leadership style bill gates1

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Broadly defined, a leader is someone who sets a direction for a company. This vision needs to be

created and then fiercely believed and upheld. The leader must inspire others to work toward the

vision. To do this well, a leader has to first be followed, trusted, and respected by their

subordinates.

Typically leaders have this vision because they also have a strong aspiration to make their mark onthings. They arent happy with the way things are and believe they can make a substantial change.

These characteristics may seem to make a person egotistical and arrogant but a good leader is still

able to admit to and learn from faults or mistakes.

What is Bill Gates leadership style?

Bill Gates was great at setting direction for the company. He had a vision of the world and

successfully moved Microsoft in that direction. That vision was a computer on every desk and in

every home. Gates started the first major software company at a time when personal computing

hardly existed a radical change that has helped lead us into the Information Era. Gates believes,

it will affect the world seismically, rocking us in the same way the discovery of the scientific

method, the invention of printing did.

This is the first mark of a transformational leader. He had a major commitment to a huge goal and

backed it with his own values and beliefs. In his book, Business the Bill Gates Way, Des Dearlove

writes, Bill Gates is a modern business phenomenon: the greatest of the cyber-tycoons. His is not

simply a story of technical brilliance and enormous wealth; it is one of remarkable business vision

and an obsessive desire to win. It is also about a leadership style that is radically different to

anything the business world has seen before. He not only wanted his company to make an

impact on the world, but he wanted to be driving the bus that did it.

He did this with a combination of leadership styles. Gates is directive in terms of what he wants

and the strategy of the company. He has accepted that his major role is to be the visionary. He

likes confrontation in a sense that he wants things out in the open so they can be dealt with and

resolved. He had the ability to respond to market changes by quickly reinventing the company.

He is also, however, participative and consultative. He does seek advice from subordinates but

makes his own decisions. During his reign he considered the input of all employees and in most

cases even responded to their emails within 24 hours. Gates also participated in what Microsoft

calls Think Week. Think Week is where Gates is the sole reader of over 100 documents writtenby employees pertaining to company issues and future technology. Decentralizing the process of

gathering information led to a stronger company and helped stay away from the bureaucracy that

Gates did not want.

This also helps him gain the trust of his employees. It shows them that Gates cares about their

opinions and wants their advice in running the business. Being a programmer himself also enables

him to interact with employees on a common ground. He isnt just another MBA or manager, hes


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one of them. This makes him a border-line craftsmen in terms of leadership, however he did a

good job over the years in becoming interested and on top of other aspects of the business. It was

this ability to handle both the business and technical sides of the company that made Microsoft so

successful.

Being a transformational leader also makes him charismatic yet humble. He is hard working andmotivates people. After all, he did get Steve Ballmer to drop out of Stanford to come and work

with Microsoft. Successful ventures are defended heartily keeping employees inspired to do

more. He also gives credit to competition when they have a great product. In the video, Bill Gates

Praising Apple Computers, Gates praises Apple for their standard setting products. He really cares

about the evolution of technology and not just his own personal development.

What is Steve Ballmers leadership style?

Steve Ballmers leadership style is much less defined. He is not very big on radical change and

does not seem to have the same bold vision that Gates had. Im not quite sure what his greater

goal is. They have already achieved Gates goal so now what is Ballmers? Ballmer once said the

focus was no longer Windows or web developers, Not any more baby, it's advertising, advertising,

advertising! (Microsofts Ballmer and his brother Bill Gates) Hes staying true to his business

background but that isnt what Microsoft is all about.

This does however open up a few doors for Microsoft. It is believed by Louis Carter, CEO of the

Best Practice Institute, that one of Ballmers strengths is that he understands the industrys

market. Ballmer allows for a huge pipeline of information around him, says Carter. He is willing

to stand up and hear the feedback. And he closely monitors the needs of his audience - market

demands, perceived competitors, customers and employees - to immediately change his position

at any given moment.

As Ballmer comes from the business side, he is more financially and task oriented. There is no

technical confrontation with him as he is not a technical person and probably doesnt know how to

interact with programmers or designers in the same way Gates did. In spite of this perceived

downfall, he does believe that talent is crucial to reaching technical goals. According to Ballmer,

Microsoft must maintain a corporate culture that nurtures and rewards innovation in order to tap

the full potential of technologies... (Ballmer Foresees Growth in Information Management

Technology)

As will be discussed shortly, his focus does seem to be more on beating the competition andraising values and revenues. This seems to make him more transactional leader than

transformational. However, charisma is a defining characteristic of Ballmer and he is able to

inspire people. He even classifies himself as more bubbly than other leaders. Even so, his

emotional and charismatic antics are not sufficient for a leadership role as suggested in the

lecture. Perhaps these antics are more of a publicity stunt than feelings backed by values and a

true belief in the company.


