Leadership the Bill Gates Way
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Case Details:
Case Code : LDEN014
Case Length : 14 Pages
Period : 1968-2003
Pub Date : 2003
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : Microsoft
Industry : Software
Countries : USA
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Please note:
This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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Excerpts
The Early Years
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Gates and Allen set up their own software company in April 1975, when Gates
dropped out of Harvard and founded Microsoft. In 1977, Microsoft sold $500,000
worth of software. By this time, the BASIC program was being used in many
computers.
Gates and Allen were assisted by a staff of six, which included four
programmers. In late 1977, Gates released a version of FORTRAN language for
microcomputers. In 1978, Gates and Allen introduced a version of COBOL. Around
this time, Microsoft emerged as the market leader in microcomputer languages
with sales exceeding $1 million. In 1979, Microsoft developed a new version of
BASIC...
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Focus on Product Development
Gates played an important role in product development activities at Microsoft.
Much of his development efforts were directed towards product
simplification. Gates believed that user-friendly computers and easily
accessible software could attract many new customers. He tried to view the
entire product portfolio of Microsoft in the light of future prospects and
likely competitor moves. Accordingly, he made strategic decisions regarding
product development. During the early years of Microsoft, all product
development activities were done at one site. People worked in small teams
so that whatever interdependencies existed could be handled by the concerned
individuals immediately...
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Hiring the Best Talent
Gates paid special attention to recruit and retain
the best talent in the software industry. He believed that the
recruitment of talented software engineers was one of the most critical
elements in the software industry. Gates looked for a bundle of
attributes in recruits. These included the capacity to grasp new
knowledge quickly, the ability to ask probing questions, and deep
familiarity with programming structures. Though a great number of potential recruits applied
for jobs at Microsoft, Gates assumed that the best talent would never
apply directly. Consequently, Microsoft's HR managers had to hunt for
the best talent and offer them a job... |
Excerpts
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