Tag Archives: Bill Gates

Warren Buffet’s Life Advice Revised

Making Decisions On Things You Understand:

Think very hard about the decisions you make, you only need to swing at the pitches that you know you understand.

Build A Model For Understanding the World:

What is it about your model of the world that is wrong? Understand how you understand the world.

Reading is the Gateway to Better Insights:

Read all the time. Learn all the time. You can take courses online. The information is out there. Exercise your brain by reading before bed. Ideally, spend at least 4 to 5 hours per day reading.

Salacious Stories Sell More, Unfortunately for the Reasonable:

Some of the sentiments about viruses are more salacious and therefore the press runs with those stories because of $ad revenue and traffic benefits to their websites.

Don’t Fear Failure:

You can still go forward.

Look for a Job You Would Take if You Didn’t Need a Job:

Life’s too short to take a job that you won’t be passionate about. We will solve cancer, obesity and climate change: Science is a big problem solver, these are the areas that we are going to solve.

Keynes Essays on Persuasion:

Keynes theorized that output would be 4x what it was in the 1930s. The distribution is a problem. But you free up people with the possibility to do other things when new technology distributes old processes. The people that fall behind on the weigh-side do need help for sure. There is a macro picture that is a total opportunity.

Lessons from a Masters In Business Administration: Microsoft, eBay & Work/Life Balance

Cash-flow At Microsoft:  Investors tend to like to see cash invested on improving the business or returned to them as dividends.  Microsoft kept a lot of cash on its books. Many think this is because software is intensely competitive, and so Microsoft needs a cash cushion to carry it through. Microsoft habitually create a negative impression to investors to minimize earnings expectations in order to beat the Wall Street predictions. However, Bill Gates explained the cash on hand as such; when he hired his friends, they would be expected to be paid, so he developed a conservative approach to paying them by ensuring that there was enough money in the bank to pay a year’s worth of payroll. Getting your friends to leave their jobs and then not having enough to pay them would be a betrayal. Do not let down your friends if you are working in a start-up.

Meg Whitman & eBay: returns on assets and investment will never go out of fashion. The fundamentals of costs, customers, and competitors yield rewards. Experience builds intuition which is invaluable. Employees are motivated by the feeling of being on a mission.

A Rules To Live By: Whitman says that you’re never as good as you think you are, but never as bad either. She also laments having missed out on her family, and friends. Whitman’s 9 point personal philosophy:

  1. do something you enjoy;
  2. deliver the results;
  3. codify the lessons learned;
  4. be patient and stick around good people, and good things;
  5. build a team and share credit;
  6. be fun to work with;
  7. ask what you don’t know or understand;
  8. don’t take yourself too seriously;
  9. never, ever compromise your integrity.

The Five Whys: ask why five times, and you will find the root of a problem.

Work/Life Balance: business schools are not interested in promoting those who have simply gone out, and led happy lives. They are interested in game-changers to entice new recruits for consultancies, and investment banking. MBA programs pay lip service to giving people the right kind of work/life balance all the time. If you are really seeking a healthy work/life balance than you should work in the education sector.

[This is a synopsis of several books on the MBA experience including What They Teach You At Harvard Business School by P.D. Broughton]

Buffett & Gates on How To Be Successful

Synopsis Of Discussion In 1998

Warren Buffett Points:

Career Advice:

Don’t do a job that you don’t enjoy. Waiting for a good time to have fun at your job is like saving up for sex for your old age. Get right into what you enjoy instead of doing something you don’t enjoy. You are wired to do something best. So find that thing. Enjoy doing your job everyday.

Capitalism is always neutralizing so expect value to be ephemeral.

Good Fortune:

Warren Buffett recognized that he was born in the right place and wired the right way to create immense value. There was a 1/50 chance that he would be born in the US at the time. He doesn’t believe in the dynasty model, he believed in a meritocracy in business. Let the resources flow to those who use them best. Warren is looking for the predictable rather then software product like Gates’. Buffett famously doesn’t invest in technology. Buffett can’t tell the winners and losers in technology stocks so he doesn’t invest in them. (He has now come around in 2012)

Warren Buffet loves playing the game of investing.

When You Find Something Of High Value:

You need to take a swing at that high value opportunity. Don’t read another book on the subject just go do that thing. You should be afraid of decisions of omission just as much as anything else. Never Look Back, don’t worry about the past. Learn from it but that’s a bit it.

