Time names Gates’s and Bono as “persons of the year”

December 18, 2005 By

Time Magazine today named Bill and Melinda Gates, along with Bono, to its prestigious “persons of the year” (that’s the MSNBC article, here’s the Time Magazine one).

When I interviewed Bill Hill and team we talked about Bill Gates’ approach to budgeting (Hill had to argue with Gates three times to get the money to make new fonts). It’s this focus on business issues that, I believe, has let Microsoft become what it is today.

What’s impressive is that Gates is taking that same approach to their foundation. If you ever get a chance to hear Bill speak on world health issues, do so.

I’d really like to interview Melinda, too. Ever since Bill and Melinda got together they’ve been doing interesting things. I bet she isn’t getting the credit she deserves.

Filed Under: Blog Tips, IBM
  • http://weblog.burningbird.net/ Shelley

    Folks have noticed Melinda Gates — Forbes named her one of the ten most powerful women in the world.

    http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/11/7UR5.html

  • http://weblog.burningbird.net Shelley

    Folks have noticed Melinda Gates — Forbes named her one of the ten most powerful women in the world.

    http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/11/7UR5.html

  • http://blog.chachra.us/ Sumit Chachra

    Its funny I made an appeal for “Nobel to Bill” just yesterday:
    http://blog.chachra.us/?p=31

    Good stuff… Bill and Melinda both deserve more credit for their good work than they currently do!

  • http://blog.chachra.us Sumit Chachra

    Its funny I made an appeal for “Nobel to Bill” just yesterday:
    http://blog.chachra.us/?p=31

    Good stuff… Bill and Melinda both deserve more credit for their good work than they currently do!

  • Christopher Coulter

    As a philanthropist he has no equal, but bureaucratic micromanaged, quasi-temper-tantrum, one-up-manship, ‘court now in session’ forever-droning meetings just to get new fonts approved? Something like that should be budgeted as default in every major OS release. I mean fonts are as basic as things come.

    His nimble approach to budgeting? I guess that explains every Division outside of OS/Office as a serious leaky money-drain? I guess that explains the tons wasted in R&D, with little commercial turnover? I guess that explains the soon to be $5-8 billion lost in Xbox? I guess that explains an entire history of content-generational trainwrecks? So nimble that they spend millions trying to achieve perfect Orwellian’ish utopia with the Gates Model Schools, with School Districts now fast running the other way.

    I guess that explains the budgetary cash-hoard approach? MFST believes in the 3 tries philosophy so much, that failures keep coming back, forever believing things are only one release away from nirvana. Long-haul, long-tail, disruption, whatever you call it, only had 2 hits in 30 years, not a great track record.

    So nimble that he will spend millions over 10 years to birth his pet project, the Tablet PC, that still has a quite limited market. But yet he goes meeting spazziod over fonts? Somethings not right.

    So nimble, yet you guys cried bloody murder when towel perks were taken away? Frankly, Gates should be there DEMANDING Hill kick up something. Shows a lack of strategic foresight and good corporate governance when you have all the various groups, pitting for their slice of the entitlement pie; such creates political fiefdoms, and institutionalises decentralized chaos.

    PS – Corbel rocks. So glad Bill slugged it out with the other Bill.

  • Christopher Coulter

    As a philanthropist he has no equal, but bureaucratic micromanaged, quasi-temper-tantrum, one-up-manship, ‘court now in session’ forever-droning meetings just to get new fonts approved? Something like that should be budgeted as default in every major OS release. I mean fonts are as basic as things come.

    His nimble approach to budgeting? I guess that explains every Division outside of OS/Office as a serious leaky money-drain? I guess that explains the tons wasted in R&D, with little commercial turnover? I guess that explains the soon to be $5-8 billion lost in Xbox? I guess that explains an entire history of content-generational trainwrecks? So nimble that they spend millions trying to achieve perfect Orwellian’ish utopia with the Gates Model Schools, with School Districts now fast running the other way.

    I guess that explains the budgetary cash-hoard approach? MFST believes in the 3 tries philosophy so much, that failures keep coming back, forever believing things are only one release away from nirvana. Long-haul, long-tail, disruption, whatever you call it, only had 2 hits in 30 years, not a great track record.

    So nimble that he will spend millions over 10 years to birth his pet project, the Tablet PC, that still has a quite limited market. But yet he goes meeting spazziod over fonts? Somethings not right.

