We Need Our Brightest People Working on Our Biggest Problems

A few weeks ago, I got to visit Microsoft’s annual conference of faculty members involved in computer science research at universities around the world. I hadn’t been able to attend the conference since I went full-time at the Gates Foundation, so I took the opportunity to talk about how the researchers’ work might overlap with some of the foundation’s efforts. A lot of the faculty members wanted to know how they could help...

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iPhone 5s Outselling iPhone 5c Two to One

Asked during Apple’s last earnings call if he feared the higher end of the smartphone market was nearing saturation, CEO Tim Cook said he did not. “I don’t subscribe to the common view that the higher end, if you will, of the smartphone market is at its peak,” Cook said. “I don’t believe that.” Turns out Cook had good reason to take that view. In September, Apple launched a pair of new iPhones, the flagship iPhone 5s and the mid-tier iPhone 5c,...

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Three Things I’ve Learned From Warren Buffett

I’m looking forward to sharing posts from time to time about things I’ve learned in my career at Microsoft and the Gates Foundation. (I also post frequently on my blog.) Last month, I went to Omaha for the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. It’s always a lot of fun, and not just because of the ping-pong matches and the newspaper-throwing contest I have with Warren Buffett. It’s also fun because I get to learn...

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10 Things To Do Every Workday

I’ve always been focused on performance. I’m a list person. I love the feeling of crossing things off. It makes me feel productive. Plus, consistent productivity has the wonderful byproduct of accomplishing more. Jeff Haden’s recent article on Linkedin summarizes the value of having a daily to-do list beautifully: You don’t wait to do the work until you get the dream job - you do the work in order to get the dream job. I’ve never shared...

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The 5 Traits of Wildly Successful People

I have a crazy idea: success isn’t just about hard work. We hear about hard work all the time—it’s what Olympic champions talk about when they get to the top of the podium and it’s what the media credits as the sole force behind billionaire entrepreneurs. But there has to be something else in the equation of obtaining unimaginable success. What other traits tipped the odds in favor of the world’s most successful people? What helped propel their careers before they had track records? For the past three years I’ve been fortunate...

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