By Shira Ovide 

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Satya Nadella, after five months on the job, on Thursday released his definition of Microsoft's corporate mission and hinted that an organizational shake-up is coming.

In a roughly 3,000-word email to employees, Mr. Nadella said Microsoft needed to "hone in on our unique strategy," which he suggested would differ from the "devices and services" mantra developed by his predecessor, Steve Ballmer. He said Microsoft at its core "is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world."

People inside of Microsoft for weeks have been bracing for job cuts or other major strategy changes, and employees have been asked to draw up strategy plans for Mr. Nadella, according to Microsoft workers and others familiar with the company.

In his email, Mr. Nadella said Microsoft planned to spend July conducting "a dialogue about this bold ambition and our core focus." He said he asked Microsoft senior executives "to evaluate opportunities to advance their innovation processes and simplify their operations and how they work."

Mr. Nadella, who became CEO in February, said throughout July he and other senior executives "will share more on the engineering and organization changes we believe are needed." He suggested some details could be announced July 22, when Microsoft releases financial results for its fiscal year.

For Mr. Nadella, the first CEO in Microsoft's 39-year history other than Bill Gates and Mr. Ballmer, this is an important moment for the new CEO to set his road map. His email Thursday, however, didn't shed much new light on how his Microsoft would look and act different than the company of his predecessors.

In the memo, Mr. Nadella said Microsoft would help people be more productive in work and in life with tools like the Cortana digital assistant for Windows Phone and computers, and he said Microsoft would use its position of strength in corporate server farms to help businesses run more efficiently.

Mr. Nadella also used his memo to defend the company's Xbox videogame business, which some investors believe is a pricey distraction. Mr. Nadella said Xbox may not be a core business for Microsoft, but he said the videogame system has legions of fans and technology important to other parts of the company.

"Bottom line, we will continue to innovate and grow our fan base with Xbox while also creating additive business value for Microsoft," Mr. Nadella wrote.

Write to Shira Ovide at shira.ovide@wsj.com

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