http://www.businessweek.com/management/idolize-bill-gates-not-steve-jobs-11012011.html
Both leaders are highly admirable, but Gates used his talents in ways that stretch further beyond the business world, says Harvard scholar Maxwell Wessel
Posted on Harvard Business Review: November 1, 2011
By Maxwell Wessel
Apple is undoubtedly the gold standard of today’s tech world. In fact, it’s probably the gold standard of American industry at the moment. Its innovative design, user interface, and ecosystem make it a titan in any category it enters. And it’s clear that Steve Jobs was the reason Apple rose to its current heights from the brink of bankruptcy. In the wake of his death, HBR espoused his greatness — something I’ve done as well. And he was great. Steve Jobs has likely been our generation’s most important leader in the world of business. But Steve Jobs is not the most important leader from the world of business. While Jobs should be who MBAs and industrial designers try to emulate, I’m not sure he’s who we should idolize. That respect should be bestowed on someone we talk less and less about, Bill Gates.
Both Jobs and Gates had immeasurable impacts on the world. Apple ushered in the era of personal computing in many respects. Microsoft’s platform made it possible for a generation of computer scientists to learn and flourish. Apple seems to have perfected the art of delivering fantastic consumer products. Microsoft has worked diligently to make the enterprise more and more efficient. Regardless of which camp you fall in today, it’s impossible to deny each corporation’s contribution. Jobs and Gates each deeply respected each other’s contributions.
But at the end of his life, Steve Jobs worried about Apple, Inc. Walter Isaacson quoted the wizard of Cupertino saying, “Hewlett and Packard built a great company, and they thought they had left it in good hands. But now it’s being dismembered and destroyed. I hope I’ve left a stronger legacy so that will never happen at Apple.” At the end of his life, Jobs saw his legacy as Apple.
Bill Gates stepped away from Microsoft in 2006 and, despite the company’s growing troubles in the face of the mobile disruption, has devoted his genius to solving the world’s biggest problems, despite the fact that solving those problems doesn’t create profit or fame.* Gates committed his talents to eliminating diseases, increasing development standards, and generally fighting inequality.
Since 1994, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation amassed an endowment of over $31 billion in funds to fight the world’s most difficult issues. But it hasn’t merely accumulated funds, the foundation has already given away over $25 billion. Those aren’t trivial numbers. In seventeen years, the foundation has raised and given away more than one-tenth of Apple’s extraordinary market capitalization. While the developed world takes things like clean water, basic healthcare, and the availability of food for granted — there are billions of human beings that don’t have such fundamental resources.
Gandhi famously said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I don’t doubt that, in recent years, both Gates and Jobs did just that. Jobs made the world more beautiful and the billion of us with resources loved him for it. Gates is making the world ideal, and the billions of us with no voice will be forever impacted.
Yesterday, I read a note Gates wrote to members of the Harvard community. It speaks for itself:
I hope you will reflect on what you’ve done with your talent and energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you work to address the world’s deepest inequities, on how well you treat people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.
Those are not the words of a leader of business. Those are the words of a leader of people. Those are the words of an idol.
As much as I love Apple, Inc, I would happily give up my iPhone to put food on the plates of starving children. Steve Jobs turned his company into a decade long leader in the truly new space of mobile computing. Bill Gates decided to eliminate malaria. Who do you think we should be putting up on a pedestal for our children to emulate?
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9 comments:
The article poses a relevant question, whether the idols and the lifestyle being encouraged by the expansion of technology today are too individualistic. Leaders are not necessarily the ones that inspire people to enhance their own lifestyle, but the ones that encourage us to look beyond our backyard to influence communities that really need help. I don’t think there is the right answer to whom should be idolized, but I believe that technology must indeed be used as a platform to take humanitarian assistance to a new level, besides focusing only on the next iPhone generation.
I found this article a little sad; pitting one leader's accomplishments against another. Having said that, the article illustrates both men as leaders and valuable contributors to society.
