Abstract:
While Asha Sharma's appointment as Xbox CEO has led to some controversial decisions, such as mass layoffs in July, a new Wall Street Journal report on Sharma notes that one of the key elements of her leadership is transparency. Beth Todd also talked about this trait of Sharma and praised her communication skills.
He said: "She is very good at getting to the point and conveying the message clearly, pointing out 'where the problems are and where the opportunities are.'"
Chris Plant, host and founder of the podcast "Post Games," even pointed out that Sharma's communication and leadership style is very different from that of former Xbox president Phil Spencer. "Phil has always tried to be everyone's best friend. Now someone is taking on the exact opposite role, and it feels very jarring," he said, noting that Spencer even plays games during meetings.
Talking about why she took over the role of Xbox CEO, Sharma said that the final decision stemmed from her belief that she could bring "unique value" to the entire department. “It’s not a question of ‘Do I want to do this?’, it’s ‘Do I believe I can bring unique value?’” She also said that her life goals are more towards exploring her own potential rather than pursuing a specific position. "I don't know who I want to be. I'm just more inclined to do what I can do."
As part of her long-term plan for Xbox, Sharma talked about wanting Xbox departments to be more candid in sharing successes and failures.
At a staff meeting at the offices of Minecraft developer Mojang, Sharma said: "Great companies are very willing to share their successes and wins," and every company needs to do a better job of sharing tough problems and real realities. ” This coincides with her philosophy of “Clarity is Kindness”.
As evidenced by reports from earlier this year, Sharma tends to share any potentially bad news candidly. For example, a report in July noted that she addressed the future of Xbox in an internal memo, stating that the company needed to focus on its "four core elements": Core, Content, Creation, and Connection.
She reportedly said in the memo: "In fiscal 2028 and fiscal 2029, our 'four core elements' (4C) and development roadmap must shift to businesses that create tangible value for players and accelerate revenue growth." Each of these four elements is broken down into a number of stages, one of which is "scaling effective strategies." Sharma noted that by 2030, she hopes to "make progress toward half of our long-term daily player goals while maintaining sustained double-digit growth in player numbers and user engagement, and having industry-leading margins."
In view of the massive layoffs at Xbox that have resulted in approximately 1,600 job losses, Sharma issued a statement saying that the company plans to lay off another 1,600 people, bringing the total number of layoffs to approximately 3,200 by the end of this fiscal year. After the layoffs, Sharma also said that the company had "distracted too much energy" and instead of focusing on its core business, it made a series of "gambles" that all ended in failure.
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