Quotes

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Bill Gates

“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Bill Gates

“Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.” Bill Gates

“I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.” Bill Gates

“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other.” Bill Gates

“I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot.” Bill Gates

“If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 MPG.” Bill Gates

“People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters.” Bill Gates

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.” Bill Gates

“Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.” Bill Gates

“At Microsoft there are lots of brilliant ideas but the image is that they all come from the top - I'm afraid that's not quite right.” Bill Gates

“I actually thought that it would be a little confusing during the same period of your life to be in one meeting when you're trying to make money, and then go to another meeting where you're giving it away. I mean is it gonna erode your ability, you know, to make money? Are you gonna somehow get confused about what you're trying to do?” Bill Gates

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.” Bill Gates

“Almost every way we make electricity today, except for the emerging renewables and nuclear, puts out CO2. And so, what we're going to have to do at a global scale, is create a new system. And so, we need energy miracles.” Bill Gates

“In this business, by the time you realize you're in trouble, it's too late to save yourself. Unless you're running scared all the time, you're gone.” Bill Gates

“Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.” Bill Gates

“Since when has the world of computer software design been about what people want? This is a simple question of evolution. The day is quickly coming when every knee will bow down to a silicon fist, and you will all beg your binary gods for mercy.” Bill Gates

“If I'd had some set idea of a finish line, don't you think I would have crossed it years ago?” Bill Gates

“The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” Bill Gates

“Until we're educating every kid in a fantastic way, until every inner city is cleaned up, there is no shortage of things to do.” Bill Gates

“Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself.” Bill Gates

“In American math classes, we teach a lot of concepts poorly over many years. In the Asian systems they teach you very few concepts very well over a few years.” Bill Gates

“This is a fantastic time to be entering the business world, because business is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50.” Bill Gates

“Governments will always play a huge part in solving big problems. They set public policy and are uniquely able to provide the resources to make sure solutions reach everyone who needs them. They also fund basic research, which is a crucial component of the innovation that improves life for everyone.” Bill Gates

“Whether it's Google or Apple or free software, we've got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.” Bill Gates

“Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people in poor countries, it's less than one ton. It's an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. And, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero.” Bill Gates

“DOS is ugly and interferes with users' experience.” Bill Gates

“Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers - organizing your lives, staying in touch with people, being creative - if we don't solve these security problems, then people will hold back.” Bill Gates

“Expectations are a form of first-class truth: If people believe it, it's true.” Bill Gates

“I'm sorry that we have to have a Washington presence. We thrived during our first 16 years without any of this. I never made a political visit to Washington and we had no people here. It wasn't on our radar screen. We were just making great software.” Bill Gates