Microsoft, at the dawn of 2016, is a different company than the software giant we have come to know. No, I’m not referring to Redmond’s headlong venture into hardware and the cloud.

Though the company’s bold “all-in” attitude into these areas is derivative of what I’m referring to, they’re not the foundation of this transformation. Simply put, Microsoft is different because it has become a firm without fear.

Chris Capossela, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer, said it this way during the December 23, 2015, episode of Windows Weekly:

“…the fear is really gone, and the ambition is really back. Now it’s up to us to execute. But this notion of being fearful, cautious…ambition inside the walls of the company is just crazy high. Now we have to execute. But it’s just a better place to be in than a culture that’s kind of fearful and very cautious about everything. Let’s go execute in 2016.”