BILL GATES - LEADERSHIP STYLE

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abhishreshthaa

Abhijeet S
BILL GATES:

Born : 28Th Oct 1955 Seattle, Washington, US

Father : William Henry Gates II (lawyer)

Mother : Mary Gates (School Teacher)

Excellence : Math's & Science

Alma*mater: Harvard University

Designation : Chairman of Microsoft



BEFORE MICROSOFT:

1968 :Formation of Lakeside programmers group.

1971 :Opportunity from (ISI) to develop program to manage payroll system.

1972 :Started their own company.”Traf-O-Data”.

1973 :Gates & Allen got job in Honeywell.

1974 : Development of BASIC program.


AFTER MICROSOFT:

1975 :Gates & Allen formed their own company “MICROSOFT” in April.

1977 :Gates released version of FORTRAN language for microcomputers.

1978 : Duo introduced a version of COBAL. “ emerged as market leader”.

1979 :Microsoft develop new version of BASIC.

1981 : 35% of employee were working for IBM project


SUCCESS KEY:

  • Strategic Decision regarding Product development.

  • Division of work in small team.

  • Review meetings for project every three months.

  • Development of “Customer feedback Loop”.

  • Gates created an End user program in 1980.

  • Gates not only focused on developing new technology but also created market for it. For eg. CD ROM


RIGHT PERSON ON RIGHT JOB:

  • Talented individual were invited to work for his company.

  • Formula for hiring employee is n-1.

  • Promotion of an informal culture at work.

  • Recruiters were asked to attend meetings to understand actual need of Organization.

  • Decentralization was followed. When there is difference in opinion Gates act as Arbiter.

  • Reward system was followed.


MARKETING POWER:

  • the innovative & aggressive marketing strategies.


  • Positioning


  • Gates could rightly judge the market potential & flooded markets with Microsoft products.


  • More than developing Codes, Microsoft developed Standards in business,.


  • Microsoft’s main goal was not profit maximization, rather it strived to create and maintain customer relationship which can support the organization – strategically, financially, and technically.


GATES- THE LEADER:

  • Gates transformed Microsoft from US$ 1 in million company in 1978 to US$ 28.37 billion in 2002.


  • Inspite of being the market leader, Gates never allowed the organization members to be complacent, on its success.


  • They rather kept challenging themselves & bought it new products that would meet the future trends


  • Gates had in-dept understanding of technology and unique way of synthesizing data, which gave him the special ability to spot future trends.


  • Acc to Gates, the flat organizational structure at Microsoft has help it reached to the top & also staying there.


  • Gates was also a philanthropist. He donated huge sums for various causes like education, health, population and technology.



CRITICISM:

  • Analysts say that Microsoft was in no way innovative; as it just reformed existing products to satisfy customer needs.

  • There was no actual new product development.


  • Some products of Microsoft were difficult to work with & were costly to maintain.


  • Bureaucratic Management.


  • Autocratic leadership.


  • It tried to create complete Monopoly in the Market.


  • Gates completely miscalculated the Internet Revolution and failed to introduce suitable alternative product
 
If you really want to understand the perception and leadership formula, study their quotes, it reflects their Style.

1) It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
Bill Gates

2) Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.
Bill Gates

3) Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.
Bill Gates

4) We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve.
Bill Gates

5) If you can't make it good, at least make it look good.
Bill Gates
 
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