Bill Gates on Business Quotes

"Capitalism is a remarkable system. It's the best system we've found for getting resources to people who have ideas."

"Strategic inflection points are not just about technology. They are about how customers want to be served."

"Expectations are a form of first-class truth: If people believe it, it's true."

"Exposure from a young age to the realities of the world is a super-big thing."

"The way you manage projects is to make sure you have the right people and that they're communicating."

"Microsoft is not about greed. It's about innovation and fairness."

"Vision is the ability to see the invisible."

"To win big, you sometimes have to take big risks."

"Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering."

"The vision is really about empowering workers, giving them all the information about what's going on so they can do a lot more than they've done in the past."

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."

"In the long run, your human capital is your main base of competition."

"The best way to prepare for the future is to create it."

"A company's ability to respond to an unplanned event, good or bad, is a prime indicator of its ability to compete."

"I believe in the power of innovation to solve the world's toughest problems."

"In business, the idea of measuring what you are doing, picking the measurements that count like customer satisfaction and performance... you thrive on that."

"Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved."

"How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose."

"Information flow is your lifeblood."

"Patience is a key element of success."

"The most important thing we do is hire really smart people."

"Effective philanthropy requires a lot of the same discipline, passion, and focus as a business."

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."

"I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created."

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."

"The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency."

"Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana."

"Measuring is the first step toward improvement."

"If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions, they will be moved to act."

"A bad strategy will fail no matter how good your information is and lean execution will fail a good strategy."

"DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created."

"The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow."

"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten."