Microsoft's Lu on Bing: 'A First Step'

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Why didn't you do this at Yahoo?
The [key] practitioners in this space share a similar vision. But two critical components are required. One is a set of vastly scalable computing infrastructure. You need to have the capability and the financial resources to invest. And you require a world-class R&D team that has top-notch experts in all the critical disciplines, whether it's in information retrieval, machine learning, language processing, or statistical modeling. That's what makes Microsoft's opportunity so compelling, because here we have a company that has the heritage of being a technology company. And we have the financial resources and the commitment.

Why will Microsoft be able to better compete with Google now, compared with the past?
Increasingly we're able to model the user's intent with a higher and higher degree of confidence. That's one. Second, the Web as a [medium] has become richer. In the early days the Web was full of text documents. Now you have images. Now you have videos. Now you have audio. So if you can build a search engine that really understands the user's intent, you can build an experience that's very compelling and rich. Search engine B can do the same thing, but using a slightly different mix of the rich content out on the Web. They both may be compelling, but they're different. … We believe there are opportunities for multiple players to compete and to do well. And the beneficiaries are the consumers.

Does the culture of Microsoft's Internet unit need to change?
As we move through our journey, we have to…innovate at a faster rate… Ultimately, you win in the marketplace by out-innovating your competitors. But all these things will take time to build. It takes time to set strategies, set up the foundations, to [improve] all of the processes. The most important thing today is working together as one team. You always want world-class people, but with world-class people working together as a team, you can unleash much, much bigger, greater creativity.

I understand from everyone that you are a very hard worker. Some of your colleagues call it "Qi time."
One of my key values is work ethic. I always tell my teams that I absolutely respect every individual's choice of their work/life balance. Ultimately, without a happy family, you don't have a happy employee. But for me, the work is so compelling that I want to devote all my energies to it. So, I would say I'm usually all in, with every ounce of my energy. I feel personally blessed to be working on things that will truly have enduring impact on the world.

Is it true you get up at 3 o'clock every day?
Sometimes earlier, sometimes—it doesn't matter what hour. I just tend to get going (laughter). Each day I run for four or five miles. That's the best way to recharge the battery.

Where do you think you got this work ethic?
I grew up in a harsh environment. It was several generations back in terms of physical conditions. You don't have water. You don't have electricity. You don't have soap. You don't have toothpaste. And the [village where I lived] had about 400 families, one school and one teacher. I feel very blessed because I'm probably one of the few who ended up getting to college in China, and ended up having the opportunity to go to the United States.

How did you choose technology?
I wanted to go to a college that specialized in building ships, because working in a shipbuilding factory was considered one of the best jobs. But it required certain physical fitness. You had to weigh 50 kilograms, so I was too thin. And I'm near-sighted, so I [couldn't] go to study physics, which was considered attractive because there was a chance you [could] go to the United States to get your PhD if you did really well. So the only thing left was mathematics and computer science. With computer science, at least you may have a chance to work in a radio factory if you graduate. If you do math, the best you can do is be a middle school teacher.

Can Microsoft regain a lot of market share with Bing?
We believe we will be able to build a compelling and a differentiated search experience for our users. But there's one important caveat. This is a first step in a long journey. There's a lot more that needs to be done.

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