Can an Industrial Era Company Embrace the Geek Way?

It is challenging for an industrial era company to embrace the geek way due to deep-rooted dysfunctional norms and toxic cultures that hinder positive change. Most alpha geeks express reluctance in turning around large, bureaucratic companies due to the difficulty of changing ingrained norms. Microsoft's successful turnaround under Satya Nadella's leadership showcases the potential for transformation by unblocking conflicting imperatives, instilling ownership, adopting a fast iterative approach, encouraging authenticity, vulnerability, and openness. Nadella focused on unjamming people, removing impediments, and fostering the original energy of employees to build cool things, which revived the company's culture from a low psychological safety environment to one driven by a passion for innovation.