This series aims to make it easy for you to achieve meaningful growth in five areas that define successful partners. With each post, you gain actionable guidance for deepening the characteristics of each success attribute within your team.

When working with Microsoft, it doesn’t take long to recognize our unwavering commitment to creating a culture of inclusion. After all, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We believe that to accomplish this, we need to ensure access and inclusion for underrepresented communities. Since Satya Nadella’s public commitment to combatting racial injustice, we have expanded programs designed to increase representation and create a more inclusive economy for minorities, women, and those differently abled.

Microsoft partners are in a unique position to power inclusive economic recovery and growth and realize a future that is greater for us all. Because of that, we believe by establishing cultural alignment across the ecosystem, Microsoft and our partners can become a force for sustainable change that’s good for the world and good for business.

It’s estimated that achieving parity between Black-owned and white-owned businesses would add $290 billion to the US economy. By simply reducing the attrition of women in technology by 25% could add hundreds of thousands of people to a high-demand talent pool.

“We have to embrace the same speed and mindset that we do in anticipating and building for future technological shifts,” Satya Nadella said regarding diversity & inclusion, in a letter to employees. “Each day, we work to bridge the gap between the culture we espouse and our daily lived experience, but we must do more and do it faster.”

This is the challenge for all of us. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a complex and urgent journey. We’re proud to walk it with partners, customers, and industry peers, and seek to continually share our learnings so we can make strides together.

We’ve identified three activities that help partners achieve cultural alignment with Microsoft:

Pursuing the interests of your customers and partners
Becoming more diverse and inclusive in all we do and create
Empowering the lives of those around us

1. Actively pursue your customers’ (and partners’) best interests

We see devotion to customers and partners not only as the right way to do business but as a competitive advantage. By building relationships, continually reassessing, and proactively addressing unspoken needs, we gain the insight that fuel innovation, whether for the solutions we deliver to customers or the ways we work with partners.

Brush up on what it takes to establish a customer-first reputation from the first post in this series.

Double-down on your customer-obsession | Partner Success Guide

2. Weave diversity & inclusion into every aspect of your business

As we head toward recovery, this is a chance to reimagine the way we work through the lens of long-term, sweeping inclusivity. When it comes to company culture, purpose-driven and ethnically diverse companies outperform others. As detailed by Forbes, those who prioritize inclusive economic opportunity and mobility for all enjoy greater workforce diversity and retention, as well as increased resilience in the face of national (or global) crisis.

Sustainable inclusion – and therefore competitive advantage – must be anchored in systemic organizational change. These resources are a good place to start.

Power an inclusive economy

Learn what you can do to be a changemaker, create opportunities for economic access and equity through technology, and build a better world.

Start here: Inclusion (microsoft.com)

Learn more: Our collective opportunity for a more inclusive economy – Microsoft Partner Network

Participate in #Buildfor2030

Build solutions that drive innovation and collective impact in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and enable a better future together.

Nominate your solution: Sustainable Development Goals Nomination Form (microsoft.com)

3. Empower yourself and your community

Take action to ensure that there is a strong and diverse pipeline of talent for our industry and ecosystem. Through participation and partnership with organizations and programs advancing these goals, you help reimagine and strengthen the economy of tomorrow.

Unlock the potential of women in tech

Partner with Women in Cloud to accelerate the growth of women-led technology companies by addressing issues ranging from financial inclusion to the gender gap to providing women with the tools, knowledge, and networks they need to reach their full potential.

Learn more: About Us – Women in Cloud

Become a sponsor: Women in Cloud sponsorship opportunities

Explore how to build a more inclusive economy

Explore five straightforward ways you can leverage Microsoft resources and programs to participate in building an inclusive economy, from equipping your community with digital skills to participating in the Black Partner Growth initiative to becoming an ally.

Learn more: 5 first steps to building a more inclusive economy – US Partner Community Blog – Microsoft

Build competitive edge through diversity-focused hiring

Use Career Connector to fill critical roles, stay competitive, and overcome economic inequality by connecting with job seekers from Microsoft’s nonprofit and learning partner network. Career Connector uses AI-powered matching and hands-on screening, and placement services make it easier and faster to find the right candidate for in-demand, early-career roles.

Learn more: Find skilled job seekers and grow a more inclusive workforce – US Partner Community Blog – Microsoft

“Cultural alignment with Microsoft is key to our success in the way we approach going to market and out partner channel as well as driving outcomes for customers,” explained Steve Witt Direct, Public Sector, at Nintex. “We make it a priority, and we learn a lot in our partnership and culture comes a lot from what we see in Microsoft. So, we try to adopt similar programs and really have an open environment where people can truly communicate and accept one another.”

Takeaway

Microsoft culture is rooted in realizing an inclusive and representative company, ecosystem, and solutions. As a partner, you are uniquely positioned to affect change through inclusive innovation, hiring, and community investment. It’s not just good for the world, it’s good for business.