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If that is the case, he may not be a leader in the full sense of the word. Maybe a gamesman would

be a more accurate depiction? He seems to believe in something but will still do anything to win

and can disguise moves with crazy behavior. Of course its impossible to determine ones true

thought and beliefs so this is purely hypothetical speculation. At least he says he realizes that

some adjustments need to be made regarding his leadership style. This shift to CEO has forced

these changes, and also changes to his personality as described by some executives he worksclosely with.

These changes have not subdued his blatant arrogance. In the video Microsoft CEO Ballmer laughs

at Apple iPhone, he actually laughs at the idea of the iPhone and believes Microsofts strategy is

clearly better. He almost seems confused and insulted when then interviewer asks him How do

you compete with that? He does go on to mention that the iPod is in the lead for music but

quickly goes on to say the Zune is gaining ground. I wonder how he feels about that interview

now

The same arrogance is displayed in regards to Google. In The CEO Must Steer the Corporate

Culture, Says Steve Ballmer,Ballmer notes that Googles success is not a threat to Microsoft but

that their business built on search technology is very good. He went on to say everything else [it

produces] is sort of cute. And he disagrees with Googles tactic of letting employees work on their

own projects by saying pet projects aren't paying for me to come down to Stanford Business

School. He can never compliment a competitive business without subsequently mentioning that

Microsoft is better in his opinion.

This could be in part due to his philosophy on partnerships. He wants to pass a stable vision of

Microsoft onto its partners and customers to convince them that even with all of the hype

surrounding Google and iPhones, Microsoft is still not only in the game, but a leader in the

industry. I have learned about business partners that business partners are your partnersbecause they make money with you, they succeed with you. And if you don't succeed, eventually

you don't have any partners. (Steve Ballmer speaks passionately about Microsoft, Leadership

and Passion)

What effect did Gates have on Microsoft?

James Collins, co-author of the book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, said,

To my mind, Microsoft has never been a company. It's a single remarkable individual, Gates, with

thousands of the smartest, best-paid people anywhere helping that individual. It's basically like a

big wheel, with Gates at the hub. (Leadership the Bill Gates Way)

He was a very smart, hardworking, goal driven individual who had the ability to inspire people to

follow him. That was his biggest contribution to the company as a leader. Once the vision was

clear, the company could speak for itself. He reinvented and refocused it frequently, always with a

great degree of confidence. Although he enjoyed beating the competition he typically did not cast

an arrogant or vindictive vibe and praised competitors for products he felt were superior.


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When asked about competition by Peter Jennings in an ABC interview, Gates said, Well,

competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry is intensely competitive.

Whether it's Google or Apple or free software, we've got some fantastic competitors and it keeps

us on our toes.

Gates also had the greatest talents hand selected for him. He liked to work closely with hisemployees as much as he could and greatly considered their feedback. A great deal of effort was

put into retaining these employees that Gates considered invaluable to Microsofts success. The

culture reflected the importance of these employees and Microsoft set a high standard for how

technology companies should treat their employees. There was a big focus on career

development and healthcare. Early on, all employees could email him directly with comments,

suggestions, or complaints. He also created a campus that employees never had to leave. They

were offered free drinks and health club memberships, laundry and grocery services, and even

counseling. Bill Gates understood the value in paying well, giving great perks, and investing in his

employees future. He has probably made more people wealthy than any other CEO alive. He also

understands what it takes to motivate his employees so they were engaged and excited about

their work. (7 Awesome Lessons from Bill Gates Love Him or Hate Him, He is a Genius)

It also was a culture that nurtured employees in conjunction with the innovations and products

they were working on. Gates put a great emphasis on innovation and believes, In fact, the way

software works -- so long as you are using your existing software -- you don't pay us anything at all.

