Whether in his childhood, his founding days or his retirement, Bill Gates – like all of us – was constantly confronted with new problems and challenges in his life. To solve them, he always asked himself the same two questions.
When Bill Gates founded the technology company Microsoft in 1975 together with his colleague Paul Allen, he was only 20 years old. Only two decades earlier, William “Bill” Gates was born in Seattle.
Today, Microsoft is a global corporation with countless shareholdings. Although Gates himself withdrew from the operative business in 2008. But that does not mean that he has been resting on his laurels ever since.
Corona and Co.: Bill Gates solves his problems with these two questions
It is true that Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world, with assets of well over 100 billion US dollars. Nevertheless, he uses his money for charitable purposes through the “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation”.
In a recent entry on his own blog, he discusses how he wants to support the global community of states and scientists in their efforts to contain the coronavirus as quickly as possible and to find a vaccine as quickly as possible.
In doing so, he explains that he has been tackling and solving all problems in the same way since he was a teenager. He asks himself two simple questions:
- Who has dealt with this problem thoroughly and well?
- What can we learn from him?
At first glance it seems that these questions are easy to answer. But when it comes to issues such as global health, the paths are tortuous.
What can we learn from Bill Gates?
Ultimately, Gates’ two questions first set out to look for role models. Those who have already achieved success on a small scale have found a cogwheel. The only question that follows is how this solution can be transported to a larger scale.
It is equally important not to try selfishly to solve a problem on your own. Rather, cohesion and cooperation are important. If we want to solve our problems in our private or professional environment, we should get the best possible team at our side.
In doing so, we must also leave behind mental boundaries – or the boundaries between individual departments or parties. After all, those who think only in their own cosmos prevent innovation in the long term.
In order to solve a global problem – such as the coronavirus – we must therefore work together and stop trying to escape responsibility.