What Buffett Does For A Living:

  • Allocate capital investments is 50%
  • The other 50% is keeping a group of manager enthused about what they do when they have no financial need to do it.

What About Retirement?:

Warren Buffett said in 1998 that he would retire 5 years after he died. That his team of Berkshire Hawthaway would be able to contact him via wigi board. But in seriousness, we have outstanding people. Buffett has written a letter that opens “Yesterday, I died. Here’s what you do with Berkshire Hawthaway.”

Bill Gates Points:

We’ve gotten better at understanding non-US markets at Microsoft in 1998. Microsoft is very good at international business because we have scaled outside of the US. The future is that the United States is a replacement market but the international market is early development so that’s more exciting.

Being Too Young When You Start A Company:

Bill Gates couldn’t rent a car to go to meetings because the rental restriction was 25 in the US, he had to take taxi to client meetings in the early days. The best thing is to learn how other businesses work which is sort of a regret on Gates’ part. Clients would say things like, let’s go to the bar but they couldn’t go to the bar. It is hard to find older people because they don’t want to take the risk.

What Gates Does For A Living:

Gates doesn’t miss game changing changes. IBM was unstoppable until they missed a few turns in the road. Microsoft is concerned about pulling things together to prevent a missed change in the tech market. We don’t want to get surprised but we almost missed the internet. The internet came along as the 5th priority at first but then Gates realized it was a much deeper phenomenon. And then they coalesced around ideas and how to measure success ourselves internally, then deployed an internet strategy.

The Future Of Value:

Bill Gates believes that the US is best at allocating capital at the moment. Korea and China are investing in education and technology so we should expect the next generation to get ahead. But there will be shift of value away from country-based value, now with the internet, services and advice are going to be made more easily available and those people are going to be better off and taken advantage. Gates is adamant that China is at least stealing our software then we figure out how to collect.

Picking People Is Important:

You need to totally trust and totally check you people. You need to have really brilliant people around you that have that kind of brilliance to debate openly. Bill Gates sees that anti-trust is not unfair. The judiciary looks at whether the competition has been beneficial to consumers. Developing countries are going to get great development and people are what matter.

What About Retirement?:

Bill Gates said he would resign as CEO in 10 years. Gates actually resigned 2 years after this presentation….

From Steve Jobs’ Life: Do Not Disrespect your Potential Business Partners

Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business Partners:

Gates did not like NeXT, in particular he did not like the lack of compatibility of the NeXTWorld application specifications with the rest of the software industry. When Jobs invited Gates to visit his NeXT offices, Jobs made Gates wait for 30 minutes in a glass waiting room while Jobs chatted with multiple people in clear view just to spite Gates. The two hated eachother. Gates was not cooperative largely due to external factors, just as he was with the iPhone but treating Gates poorly did not help Steve Jobs’ business development strategy. Gates thought the black casing of NeXT did not make sense, and refused to allocate staff to develop for it. Gates did not think there was a market for the NeXT computer because it was yet another closed system like Apple itself. NeXT was based on an optical disc which was impressive but Microsoft did not like the end to end control that Jobs inevitably pushed for. Steve Jobs tried to get NeXT software on the IBM in order to get further sources of revenue but by the late 198s, IBM was tanking out of the computer operating system market. The core problem was that NeXT Step was not compatible with anything! Microsoft wanted the monopoly, and Gates did everything he could to prevent Jobs from going forward with his project. Jobs cut off the possibility of NeXT clones that could expand the base of available computers in the market thereby increasing the potential sale of NeXT software but he stubbornly remained an advocate of the closed system.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to DoExclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies

From STeve Jobs’ Life: Eras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2

Eras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2:

As Jobs stepped in the limelight again at MacWorld 1997, he announced a partnership with Bill Gates’ Microsoft stating that a zero-sum game (between Apple and Microsoft) was not the way forward. Gates had stolen the Graphical User Interface from MacIntosh which was borrowed from Xerox PARC, but had struck a deal with Scully to not release a GUI until after 1988. When Windows 2.0 was released, Apple sued them unsuccessfully for IP theft. By 1997, Gates refused to help Amelio create a Word processor. When Clinton began building an anti-trust case against Microsoft for their near monopoly (particularly their destruction of Netscape), and other unethical business practices, Jobs told a Justice department official to continue if only to allow Apple to develop an alternative.

