In addition to the news announcements about Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner wrote an email to staff. His tone is excited and a bit bewildered: 

"No matter what you're feeling now, give yourself some time to process the news. You might feel a sense of excitement, fear, sadness, or some combination of all of those emotions. Every member of the exec team has experienced the same, but we've had months to process. Regardless of the ups and downs, we've come out the other side knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is the best thing for our company."

Weiner described several benefits of the acquisition, including increasing LinkedIn's reach, expanding into other human capital solutions for companies, and integrating Lynda.com courses. Employees are probably happy to read about LinkedIn's ability to stay independent, which may mean less change and fewer layoffs.

Weiner, by the way, will walk away with almost $30 million from the sale.

In a video with Weiner, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks about his interest in LinkedIn and says he had been thinking about an acquisition for a long time. 

Discussion Starters: 

• How would you summarize the benefits of the acquisition? Are you convinced by these communications that the move is positive for LinkedIn? 
• How would you feel if you were a LinkedIn employee? What concerns would you have? What is the best way for the CEOs to address them?