Bill Gates - Collected Quotes

"The finest pieces of software are those where one individual has a complete sense of exactly how the program works. To have that, you have to really love the program and concentrate on keeping it simple, to an incredible degree." (Bill Gates , [interview], 1986)

"Developments on the Internet over the next several years will set the course of our industry for a long time to come." (Bill Gates, "Internet Tidal Wave", [Microsoft internal memo], 1995)

"Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering." (Bill Gates, "Bill Gates Speaks: Insight from the World's Greatest Entrepreneur", 1998)

"A bad strategy will fail no matter how good your information is and lame execution will stymie a good strategy. If you do enough things poorly, you will go out of business." (Bill Gates, "Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy", 2009)

"Bringing together the right information with the right people will dramatically improve a company's ability to develop and act on strategic business opportunities." (Bill Gates,  "Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy", 2009) 

"Teams should be able to act with the same unity of purpose and focus as a well-motivated individual." (Bill Gates, "Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy", 2009)

"The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competitors, the best way to put distance between you and the crowd is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or lose." (Bill Gates, "Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy", 2009)

"[...] the rules for running a strong business and creating value haven’t changed. For one thing, there’s an essential human factor in every business endeavor. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect product, production plan and marketing pitch; you’ll still need the right people to lead and implement those plans. That is a lesson you learn quickly in business [...]" (Bill Gates, "Bill Gates’ Favorite Business Book", Wall Street Journal Online, 2014)

"The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency." (Bill Gates)