Microsoft co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates recently made an appearance at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota on April 26th. Gates spoke about his philanthropic endeavors, his early career, education reform, and the one thing he hated about being the software giant’s CEO.
Bill Gates hated firing his employees and that was the one thing about his job that he hated the most. Gates admitted to the crowd as part of the school’s dedication to its recently renovated Grant Center, which features the college’s Offutt School of Business.
Gates admitted that the decision to fire his own employees was the hardest and that he would often believe that the troubled employee was possibly working under a poor manager and would likely be performing better under other circumstances. Gates would hand off the decision to fire employees to other executives to avoid the dilemma.
Gates also spoke mostly about his philanthropic endeavors and noted one big challenge that philanthropists face that business leaders don’t face. Philanthropists cant rely on the market to measure their successes.
Gates also admitted that he was a bit of a nut when it came to his job and developing software. Gates mentioned that he didn’t believe in taking a vacation or having a weekend. “I knew everybody’s license plate, when they came in and when they left. I knew every line of code. I enjoyed being fanatic,” Gates added.
Gates firmly believes that technology has the potential to make it easier for people in the world to clearly visualize what is happening in other parts of the world. Gates also believes that teachers in the United States don’t get enough feedback or have the opportunities to advance to different levels.
It was recently revealed that Bill Gates had joined Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s political advocacy group to tackle issues, including those of education in the United States.
Further reading: Bill Gates, Microsoft
