By his own admission, the Microsoft co-founder doesn’t read many books about how to run a business.
Bill Gates is probably the last person you’d expect who needs business lessons. By his own admission, the Microsoft co-founder doesn’t read many books about how to run a business because it’s ‘rare to find one that really captures what it’s like to build and operate an organization’.
However if pressed, there are two books that Gates would recommend to anyone who asks - John Brooks’s 'Business Adventures' and 'The Ride of a Lifetime' by Robert Iger.
The former was recommended to Gates by friend and fellow entrepreneur Warren Buffett almost three decades ago. Shortly after the duo met in 1991, Gates asked Buffett for his favorite business book recommendation and Buffett lent Gates his copy of 'Business Adventures' by John Brooks. According to a media report, Gates still has Buffett’s copy and it remains to date one of the best business books he’s ever read. “Whenever someone asks me to recommend one book on business, that’s the one I suggest most often,” he wrote on his blog.
John Brooks’s 'Business Adventures' was recommended to Gates by friend and fellow entrepreneur Warren Buffett almost three decades ago. Another book that Gates would recommend for business lessons or insights is Robert Iger's 'The Ride of a Lifetime'. “Iger does a great job explaining what it is like to be a CEO,” wrote Gates. “He is able to take you inside the workings of a massive media company and show how he thought about building on its strengths and shoring up its weaknesses.”
In addition to the book’s smart insights and colourful characters, one of the things that Gates appreciates the most is Iger’s list of lessons to lead by.
Gates says Iger does a great job explaining what it is like to be a CEO.
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“Normally, I am allergic to lists like this because they’re so vacuous. But Iger’s is quite perceptive,” wrote Gates. “For example, he advises, “Value ability more than experience, and put people in roles that require more of them than they know they have in them.” And he writes, “I became comfortable with failure—not with lack of effort, but with the fact that if you want innovation, you need to grant permission to fail.” Melinda and I regularly give the same advice to the teams at our foundation.”
For anyone who’s looking to navigate the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gates’ recommendation is a timely one.
Bill Gates, Ratan Tata, Jack Ma: Business Leaders Who Accepted Their Biggest Mistakes
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Bill Gates recently said that his ‘greatest mistake ever’ — reportedly worth $400 billion — was to not create Android at Microsoft. A look at other regrets of businessmen.
(In pic from left: Bill Gates, Ratan Tata, Jack Ma)
Bill Gates recently said that his ‘greatest mistake ever’ — reportedly worth $400 billion — was to not create Android at Microsoft. A look at other regrets of businessmen.(In pic from left: Bill Gate..
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In April 2018, Mark Zuckerberg told reporters that he made a ‘huge mistake’ in failing to take a broad enough view about Facebook’s responsibility to the world. This statement was also in the context of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the data mining firm misused data to try and influence elections. In March 2018, Zuckerberg said that “one of the biggest mistakes” of Facebook was not digging deeper into the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
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The year 2015 marked the 50th anniversary of Warren Buffett and his partners’ decision to take control of Berkshire Hathaway. In his letter to the shareholders, Buffett shared his biggest investment mistakes. He said that buying Berkshire was a “monumentally stupid decision” and that he had only bought the company because it was cheap. Buffett kept investing money in Berkshire’s textile mills, eventually shutting operations in 1985.
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In July 2015, Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts and former head of Tata Sons, said his greatest mistake was branding of the Nano car as the cheapest instead of the ‘most affordable’, which was the intention of the company. Branding the car as the cheapest created a negative impact on the market, he said. “Success comes i f one took decisions that one thinks are the right ones,” Tata said.
In July 2015, Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts and former head of Tata Sons, said his greatest mistake was branding of the Nano car as the cheapest instead of the ‘most affordable’, which was the ..
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In March 2018, Elon Musk participated in a Q&A at South by Southwest. While answering a variety of questions, the Tesla CEO said that the biggest career mistake he made was not being more involved with Tesla in its initial days. From 2004 to 2008, Musk was a lead investor in Tesla, but he was the CEO of SpaceX, a space exploration company. At the event, Musk said, “I think that was probably the biggest mistake of my career. Whenever you think you can have your cake and eat it too, you’re probably wrong.”
In March 2018, Elon Musk participated in a Q&A at South by Southwest. While answering a variety of questions, the Tesla CEO said that the biggest career mistake he made was not being more involved wi..
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In April 2016, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s founder and CEO Jack Ma spoke at the 20th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. At the event, Ma reportedly said, “My biggest mistake was I made Alibaba. I never thought that this thing would change my life. I was just trying to do a small business and grow that big [sic], take that much responsibility and got so much trouble. Every day is like as busy as a president, and I don’t have any power. And then I don’t have my life.” In January 2018, Alibaba became the second Asian company to break the $500-billion valuation mark.
In April 2016, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s founder and CEO Jack Ma spoke at the 20th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. At the event, Ma reportedly said, “My biggest mistake was I mad..
