When Microsoft bought professional networking platform LinkedIn for $26 billion (€23.9 billion) in 2016, it took the tech world by surprise. It was not only the company’s largest acquisition at the time, it was also a staggering sum to pay for a social network. What Microsoft did next was even more surprising: it left LinkedIn alone to get on with things. As it turned out, that was the best thing that it could have done. Pre-takeover, LinkedIn had revenues of just under $3 billion: the most recent data show that has soared to almost $17 billion. “I’m very proud that…