--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our business, things look like a…" description: "\"In our business, things look like a failure until they're not. It's pretty binary transitions.\" — Satya Nadella" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43d/satya-nadella-2082_binary_in-our-business-things-look-like-a-failu_964385.png" --- # In our business, things look like a failure until they're… ![“In our business, things look like a failure until they're not. It's pretty binary transitions.” quote by Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43d/satya-nadella-2082_binary_in-our-business-things-look-like-a-failu_964385.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43d/satya-nadella-2082_binary_in-our-business-things-look-like-a-failu_964385.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43d/satya-nadella-2082_binary_in-our-business-things-look-like-a-failu_964385.png) > “In our business, things look like a failure until they're not. It's pretty binary transitions.” [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his industry as appearing as a failure until success emerges, highlighting binary outcomes. **In simple terms:** Business seems all‑or‑nothing, with clear success or failure. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and learn from setbacks. Themes business technology risk learning Mood optimistic analytical Type observation philosophy When to use this quote - product launches - startup pivots - market entry - investment decisions Key Concepts binary thinking innovation cycles Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify hidden success? - What risks are worth taking? A Different Perspective Success often follows hidden progress, not obvious signs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Binary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) [Binary Transitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary-transitions-1807439/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-pretty-1807440/) [Like Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-failure/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Pretty Binary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-binary-1807441/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) ## Related quotes > [I'm non-binary, so I use 'they' and 'she' pronouns and I think it's interesting that we feel pretty binary about comparisons. People are pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/i-m-non-binary-so-i-use-they-and-she-pronouns-and-i-think-it-s/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [You have to have an emotional investment in what you're doing. If you don't love what you're doing, failure is pretty much guaranteed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biz-stone/you-have-to-have-an-emotional-investment-in-what-you-re-doing-if-you/) [Biz Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biz-stone/) > [If you try to be anyone but yourself, you will fail; if you are not true to your own heart, you will fail. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-you-try-to-be-anyone-but-yourself-you-will-fail-if-you-are-not/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [In the dime stores and bus stations People talk of situations Read books, repeat quotations Draw conclusions on the wall Some speak of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/in-the-dime-stores-and-bus-stations-people-talk-of-situations-read-2/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [A basic truth of management - if not of life - is that nearly everything looks like a failure in the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/a-basic-truth-of-management-if-not-of-life-is-that-nearly-everything/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [I failed first grade, which is my biggest problem. You always feel like a failure, like you're stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/i-failed-first-grade-which-is-my-biggest-problem-you-always-feel-like/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“There's nothing like failure and humiliation to make you teachable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-heavin/there-s-nothing-like-failure-and-humiliation-to-make-you-teachable/) [Gary Heavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-heavin/) > [“By 19oo, anybody could end up "a 'Nobody,"' plodding down the "many paths leading to the Land of 'Nowhere."' Failure had become what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-a-sandage/by-19oo-anybody-could-end-up-a-nobody-plodding-down-the-many-paths/) [Scott A. Sandage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-a-sandage/) > [What looks like a failure teaches us what not to do, what does not work. We have lessons to learn from our experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/what-looks-like-a-failure-teaches-us-what-not-to-do-what-does-not/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [“I feel like a failure." The expression comes so naturally that we forget it is a figure of speech: the language of business applied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-a-sandage/i-feel-like-a-failure-the-expression-comes-so-naturally-that-we/) [Scott A. Sandage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-a-sandage/) > [“How is feeling like a failure supposed to help me? The way I see it, they should invent some pill that just makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/how-is-feeling-like-a-failure-supposed-to-help-me-the-way-i-see-it/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [She knows there's no success like failure, and that failure's no success at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-knows-there-s-no-success-like-failure-and-that-failure-s-no/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Nothing succeeds, they say, like success. And certainly nothing fails like failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/nothing-succeeds-they-say-like-success-and-certainly-nothing-fails/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Everything looks like a failure in the middle. In neary every change project, doubt is cast on the original vision because problems are mounting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/everything-looks-like-a-failure-in-the-middle-in-neary-every-change/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [Success is like failure, It's how you perceive it, It's what you do with it, not how you achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/success-is-like-failure-it-s-how-you-perceive-it-it-s-what-you-do/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) ## More by Satya Nadella > [Microsoft is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/microsoft-is-the-productivity-and-platform-company-for-the-mobile/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [“The bigger a company, the more responsibility its leader has to think about the world, its citizens and their long term opportunities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/the-bigger-a-company-the-more-responsibility-its-leader-has-to-think/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [If you are going to have a risk-taking culture, you can't really look at every failure as a failure, you've got to be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/if-you-are-going-to-have-a-risk-taking-culture-you-can-t-really-look/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [“anyone