Excerpt from:
http://blog.9cbs.net/chaoyuebetter/archive/2004/07/30/55999.aspx
Fortune China
"We don't work from a long time. We didn't plan to list and make a fortune." ─ Gates success
Bill Gats wants to sell to you with a $ 10 billion software. Maybe you don't understand what this means, $ 10 billion is he estimated to 2010, the small business software market will bring the value of Microsoft every year. This helps to explain why these days Gates are optimistic, although people began to complain that his products are easy to infect viruses, and is not too reliable. "I am very excited about what we are doing for small businesses." Full face red, soft Gates said. He accepted the exclusive interview with "Fortune Small Enterprise" (FSB) magazine David Lidsky and David Whitford in Microsoft Madon. Of course, we are also very excited. Or, we should also be excited. Microsoft plans to completely digitize all commercial services and deliver the small businesses to make small businesses. However, we must first know whether the world is mostly in the world forgot what he came from?
Do you still remember the look when you do a small businessman?
I still don't have the old confused! I feel the most interesting time, one is when I know everyone in the enterprise and basically do everything. It is necessary to write a lot of software, sales, accounting, taxation, etc., most of them are doing themselves.
There is no important thing at the beginning, do you think they help Microsoft have succeeded?
We have three points true. First, our vision, from the first day of the company, this vision has not changed. Microsoft is Paul? Allen [One of Microsoft Founders] and I have a dream that I can make it looks like a different hardware company, but they all run the same software. This means a thorough restructuring of the computer industry. We understand that we are doing an important thing.
Our second key is the person we hired. We hire very smart and people who can do. We have had a little misunderstanding, that is, it always thought that "smart" is "universal", because there are a few people in our original employee to be universal. "Go to learn the law, go to learn financial, go to learn to sell! This way, send you to Japan tomorrow, tell me what the situation!" The result will be aesthetically surprised: Many people who are very dry, from their It is very professional. When we want them to enter the new field, they can't pay. The next third point is that we do things from a long report. We did not plan to list and make a fortune. No short-term thinking. Things always have to do it for decades, no shortcuts, we belong to one step by one footprint.
When you realize that this can be big, there is no squid that is the feeling of jump over the gantry?
When IBM's PC comes out, all of them do what we do. We didn't have a year and a half in the night, just finished this thing, this is very great. Unbelievable is: You never accurately measure how success yourself. But you can see that other companies have succeeded because of your bet. Go to a party, a partner may say: "Yes, I hired 20 people, thank you." This is really unbelievable.
Many people behind the entrepreneurship are successful, set, and then new clothes. You can take this step a long time. Why is it still insisting?
When you create a company, you have a goal. For some people, it is a financial goal - this is nothing wrong. For some people, the goal is to create a special thing. For Paul and me, the goal is to make the computer a dream of enhancing the most effective tools of human capabilities. We didn't think we would make big money at the time. Of course, we have made a lot of money. But how big is the company, we are very cautious at the time. PC despite the first time, it is very inconspicuous, but due to the magic of the chip and software, we regard it as some kind of thing that can have a large growth prospect. We have to achieve this far away, of course, will not be smooth. If we have a perfect personal computer, I will say: "Oh, what else can I do this?" But we haven't done this yet. I am confident in achieving most of the goal of achieving our dreams in the next ten years. I think we are walking on the road to achieving the target.
Do you expect your child to start like you?
I will be very neunctions for what they choose. However, if they want to enter the technology industry, I will ask them a few times: Are you really because there is a strange expectation to do my peers? Maybe they eventually do something completely different. This is also very good if they choose a doctor or become an artist or create your own business. I want them to do it: I feel that I can take risks and feel safe, but of course, I don't have to go out and don't have to do things. This is hard to meet balance.
If you create a company now, what will it be?
If it is a large business, this situation is very small, and it takes a long time to happen. I think biotechnology is the field of entrepreneurial days. Another big area is to understand how information technology makes the world to globally integrate. Previously, the labor market that was very domain-domain-based, and now it is very global. This is panicked. If people understand this situation and think: "This, where is the best skill, how do I let them cooperate,", then, this is also a chance to them. That is to say, there will be an opportunity when faced sharply.
What can Microsoft do for small businesses?
If our software is simpler, the impact on small businesses may be more than other places.
Companies such as Dell, Federal Express and Staples have found the way to serve small business and are loved by customers. Why do people don't feel this for Microsoft?
Let's say it, if you give the name of a company, say: "Which one is you most appreciated?" Microsoft will live again and again.
Do you think it is appreciation or respect?
All. All surveys I have seen, we are among the best. Now people are using our software every day. They know that we can do better from the perspective of security and simplification. They hope to get more from us, this is a good thing. I like this architecture. They have a lot of expectations, we still have a lot to do. We have to have breakthroughs, so that small businesses can be motivated to use the next generation of this software. If we do have a breakthrough in this area, you can get a small number of licensing expenses from each small business. Although each family is a little, there are a lot of small busines, enough to be a big business opportunity.