So we're only paid for breakthroughs. We have to make a new version of Windows or Office that

you think is worth going out and buying. (One-on-One with Bill Gates) As a result, Gates tried to

meet with every product team for a Bill Review. As described by Chris Caposela, a senior Vice

President in the Business Division, Bill Reviews were famous for the intense barrage of

questions Gates would fire at product teams. Those are sort of legendary for teams to get a big

morale boost from how that product review went. [They] got a lot of mileage out of the feedbackthat he would provide. (Ballmer focusing on next big thing for Microsoft). This kept him in direct

contact with all of the companys offerings, as well provided as a visible, involved, and enthusiastic

leader to employees.

What effect did Ballmer have on Microsoft?

While Bill Gates liked to focus the majority of his time on technology and production, Steve

Ballmer focuses more on the business aspects of the company. He reorganized the business into

units and tried to expand on core products as a new strategy. Ballmer has also tried to make

efforts to remedy customer and partner relationships.

Its not clear if his business oriented approach to these problems is actually helping or not but its

a step in the right direction. It is also not clear if he has the same overall vision and tenacity for

technology as Gates. He says his focus is on the long-term and wants to work on markets until

they are competitive. Rather than accomplishing this by focusing on maintaining loyal customers

with useful and meaningful new product offerings and updates, he instead half-heartedly focuses

on catching up to and beating the competition, no matter what the market might be.
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For example, Microsoft originally had two main offerings operating systems and Office. They

recently added the Web and Software as a Service to that list. So why bother with the Zune music

player? Its an obvious reaction to the iPod/iPhone which Ballmer publicly scoffed at. This is nasty

spin on the once positive embrace and extend mantra atMicrosoft. Combined with Ballmers

flagrant attitude, it leaves those loyal customers wondering why Microsoft has not released adecent product under his reign. And furthermore, why he isnt doing anything to improve the

products he does have.

As of late, Ballmer has realized some of his faults and actively tried to change his style. He has

transformed himself and the business. As a person, he is more reserved in appearance and

portrays his attitude as passionate and energetic. His entrance into seemingly random markets is

now portrayed as a base for future growth. He is also working to save Microsofts reputation as a

mature and trust worthy company.

Internally, Ballmer is trying to make some changes for the better. He created Vision Version 2

which is supposed to energize employees and help them focus on customers. He wants to

improve current service and support while still staying/becoming the industry leader. To help

accomplish this he is giving more authority to employees and running with some of their ideas.

This will streamline some of the recent bureaucracy so that research and development is not

slowed. In some ways this might be a combination of his lack of technical expertise and his

financial management skills. The new vision saves money and allows a Microsoft without Bill

Gates micromanaging projects to succeed.

Still a lingering concern for many, Ballmer is pushing forcefully for expansion beyond Windows.

Moving into these areas may be the riskiest part of Microsoft's strategy under Ballmer. It

involves a tricky balancing act that pits Microsoft's growth aspirations against its pledge to be abetter partner and leader in the industry. (Microsoft CEO wants company to broaden its reach,

burnish its reputation) Part of the maturation plan will have to be learning to play nicely with

these competitors and partners. The other part of the plan will be getting the employees and

customers on board. Ballmer says When you are not the first guy in the market, you have two

choices: Get in or don't get in. ... Are you a company that is afraid to get into something where

there is a clear market leader? We put our hands up and said, 'No, we're not going to be afraid of

that.' (Steve Ballmer speaks passionately about Microsoft, Leadership and Passion) If Ballmer

can get these two key parts nailed down he will have a really great chance to do something big

with the company.

7 Key Lessons from a Greatest Leader of all times - BillGates

June 27, 2008


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28th

June, 2008 saw the end of an era in Business, Technology and

Greatness. Founder of Microsoft, William Henry Gates III, presently the 3rd

richest person in the

world, decided to hang his boots and start living a life with bigger purpose. My idol for a long

time, Bill Gates has been a name to reckon with at every single home, at every single

corporation. His career spanning over 33 long years provided a great sense of achievement for

himself and the rest of the computer industry. He quoted If GM had kept up with technology

like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG. This is thekind of influence he had after founding Microsoft Corporation the big giant in the IT industry. I

want to write here some of the great learnings of mine from this genius.

Success comes with a Great VisionEvery business and household must have a computer and must run Microsoft software ,

was the basic guiding vision of Bill Gates. When everyone in the world were not even aware of

the software industrys future here was a man who trusted on his gut feel and passion decided to

take the vision the farthest possible way. He was almost there achieving his vision. This clear

vision of him won him several laurels and went to be the richest person in the world for 13

continuous long years.

