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With all the abundance we have of computers and computing, what is scarce is human attention and time.
Satya Nadella
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Despite technological advancements, human attention and time remain limited resources.

Satya Nadella highlights the paradox of the digital age where, although we possess an abundance of technological tools and computing power, the true scarcity lies in our inability to focus and allocate our time effectively. In a world filled with distractions and constant information flow, the value of human attention becomes increasingly precious, emphasizing the need to manage it wisely amidst the noise of modern life.

Themes

AttentionTimeScarcityComputersTechnology

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about workplace efficiency, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of focusing on critical tasks.

More from Satya Nadella

If you don't have a real stake in the new, then just surviving on the old - even if it is about efficiency - I don't think is a long-term game.
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You look at marketing: everything that's happening in marketing is digitized. Everything that's happening in finance is digitized. So pretty much every industry, every function in every industry, has a huge element that's driven by information technology. It's no longer discrete.
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What matters is 'Have you done a better job of making our experiences feel like home on Windows?' That's our real goal, and that's what we're going to stay focused on.
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If you don't jump on the new, you don't survive.
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I want everyone inside of Microsoft to take that responsibility. This is not about top-line growth. This is not about bottom-line growth. This is about us individually having a growth mindset.
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At Microsoft, we're aspiring to have a living, learning culture with a growth mindset that allows us to learn from ourselves and our customers. These are the key attributes of the new culture at Microsoft, and I feel great about how it seems to be resonating and how it's seen as empowering.
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