’s hard to break out of your own bubble.

“I watch my son play “Halo” on Xbox Live, and that’s the best meeting. People talking and working together in real time to achieve a mission — it’s the dream. How can we learn from something like that in the business world? I think you’ll see our email service moving that way.” she added.

You can read the interview in its entirety from the via link below.