Recommended Resources – Impatient Optimist

Impatient Optimist: Bill Gates in His Own Words

edited by Lisa Rogak

About the Reference

Impatient Optimist edited by Lisa Rogak reveals Bill Gates’ core beliefs about business in a way no other author has been able to achieve… because these insights come directly from Bill Gates himself. Lisa’s book systematically covers a wide range of topics from ‘Addiction to Technology’ to ‘Relinquishing Control’, from ‘Streamlining Business Processes’ to ‘His Work Habits’, and ‘Hiring Employees’ to ‘Managing Employees’.

Throughout Impatient Optimist, three predominate themes are revealed:

• the need to identify and understand any proposition’s return on investment
• the value of maintaining the ‘big picture,’ and
• the importance of family and of achieving an appropriate work-life balance.

Benefits of Using this Reference

StrategyDriven Contributors like Impatient Optimist because it reveals the intimate thoughts and beliefs of the man who is arguably the most successful business leader of all time but who is also one of the world’s greatest philanthropists. Many of Bill Gates’ approaches align well with the principles and philosophies we recommend business leaders adopt to further their organization’s success. While we recognize some may disagree with Bill Gates’ approach to certain circumstances – and on occasion we do too – all agree he is one of the great business leaders who continues to shape our modern world.

StrategyDriven Contributors appreciated the layout of Impatient Optimist, the organization of quotes around meaningful topic areas, the dating of each quote, and Bill Gates’ life story timeline provided at the end of the book. We found that knowing the setting and circumstances of the Bill Gates’ quotes provided insightful context from which to interpret them. As such, we recommend first-time readers review the ‘Milestones’ timeline presented at the end of the book first and refer to it often when reading individual quotes.

For it’s intimate portrayal of an American entrepreneurial icon, Impatient Optimist is a StrategyDriven recommended read.

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