Do what you are Passionate about, the rest will FollowPraveen Sherman

This is something that I learnt from Bill Gates even as an young lad. I grew up seeing the success

of Bill Gates and I was for a long time under the impression that he

was just making lots of money by luck. But what Bill Gates proved was different. There is no

one who could write software code as he could. When as a student at the Harvard university,

every single student would have wanted to be part of the great institute and graduate to be

successful, Bill Gates decided to stop studying and pursue his dream of writing softwares for

every computer in the world. Just started the agreement between IBM and Microsoft, Gates

along with friend Paul Allen was to write an interpreter for the IBM PC. He was not ready on the
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date that was announced for the installation and the good news for Gates was that the party at the

other end too were not ready. This got the fire in him to write that piece of software and bundle

with every IBM computer in the world. He was just passionate about software, coding and

technology that incidentally also made him the richest man in the world

Intellectual property has the shelf life of a bananasays Bill Gates that has made him a great

innovator too. Focusing on taking the computer to every single house hold made him an

household name too.

Failures are learning lessons:-PerseveranceYour most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. - Bill Gates

Bill Gates was never afraid of losing and went on to win a lot of deals because of

this. While the Microsoft windows operating system is the widely used in the world, there are a

good number of criticisms and unhappiness about the software among the users. While many of

them used to get bugged using Microsoft products, Bill Gates did not easily give up. He took all

those as nice lesson and is improving every single day. When critics were talking about

infringement of laws by Bill Gates, he struck on and was giving the best the employees and the

users of Microsoft Software products.

Its fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. - Bill

Gates

Higher the Self Esteem the better it getsWhen you start achieving something big, there will be people who would want to make fun of

your efforts, pull you down and so on. The stronger you stand the bolder you get the faster these

negatives wither.

When IBM pulled out of the contract for the operating system to be bundled with the IBM Clone

PCs, Bill Gates stayed on and started focusing on the creating Windows amidst lots of hiccupsthat will hamper the company. Inventing the MS Access database system, was a relevant owing

to the failure of the Omega Database with IBM. He saw an opportunity at every single place that

helped him to achieve greatest heights. He did not allow others to deter him by inventing many

thins to the public and still reaching his top most Goals and vision.

Whether its Google or Apple or free software, weve got some fantastic competitors and it

keeps us on our toes Bill Gates
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Opportunity knocks once:Bill Gates took up the responsibility of being the Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates was

nurturing Microsoft by building a broad range of products. This was not just capitalize on the

knowledge but provide the best by understanding the need of the people. He did not sit back and

wait for people to ask what they wanted and instead made a revolution of creating an opportunity

for himself and his company by innovating. He did not sit and do something that anyone could,

but he took the reins into his hands to almost single handedly take Microsoft to this great heights.

I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will

be moved to act. Bill Gates

Action Speaks Louder

This is one never mentioned secret of success. Action is the key word.

When logic never drives us its emotions. We must have that emotional strength in us to take

action. Bill Gates as a small young boy never had anything to lose which he kept telling his good

friend Paul Allen. When he had several odds again him such as the American Law and several

cases against him, he still consistently took action by developing more software which the people

wanted. This made him a super star overnight. If not for Bill Gates, Microsoft would have not

seen the light today of what it gets. This was because of his constant delivery of ideas to his

Goals and vision.

He was a drop out from one of the worlds best universities the Harvard and not everyone from

there went to achieve great heights like Bill Gates did, which proves the basic fact that education

is just a tool for success and does not define success itself. During the convocation address at the

Harvard university, Bill Gates mentioned that good he came when they were graduating and not

when during the time when they joined the university else they would have changed their mind.

We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and

underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Dont let yourself be lulled into

inaction. Bill Gates

Trust- An unwritten rule for great leadership wisdomRight from day 1 at Microsoft, Bill Gates was very open to the ideas. This he also proved later

when Steve Balmer stepped into the shoes of Bill Gates and became the CEO of the company.

He always believed that there is no end to learning from people, from books and so on. I really
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had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I

had a chance to read a lot, says Bill Gates ready for more ideas to float around which will make

sure that the same culture of innovation continues in Microsoft even without his presence.

At Microsoft there are lots of brilliant ideas but the image is that they all come from the

top - Im afraid thats not quite right. Bill Gates

Success must never get on to the head

This is by far the best lesson what we learn from Bill Gates. At a

tender age of 21, Bill Gates had achieved many a things including having money and fame. This

did not allow him to stop achieving and always had the drive to achieve great heights. If Id had

some set idea of a finish line, dont you think I would have crossed it years ago? quote Bill

Gates with utmost passion and determination.

