When Work Evolves: Consumer Productivity • Microsoft / Sam Schillace

What allows some companies to survive technological revolutions while others disappear?In this episode of UnNatural Selection, host Nic Encina sits down with Sam Schillace — CVP and Deputy CTO at Microsoft, serial entrepreneur, founder of Writely (which became Google Docs), and one of the leading thinkers shaping the future of AI and software platforms.Together, they explore how major platform shifts — from the internet and cloud computing to artificial intelligence — fundamentally reshape competition, organizations, and society itself.This conversation dives into:

• why successful companies struggle to adapt
• how AI is changing the nature of work and software
• the importance of self-disruption
• why speed of learning matters more than size
• startup survival and technological evolution
• the future of intelligence, platforms, and human collaboration

A fascinating conversation about adaptation, innovation, and what it takes to survive when technology changes faster than institutions can evolve.