Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Searches for the Next Big Thing

Asked to assess the competitive landscape, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said the company’s greatest threats aren’t coming from outside forces.

“Competition is not killing us,” Nadella said. “It’s our own ability to have an idea and go after an idea and make that happen. That’s what, at the end of the day, defines success.”

Nadella resisted the pressure to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Microsoft’s technology rivals, such as Google or Apple. “Anybody is capable of anything,” he said.

Instead, Nadella said he is focused on Microsoft’s internal culture and “the will to get it done.” Microsoft isn’t looking outside the company for a magic bullet, or to spend $2 billion on an acquisition, as Facebook did recently to buy Oculus VR.

“We have to build something big,” Nadella said. “If, along the way, we have to buy things, that’s fine. But we have to build something big. [If] we build, let’s say, three big things — three and a half, if you add Xbox into it — it’s time for us to build the next big thing.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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