Microsoft is not about greed. Its about Innovation and Fairness. Bill Gates

Never stop learning was the Mantra of Bill Gates which he follow till date. This empowers him

to be a Great Leader of our times. He will always be remembers as an Icon and even without his

presence in Microsoft he would still be regarded as a great inventor and a real genius in every

regard of Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Bill Gates: Entrepreneur, Manager, andLeader

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Today marks the last working day for Bill Gates at Microsoft. So much has been writtenand spoken about him that another column appears redundant. Some people may evenfeel a tinge of happiness that they no longer have to contend with the ruthlessbusinessman that Gates has been portrayed as. The purpose of this post is to analyzewhat can be learned by young people from perhaps the most successful entrepreneur ofour times.

Focus: Bill Gates has demonstrated over nearly thirty years the importance of clarityof thought and execution. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not move awayfrom the domain he understood better than anything else - software. He has pursued

the objective of dominance in software in general and operating systems in particularthat has few parallels. Venturing into unfamiliar territory may be fashionable but carriesa high degree of risk. If ever a need arises for an absolute example for whatPeters andWatermancalled "Stick to the Knitting" and Hamel and Prahalad termedcorecompetence, one needs to look no further than Bill Gates and Microsoft. Focus alsomeans the ability to pursue one's goals whatever the obstacles may be. Such a degreeof perseverance is hard to come by.
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Thinking big: Along with focus, the ability to dream big and pursue that with single-minded determination sets Gates apart from other entrepreneurs. This is particularlytrue of entrepreneurs from emerging economies like India where an ultra-conservativeattitude has stifled growth. Entrepreneurs need to develop confidence in themselvesand their team that they can take on the world and come out winners.

Passion: Simply put, if anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well. From a simplethank you note to a complex proposal, it is critical to place the stamp of excellence onwhatever one undertakes. Equally important is the need to constantly innovate. Changeis the only constant and the more agile and adaptive we are to change, the moresuccessful we can be.

Learning as a life-long process: Though dropping out of college to his dreams, BillGates has probably read and written more than most of us ever will. In the process, hehas shown the limits of formal education. Important as formal education is, perhaps it ismore important to realize that learning is a life-long process. Knowledge is infinite. Even

if we keep assimilating it without a break throughout a lifetime, we would not havescratched the surface. Knowledge should lead to humility and wisdom - not arroganceand one-upmanship.

Giving back to society: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided a newdimension to philanthropy by addressing issues that are global in nature - malaria,cancer, AIDS. Feeling good by doing good may appear old-fashioned but this may yetbe the best way forward in combating diseases that kill or maim millions of people everyyear. With friend and legendary investor Warren Buffet also joining hands, a formidablecombination has been forged. Bill Gates has shown a remarkable degree of consistencyboth in his business goals and in his goals in philanthropy - he is a global citizen.

Although some Indian entrepreneurs have indeed espoused similar causes - InfosysFoundation, Azim Premji Foundation, and the House of Tata come to mind, a lot morecan be done by successful Indian entrepreneurs. In fact, just 5% of the wealth of the200 richest people can eradicate some of the most pressing problems that we face.Wealth should not be merely in terms of building the most flamboyant homes but inpursuing a higher calling. Where is the collective conscience of the rich who hav made itbig due to the society that they are a part of?

As with any successful or great person, there will always be controversies. In an agewhere the distinction between means and ends is increasingly blurred, taking extremepositions hardly helps. One may not agree with Gates' means for achieving what hehas, but one would find it difficult to ignore his contributions to the IT industry. However,history and posterity will probably recognize him more for what he has decided to do - ata relatively young age - for the rest of his life. Combating hunger, fighting disease andeducating the poor are truly lofty goals worth emulating by anyone who cares forhumanity and for the quality of life on this planet. On this count, there cannot be manyrole models better than Bill Gates. The last thirty years have seen the emergence of anentrepreneur par excellence. The next thirty years will probably see the emergence of


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the greatest individual philanthropist - not necessarily in monetary terms - but in termsof the global issues addressed with dedication.

Since this is a discussion forum, two questions to readers:

How do you get the next Bill Gates, or better, without inviting the kind ofcontroversy that his success has spawned?

Why can't governments spend 1% less on defense and use the money toimprove living conditions for the poorest of the poor?

leadership style bill gates1

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