Leadership, not AI, has made Microsoft the world's #1 company

How Satya Nadella's steady hand and the backing of a patient board has taken Microsoft back to the top spot, and exposed its rivals

Microsoft leapfrogged Apple to become the world’s most valuable company this weekend, reaping the rewards of a long and fearless strategy to target cloud and AI.

It’s a momentous changing of the guard as Cupertino has led for a decade, and it proves AI has rewritten the economics of media, and the world.

The New York Times reacted by quoting a bullish stock analyst predicting Microsoft will now rise to a $3.5 trillion valuation.

No pun intended Tim, but they’re undercooking it.

I predicted last July that Microsoft would take Apple’s crown, and then head to a $4 trillion valuation.

The success is the result of a great execution of a great strategy, but even more than that, it’s the result of strong leadership, and a lack of leadership from rivals.

CEO Satya Nadella looks gangster.

Leadership and strategic foresight have been forgotten and undervalued in recent years.

A few years ago, a media giant offered me the job of a lifetime. Suits flew from New York with a contract offering me fame, r…