Subvolts take Microsoft's Deputy CTO shares insights on innovation and the future of productivity. Aug 9, 2022 - Developers
- Learn about the mindset behind creating transformative products and how to foster innovation.
- Business
- Understand how asking "What if?" and managing team dynamics drive product evolution.
- Everyday users
- Hear about the origins of familiar productivity tools and the future of technology.
A solid interview with a Microsoft executive discussing innovation and product history.
Sam Schillace: Deputy CTO, Microsoft
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From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
This episode of Behind The Tech features Sam Schillace, Microsoft's Deputy CTO, discussing his role in creating Google Docs. Schillace, now an engineering Corporate VP, emphasizes asking "What if?" questions. The conversation covers career advice, team dynamics, and the dawn of a new technological era.
This episode talks with Sam Schillace, who helped invent Google Docs. He now works at Microsoft and discusses how important it is to ask "What if?" to create new things. It's about building the future of technology and working together.
This episode offers insights into the evolution of productivity tools and the mindset behind innovation from a Microsoft executive. It's for anyone interested in tech history, product development, and leadership. Schillace's perspective on asking "What if?" and navigating team tension connects to current AI development, where rapid iteration and questioning assumptions are crucial for frontier labs like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini.
- HostKevin Scott
- GuestSam SchillaceDeputy CTO, Microsoft
- Guest: Sam Schillace, Deputy CTO, Microsoft
- Show: Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott
- Length: 65 minutes
- Guest's past work: Co-creator of Google Docs
- Guest's current focus: Consumer product culture and next generation productivity
Have you ever wondered who was behind the creation of Google Docs? Kevin talks with Sam Schillace, one of the people who launched the transformational – and at the time controversial – idea 16 years ago. Today, Sam is an engineering Corporate VP focusing on consumer product culture and next generation productivity who stresses the importance of asking "What if?" questions. Kevin and Sam talk career advice, the fact that there's always tension in high functioning teams and why we're on the cusp of a new technological era.
Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott
Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.
- Deputy CTO
- Sam Schillace
- A senior executive responsible for helping lead a company's technology development.
- Corporate VP
- Sam Schillace
- A high-level executive role within a large company.
1 h 0634 minYear in Review 2024
WithXyla Foxlin, Lisa Su, Ben Laude, Ethan Mollick
Questions people ask
- Who is Sam Schillace?
- Sam Schillace is the Deputy CTO at Microsoft and was one of the creators of Google Docs.
- What does Sam Schillace focus on at Microsoft?
- He focuses on consumer product culture and next generation productivity, stressing the importance of asking "What if?" questions.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Microsoft.