    So nimble, yet you guys cried bloody murder when towel perks were taken away? Frankly, Gates should be there DEMANDING Hill kick up something. Shows a lack of strategic foresight and good corporate governance when you have all the various groups, pitting for their slice of the entitlement pie; such creates political fiefdoms, and institutionalises decentralized chaos.

    PS – Corbel rocks. So glad Bill slugged it out with the other Bill.

  • Kirsty

    Chris, given you know so much about how to run a multinational corp, how come you ain’t doing so? I suppose you don’t really have the spare time, given the amount of hours you spend trolling on the web

  • Kirsty

    Chris, given you know so much about how to run a multinational corp, how come you ain’t doing so? I suppose you don’t really have the spare time, given the amount of hours you spend trolling on the web

  • http://www.blogebrity.com/ Globber

    Christopher Coulter I’m tired of your trolling here. Chistopher Coulter goes by the name of Mr.Antiblog http://globosphere.blogspot.com pages and writes pages of I don’t know what to call it. Chistopher Coulter was caught sending fake emails to The Register to slam Robert Scoble http://thomashawk.com/2005/12/andrew-orlowski-on-moral.html Chistopher Coulter answer the questions. Why did you send a fake email to The Register? I don’t get it. At least apologize to Robert Scoble.

    Christopher Coulter troll of the year.

  • http://www.blogebrity.com Globber

    Christopher Coulter I’m tired of your trolling here. Chistopher Coulter goes by the name of Mr.Antiblog http://globosphere.blogspot.com pages and writes pages of I don’t know what to call it. Chistopher Coulter was caught sending fake emails to The Register to slam Robert Scoble http://thomashawk.com/2005/12/andrew-orlowski-on-moral.html Chistopher Coulter answer the questions. Why did you send a fake email to The Register? I don’t get it. At least apologize to Robert Scoble.

    Christopher Coulter troll of the year.

  • Geoff

    Christopher, what a loser.

  • Geoff

    Christopher, what a loser.

  • Papillon

    Does this Christopher Coulter idiot really exist or is he the common screen name of a large (I wish) fraction of the trollers out there? I have difficulties accepting that so much petty mindedness, egotism, poor manners, spite and bad faith have not evolved out of gregarious human beings.

    On a side note, Robert/anyone else noticed that digg.com is now infected to pestilence with the Christopher Coulter type? …so much so, that I’ve decided to delete the RSS feed after reading the comments on the “Persons of the Year” post.

    Keep up the good work, Robert. I have deep admiration for you, not least because you put up so well (too well, I sometimes think) with the Christopher Coulter’s.

    Bah, humbug!

  • Papillon

    Does this Christopher Coulter idiot really exist or is he the common screen name of a large (I wish) fraction of the trollers out there? I have difficulties accepting that so much petty mindedness, egotism, poor manners, spite and bad faith have not evolved out of gregarious human beings.

    On a side note, Robert/anyone else noticed that digg.com is now infected to pestilence with the Christopher Coulter type? …so much so, that I’ve decided to delete the RSS feed after reading the comments on the “Persons of the Year” post.

    Keep up the good work, Robert. I have deep admiration for you, not least because you put up so well (too well, I sometimes think) with the Christopher Coulter’s.

    Bah, humbug!

  • Fran McKeagney

    Hi Robert,

    I agree with your view on Melinda. And definitely unfair. (Even my own inital reaction when I heard the news this evening. Proud for Bill, less inclusive of Melinda. But she has probably had a profound impact.)

    Isn’t 700,000 lives saved an extraordinary achievement? Wouldn’t you like to have that on your recoed?

    As an Irishman I am extremely proud of Bono. I know he has his detractors and his occasional nonsense but what an amazing guy when he doesn’t even have to care. I immediately thought of his other half, Bob Geldof, who has equally inspired (and occasionaly infuriated) two generations of young Irish people. I salute you both for your wonderful work.

    Fran,
    InnerWorkings

  • Fran McKeagney

    Hi Robert,

    I agree with your view on Melinda. And definitely unfair. (Even my own inital reaction when I heard the news this evening. Proud for Bill, less inclusive of Melinda. But she has probably had a profound impact.)

    Isn’t 700,000 lives saved an extraordinary achievement? Wouldn’t you like to have that on your recoed?

    As an Irishman I am extremely proud of Bono. I know he has his detractors and his occasional nonsense but what an amazing guy when he doesn’t even have to care. I immediately thought of his other half, Bob Geldof, who has equally inspired (and occasionaly infuriated) two generations of young Irish people. I salute you both for your wonderful work.

    Fran,
    InnerWorkings