Research Paper Example on Accomplishments of Bill Gates

People have always held the perception that leaders are fundamentally different from others; for instance, they are born with the leadership skills. The truth is that there are people who are smart, ambitious as well as extroverted, but yet they are unable to lead effectively. In the business world, leadership goes beyond what many people believe; that leadership skills are part of a persons DNA. For a great entrepreneur, philanthropist, and billionaire, Bill Gates, his parents may have contributed a lot in terms of who he became to be but mostly he acquired great leadership skills through hard work, determination, the emotional intelligence he developed, and the passion he developed for technology. This paper examines the achievements or accomplishments of Bill Gates and the remarkable things he has done as a business leader in the entrepreneurship world.

Bill Gates is one of the greatest business leaders who have made remarkable contributions to the society. Good and effective leaders possess emotional intelligence that helps and guide them in decision making (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2007). Gates has been guided by his emotional intelligence and commitment to make the society a better place for everyone in it. Gates is a charitable business leader; something which can be witnessed through his charitable organization and activities in the past decades. Biography (2017) explains that Bill Gates started his first charity foundation, William H. Gates Foundation in 1994 which was mainly dedicated to supporting people in low-income areas to help them access different basic needs including education and healthcare services. However, after marrying Melinda, Gates together with his wife decided to merge different family foundations to come up with one foundation that would be easy to manage. As a result, in 2000 the couple came up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that was made after merging several foundations that were controlled by the two families.

Bill Gates greatest achievement has been the desire to help those who are unable to get their daily livelihoods. Though he was raised in a well-established family; his father was a renowned lawyer and his mother a high school teacher. However, becoming a billionaire was his motivation, determination, and commitment to become one of the worlds game changers in the technology industry. As Michael (2016) explains, Bill Gates scored 1590 out of 1600 scores on the SATs that gave him an entry to Harvard College. It was expected that he would follow his fathers footsteps to become a lawyer, but his interest and passion in technology and computers made him drop out of college to start Microsoft company that later became one of the worlds successful technology enterprises. However, after accumulating so much wealth, Bill Gates decided to start up a charity foundation together with his wife Melinda Gates.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was formed in 2000 when he stepped down as the Microsoft Companys CEO to concentrate on the foundation activities. This was a noble decision that made him not only a remarkable leader but a good decision maker as well. Gates is said to possess some of the greatest virtues that many leaders do not express. For example, taking time off from being the manager of one of the greatest and powerful companies in America to head a charity foundation that does not help him directly is not a simple thing or decision that any leader can make. However, out of his passion and love to see children from low-income families access education and proper healthcare services guided his every step. It is this passion that led to his total dedication to the charity foundation after relieving himself from all the duties at Microsoft Corporation. Instead of being driven by his wealth and desire to have power, Gates decided to help others also improve their lives. People continue to argue whether leaders are born or made. The case of Bill Gates is an exemplary scenario that leaders are made; they are shaped by the environment and circumstances that revolve around them. Gates grew up in a well-established, which could have made him follow his fathers footsteps. But, he chose to take a different path; follow his passion and do something that he liked and desired.

Gates has also achieved a lot in terms of helping to come up with solutions to problems that continue to affect the society. In his interview with the CNN, Gates claimed that every step made today in terms of fighting the critical diseases such as Alzheimer is a huge advancement to finding a cure in future (Biography, 2017). As Biography (2017) explains Bill Gates has invested heavily in his foundation that now takes most of his concentration. In 2017, Bill Gates that he intended to invest $50 million in Dementia Discovery Fund, a research foundation aimed at finding a cure to Dementia, Alzheimer disease and other ailments that continue to claim many lives today (Biography, 2017). His contribution to the healthcare has also contributed to most of his greatest achievements.

Apart from the charity foundations and contributions, Gates has also made tremendous achievements in the technology industry. Being the owner of the greatest and successful corporations in the world is another one of his greatest achievements. According to Donate and de Pablo (2015), great leaders are also innovators. Gates was fascinated by computers when he was young and this led to his passion in computer programming that led to the innovation of different computer programming languages and other products that are today used in almost every computer in the world. Some of his achievement in programming language includes the MS-DOS program for the IBM. Leading Microsoft Corporation to its success is nothing but a great achievement in terms of entrepreneurship. Rampton (2015) explains that a leader should not be stuck at a single place or static; he or she should be able to explore different aspects to stay relevant in the market. Gates understanding of the market helped him create the best opportunities for the Microsoft Corporation. He helped diversify the Microsoft products across the world; almost every computer uses one product from Microsoft Corporation.

Apart from the charity foundations and Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates achieved various awards including the philanthropic work awards from his charity work. He has also won various honorary doctorates from different universities; for instance, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Harvard University in Cambridge, Cambridge University, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, among others (Astrum People, 2018).

In conclusion, a lot can be said about Bill Gates, which may be positive or negative. But, one thing remains clear and outstanding, that his influence and achievements are impossible to deny. He has achieved a lot in terms of changing the technology industry, contributing to better healthcare through his donations and charity works, and awards from different universities across the world.

References

Astrum People. (February 7, 2018). Bill Gates Biography: Success Story of Microsoft Co-Founder. Astrum People Website. Retrieved from https://astrumpeople.com/bill-gates-biography/Biography. (November 13, 2017). Bill Gates Biography. The Biography.com Website. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520Donate, M. J., & de Pablo, J. D. S. (2015). The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), 360-370.

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2007). Management of organizational behavior (Vol. 9). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice hall. Retrieved from http://doc1.lbfl.li/acb/FLMF038632.pdf

Rampton, J. (September 15, 2015). How Bill Gates Became a Leader Legend. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250607