Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

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Bill Gates: Genius businessman or business predator?

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. 

Bill Gates and Microsoft have been much in the news lately, what with the pending release of Windows^® 98, as well as possible pending legal action by various state attorneys general and assorted other governmental entities. But who is the real Bill Gates, genius businessman, or merely a modern-day version of a business "predator"?

For the time being, we will withhold our opinions on that question, but certainly, one thing is clear about Bill Gates. Love him or hate him, you certainly cannot argue with the fact that Bill Gates, chairman of mighty Microsoft, and reportedly the "world’s richest man," apparently also is one sharp dude. Aggressive? Yes. Competitive? Of course. But still, very, very sharp. Let us relate a personal experience we had several years ago that involved Gates and amply illustrated this defining characteristic about him.

We were attending a "computer geek" conference at the Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL, at which Gates was the featured speaker. It was obvious from the "get-go" that the audience was primed for Gates. This was prior to the release of Windows^® 95 and the problems Microsoft had experienced up to that point with Windows^® were well documented and widely reported upon. Still, when it came time for Gates to take the podium, he took it unflinchingly, and he took on "all comers," answering any and all questions they had, completely and convincingly.

The thing that most impressed us about Gates that day was that he never dodged any question from the vast, well-informed audience. Nor did he "dance" around any questions or issues. Truly, it was clear to the most biased and jaded member of the audience that, regardless of what one may have thought about Gates, he clearly knew his business, in depth and with a thoroughness that was remarkable. No mere "figure head" CEO was he!

As Gates was making his exit from the convention center, we had the opportunity to approach him and say, sincerely, that we thought Microsoft made some of the best software on the market. To our astonishment, he looked somewhat like a "deer caught in the headlights," so startled did he seem with our approach. He merely mumbled a somewhat embarrassed "Thank you," and quickly departed with his security entourage.

Bill Gates probably has no recall at all of this event, but it’s one that has stuck in our minds ever since that very brief encounter with him. It always seemed sad to us that he and Microsoft were apparently so under siege even at that time that he appeared uneasy, if not a little threatened, by a honest compliment!

Like many computer enthusiasts, we have long followed the career of Bill Gates and the dynamic company he built. And, we are fully aware of the controversy continually swirling around both him and Microsoft. They "edge out" competitors by using bullying tactics, "twisting arms." They are intent on convincingly crushing competitors by using any means at their disposal. They won’t be satisfied until essentially every dollar spent for a computer operating system or the software that runs on it flows, either directly or indirectly, into Microsoft coffers. To all of that we say, "Get real!"

Does any thinking human being honestly believe that any company or any person, including Microsoft and its chairman, Bill Gates, can so lead consumers around by the nose? Whether one is talking about houseware, hardware, and yes, even software, the marketplace¾and certainly not some governmental agency¾has consistently been shown to be a very reliable predictor and arbiter of who (and what) succeeds, or fails.

It seems instructive to consider the sources of much of the litany concerning Gates and Microsoft. For the most part, it’s certainly not the consumer! It’s primarily a group of rather large software manufacturers who are claiming that Microsoft is "unfairly" competing with them. (That’s sort of like an aspiring heavyweight opponent claiming that he didn’t have a "fair" shot at the title because Evander Holyfield was too formidable and hit too hard!)

Is there any truth to allegations that Microsoft takes "unfair" advantage of competitors or would-be competitors? To be honest about it, we don’t know. More to the point is this: the best, most definitive way to deal with any competitor, no matter the size or ostensible power of that competitor, is to come up with better products and/or services, not to run to "the government" for "protection." After all, in our opinions, as well as the obvious opinions of millions of other people around the world, producing better products is precisely the course Microsoft and Bill Gates took to get where they are today.

So, just who is the real Bill Gates, genius businessman, or merely a modern-day business "predator"? To us all the evidence points to the former term. We scoff at the latter term.