Steve Jobs closed a simple deal with Gates with the agreement that Apple would stop suing Microsoft for stolen IP, while Microsoft would have a $150 million stake in Apple with non-voting shares, and produce Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Explorer for the Mac. At MacWorld 1997, this decision to work with Microsoft was very controversial, and there was a public relations gaffe that Jobs would later regret. When introducing Bill Gates at MacWorld, Jobs decided to have Bill Gates beamed into the auditorium via satellite. The only problem was that Bill Gates was put on a giant projector screen over looking the audience like a powerful overlord or Big Brother.

This is an analysis based on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and other sources of research. Enjoy.

 More from Steve Job’s Life by Walter Isaacson
Location Really Does Matter for EntrepeurshipChildhood Shapes Your Thinking
Go Get What You Want, If You Have the CourageEducation Is For Conformists
Assume That You Will Die YoungGo To India
Pranking People Requires Creative ThinkingStarting A Company Is Very Difficult
Meet a Brilliant & Nobel EngineerMeetups Bring Insanely Great Ideas Together
Knowing What You Wanted to DoExclude Relevant Information Where Necessary
Have Discipline Over Body and MindPicking A Name is as Simple As Picking Apples
Crime Does Pay!!??Sharing Ideas Is Fine Up To A Point
Most Good Ideas Have to Be Force Down Peoples ThroatsXerox Parc
Run Your Company Our Of Your Parents HouseMike Markkula’s Marketing Theory Is Built Around Three Areas
MacKenna’s Advertising Style WorkedDon’t Worry About A Business Plan Until You Need Investment in a Serious Venture
Create A Simple Product For HouseholdsYour Product Needs to be a Full Simple Package
Jobs’ Management Style Was “Shit” from ’77 to ’85A Startup Will Become Impersonal With Success
Apple III was a bastard childBeing Abandoned = Ignoring Reality
Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists StealSurround Yourself With “A Players”
Reality Distortion FieldBe At The Nexus of Humanities and Technology
Believe In A Closed System & Product ControlMarket Research Is For Idiots
Motivate With The Big PictureUnhealthy Competition Within A Company Can be Corrosive
The Best & Most Innovative Products Don’t Always WinEras Are Defined by Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 1
Genius Versus Shit-HeadThe Boardroom Showdown & Emotionality
Advertising Does MatterA Messy Company Can Still Work
A Clean Factory Is Insanely Great But The Product Has To SellBeing Right Isn’t As Important As Winning
Imperfection Is A Moral WrongBringing In An Outside Expert Can Be Costly
The Original Macintosh Had Bad SalesFall From Grace Through Management Incompetence
Finding Similarities Between Yourself & Your Business Partner May Not Be GoodEras Are Defined By Partnerships & Rivalry – Gates Versus Jobs Round 2
Force An Ultimatum To Get Control of a CompanyNever Tell The Allies of Your Opposition That You’re Planning a Coup
Brilliant Failures Help You GrowDesign Should Not Trump Processing
Do Not Disrespect Your Potential Business PartnersGet Real On Your Lean Startup
Get A VC Who Missed Out On A Previous Winning OpportunityAvoid The Problem of Focusing on the Small
Gain Financial Control Against Your Business PartnersRivalry of the Ants & Breaking With Disney
Build A Board That Cannot Operate Independently of the CEODo Not Chase Profits, Chase Value
Do Not Force Other Businesses Into Your Closed SystemHow To Save A Dying Tech Company – Fire the Board Or Resign
Merge Your Venture With A Giant That You Can Take OverTargeting the Education Market Is Not Lucrative
How to Save Dying Tech Company – Return To Your Successful RootsHow to Save a Dying Tech Company – Make Products Not Profit, Fundamentally
Skate Where the Puck’s Going, Not Where It’s BeenThe Loser Now Will Be Soon To Win
The Internet Is Made For MusicBrand Yourself Differently
Don’t Be Afraid to CannibalizeCreate Complimentary Product Offerings Without a Lead Loss Generator
Focus On What People Really Want…1,000 SongsGoogle’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” is Bullshit
Get Yourself Into the Cloud & A CastleDon’t Fear Change In Industry, Anticipate It
Create An Inventory Management System & Build a Store That WorksConverge Old Devices Into 1 New Device
Do Not Ignore Medical Diagnoses Make Peace With Your Old Enemies