Microsoft's new CEO Satya Nadella participated in his very first earnings call with analysts Thursday as chief executive. The software maker reported strong Q3 2014 financials, buoyed by strong growth in its cloud services division.

Although Nadella was happy to talk about the most recent results, investors and analysts were even more eager to hear more about his plans for Microsoft's future.

The new CEO reiterated that his focus is for Microsoft to become a "mobile first" and "cloud first" company, but he offered more details on what those phrases actually mean. "When we say mobile first, we really mean mobility first," Nadella explained. "It's about offering users a great experience across devices, some ours, some not ours, that we we can power uniquely."

For the cloud, Nadella is committed to the ongoing mission of one cloud for everyone and for every device. That mantra is remarkably simple to Microsoft's original mission statement: "A personal computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software."

When it comes to Windows, Nadella said the new mobile-first and cloud-first focal points mean thinking about Windows differently. "We're starting to think of it as one family, which wasn't true before," Nadella said.

In other words, his vision is for Microsoft is for it to become less reliant on vertical integration — and more able to work alongside other systems.

When it comes to planning and executing for the future, Nadella said it was important to do both on a continuous basis — and not to plan and execute on episodic bursts. "You can only succeed if you plan all the time and are able to change the plan as it needs to be changed," he said.

The same is true for execution. On that front, Nadella pointed to the recent product launches and announcements, including Office for iPad.

Finally, Nadella discussed his role in reviewing the current business. "As a leadership team, I feel we have picked up the pace of asking the hard questions so that we can realistically evaluate our business," he said.

Ultimately, Nadella said, he wants to be accountable to investors, his team and Microsoft's customers — because "at the end of the day, that's what matters."