Bill Gates, Microsoft
The founder and former CEO of Microsoft has never suffered fools lightly. In his new book, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen gives us a glimpse into the Gates management style: “Bill thrived on conflict and wasn’t shy about instigating it … he’d demean people and force them to defend their positions. If what he heard displeased him, he’d shake his head and say sarcastically, ’Oh, I suppose that means we’ll lose the contract, and then what?’” When someone ran late on a job, he had a stock response: “I could code that in a weekend!” And, Allen recalls, if you hadn’t thought through your position or Bill was just in a lousy mood, he’d resort to: ”That’s the stupidest f**king thing I’ve ever heard!”
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Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh