Are there innovation truisms that hold from one initiative to the next? Are there strategies that appear again and again in the success stories of businesses as varied as gaming and cloud infrastructure? Are there behaviors common to creative leadership in every role, from research to sales? And if these patterns exist, could they be distilled into teachable practices? These are the questions Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin, two senior innovation leaders at Microsoft, set out to answer.

The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft reveals the patterns behind Microsoft’s biggest wins and losses—from the Xbox revolution to the Windows Mobile miss and the unexpected rise of Bing in AI. Based on dozens of interviews only fellow “Microsofties” could secure, this book shares behind-the-scenes stories brimming with insights and proven practices that transcend time and technology.