I believe the more society evolves, the more it expects its leaders to evolve from being (traditionally) one dimensional to innovative and multifaceted. In that respect, I would have to agree that the humanitarian actions Mr. Gates has taken passed his conventional business ventures qualifies him as a revolutionary leader of today's ever-evolving world.
I personally wouldn't use the word "idolize", and furthermore advocate for one while negating the other one. They both deserve recognition and respect for the inmense accomplishments and contribution to society at large. Granted, they both have/had a very distinctive management style and outlook about their companies, but by highlighting one versus the other does not necessarily makes it acceptable.
Although Bill Gates' humanitarian efforts are remarkable and very admirable, it seems like this article is downplaying his contributions to technology. Bill Gates built an empire of products enabling the masses to utilize the power of computers and profoundly increased productivity at many, if not most, companies in the United States and the world. Of course Steve Jobs led one of the greatest turnarounds in business and had amazing foresight to change the way we do so many things, but I think that Bill Gates contributions go far beyond Microsoft’s accomplishments, as they allowed so many others to innovate and develop new products. In many cases, Apple’s products have been targeted at consumer end-users and entertainment, while Microsoft’s products enabled others to be more productive and make contributions to technology of their own.
This article ushers in a debate between individualism and collectivism. There is no right answer to this. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are both icons in the business realm and have contributed in their own special ways to making a difference in the world. Excellence in a field is highly recognized, however, I believe that selflessness and benevolence makes a person earn respect. The accomplishments of Steve Jobs are no doubt outstanding and applauded all over the world. He had changed the playing field. However, the contributions of Bill Gates exceeds their implications on business alone. Steve Jobs has given well-off individuals a better and more entertained and efficient life. Bill Gates has saved lives by putting food on the plates on the hungry and clothes on the homeless. Thus, both of them are legends. Both have touched millions of lives. The difference lies in the people they have impacted and the way they have impacted them. I believe that technology is a very powerful tool. It can be used for the advancement of the already advanced as well as for the development of the under-developed. If used wisely with good intention, technology can help many countries lift up the standards of living of its citizens.
Although comparing what Bill Gates and Steve Jobs contributed to the society may not be the right thing. I feel that the article clearly puts out the difference between a business leader and a leader who can be a role model to anyone.
Jobs created products which are for the niche market, Apple technology was and still is available to only certain people. But Bill Gates' dream of having a PC in every household clearly puts his perspective of technology development. Technology as a whole is not considered to be developed if it is available to only a select few, or if it is behind glass doors in a world class laboratory. The true sense of technology development is when every human or at least a majority of them has access to it. That is what Bill Gates and Microsoft worked for, and were quite successful in making it possible too. And, that is what makes people remember them.
Although comparing what Bill Gates and Steve Jobs contributed to the society may not be the right thing. I feel that the article clearly puts out the difference between a business leader and a leader who can be a role model to anyone.
Jobs created products which are for the niche market, Apple technology was and still is available to only certain people. But Bill Gates' dream of having a PC in every household clearly puts his perspective of technology development. Technology as a whole is not considered to be developed if it is available to only a select few, or if it is behind glass doors in a world class laboratory. The true sense of technology development is when every human or at least a majority of them has access to it. That is what Bill Gates and Microsoft worked for, and were quite successful in making it possible too. And, that is what makes people remember them.
Like most have mentioned above, it is not easy to compare whether Bill Gates or Steve Jobs accomplishments are more important than the other. Both have had large impacts as pioneers in the technology arena of personal computing. How I feel they are similar is in that both were very successful entrepreneurs, each passionate in their own vision. That alone is a reason to admire Gates and Jobs. Both have set an example for future generations to learn from. Bill Gates is one of the wealthiest people alive, donating to many foundations for philanthropy. Also, Steve Jobs was a very charismatic speaker and should be given more credit than just the maker of the latest iPhone.
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