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Back to #401 How Bill Gates Works, with David Senra.

Why Did Larry Ellison Call Bill Gates More Dangerous Than Edison?

David Senra reads Larry Ellison calling Bill Gates more dangerous as Rockefeller than he would have been as Thomas Edison. Someone had said Gates wants people to think he is Edison when he is really Rockefeller. Ellison's line is that Edison would have been less dangerous. Ellison and Gates were fierce competitors. Ellison calls him utterly relentless, indefatigable, absolutely focused, and someone who wants it all.

Senra also reads Gates on the habit behind that reputation. Gates says a key advantage was being fanatical: all of his capabilities, day and night, on how to write good software. He loved being a fanatic. He did not believe in weekends or vacations. For a lot of people the place was frantic and demanding.

Barry Diller's description, which Senra calls a high compliment, is that Gates is young, mean, and not tired. Ellison says Gates is tough, wants it all, and has his incredible respect. He also calls Gates one of the most remarkable business people he has ever met, then corrects himself: a lot of people are smarter than Gates, very few are smarter than Gates, and a lot of people have his focus and endurance.

Transcript

#401 How Bill Gates Works ·

Founders

More from this episode

  1. Why Did Bill Gates Treat Constraints as a Friend?David Senra says young Bill Gates treated constraints as a friend.
  2. How Did Bill Gates Learn to Code From a Dumpster?David Senra reads that Bill Gates learned by pulling other people's code out of a dumpster.
  3. Why Did Bill Gates Choose Software Over Hardware?David Senra reads Bill Gates choosing software over hardware because manufacturing computers seemed too risky, while writing software took only brain power…
  4. What Did Bill Gates Start When Software Was Free?David Senra reads Bill Gates on starting a pure software company when software was supposed to be free.
  5. How Did a Best-efforts Clause Save Microsoft?David Senra reads Bill Gates on the best-efforts clause that later got Microsoft out of an exclusive license.
  6. How Many People Worked at Microsoft After Four Years?David Senra says four years in, Microsoft had just 11 employees. He thinks the count might be 12.
  7. How Much Did 5 Percent of Microsoft Sell for?David Senra says Bill Gates sold 5 percent of Microsoft for $1 million to Technology Venture Investors, TVI.
  8. Why Did Bill Gates Remove His Car Radio?David Senra says Bill Gates took the radio out of his car so the drives between home, the office, and the airport could be spent thinking about Microsoft.
  9. Why Did Bill Gates Stare at Philippe Kahn's Photo?David Senra reads that Bill Gates was staring at a photograph of Philippe Kahn, the rival he had spent years trying to get rid of.
  10. What Did Bill Gates Want From Seattle Computer?David Senra reads Paul Allen's account of what Bill Gates wanted from Seattle Computer Products: a sale, not a license, so Microsoft owned DOS.

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