who feels like an outsider can be successful, but it requires both an enlightened management and a dedicated employee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/anyone-who-feels-like-an-outsider-can-be-successful-but-it-requires/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [I think the combination of graduate education in a field like Computer Science and the opportunity to apply this in a work environment like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/i-think-the-combination-of-graduate-education-in-a-field-like/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [There are always going to be people who are experts in security or end-user devices or collaboration or databases. That's not going to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/there-are-always-going-to-be-people-who-are-experts-in-security-or/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [We are really excited about being stewards to the community that is Minecraft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/we-are-really-excited-about-being-stewards-to-the-community-that-is/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [Businesses and users are going to use technology only if they can trust it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/businesses-and-users-are-going-to-use-technology-only-if-they-can/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [Without a doubt, I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/without-a-doubt-i-wholeheartedly-support-programs-at-microsoft-and-in/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [In the post-Snowden world, you need to enable others to build their own cloud and have mobility of applications. That’s both because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/in-the-post-snowden-world-you-need-to-enable-others-to-build-their/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/i-believe-men-and-women-should-get-equal-pay-for-equal-work/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [When we think about even the PC market and what is required in the student as well as in the consumer market, we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/when-we-think-about-even-the-pc-market-and-what-is-required-in-the/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [“Success can cause people to unlearn the habits that made them successful in the first place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/success-can-cause-people-to-unlearn-the-habits-that-made-them/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/the-opportunity-ahead-for-microsoft-is-vast-but-to-seize-it-we-must/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [“the importance of putting your team first, ahead of your personal statistics and recognition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/the-importance-of-putting-your-team-first-ahead-of-your-personal/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) [Explore all 185 Satya Nadella quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) ## More Binary quotes > [I don't think there's anything unique about human intellience. All the nuerons in the brain that make up perceptions and emotions operate in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-unique-about-human-intellience-all-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I live in a binary star system, my two suns being my two sons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-ghinamo/i-live-in-a-binary-star-system-my-two-suns-being-my-two-sons/) [Corrado Ghinamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrado-ghinamo/) > [The simplest kind of decision is binary: that is, the question can be answered, in principle at least, by either yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-w-barber/the-simplest-kind-of-decision-is-binary-that-is-the-question-can-be/) [E. J. W. Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-w-barber/) > [Today, we've got what seems to me to be binary-choice politics: black and white, ones and zeros, either you are with me or against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-hoffman/today-we-ve-got-what-seems-to-me-to-be-binary-choice-politics-black/) [David E. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-hoffman/) > [ Object-oriented programming aficionados think that everything is an object… this \[isn't\] so. There are things that are objects. Things that have state and change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stepanov/object-oriented-programming-aficionados-think-that-everything-is-an/) [Alexander Stepanov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stepanov/) > [A lot of people still have the idea that drag goes from one end of the gender spectrum to the other end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/a-lot-of-people-still-have-the-idea-that-drag-goes-from-one-end-of/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [When I first started going out to lesbian clubs, I felt a very binary recreation of hetero culture. There are butches and femmes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/when-i-first-started-going-out-to-lesbian-clubs-i-felt-a-very-binary/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [I'm someone that likes to not think too binary about human qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-thompson/i-m-someone-that-likes-to-not-think-too-binary-about-human-qualities/) [Tessa Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-thompson/) > [Coming out as non-binary has honestly been the best thing ever for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-flip/coming-out-as-non-binary-has-honestly-been-the-best-thing-ever-for-me/) [G Flip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-flip/) > [For too long, history has imposed a binary condition on its black citizens: either nameless or renowned, menial or exceptional, passive recipients of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/for-too-long-history-has-imposed-a-binary-condition-on-its-black/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) > [I've never regretted not making Linux shareware: I really don't like the pay for use binary shareware programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-ve-never-regretted-not-making-linux-shareware-i-really-don-t-like/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [“Belonging is one of the things that makes life bearable, and it can be tough to look at a binary world and choose against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/belonging-is-one-of-the-things-that-makes-life-bearable-and-it-can-be/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > ['Crazy Rich Asians' has been compared to 'Black Panther,' but I feel like that's a false equivalency. The idea that there's only this film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonoya-mizuno/crazy-rich-asians-has-been-compared-to-black-panther-but-i-feel-like/) [Sonoya Mizuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonoya-mizuno/) > [Not all bodies are born in male or female. There is a continuum of bodies and it seems to me that trying to persuade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/not-all-bodies-are-born-in-male-or-female-there-is-a-continuum-of/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) [Browse all 135 Binary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In our business, things look like a failure until they're not. 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