speed reading harvard

speed reading harvard

Bill Gates has created the world’s largest company, he is the world’s richest man and he has become the biggest charitable giver in history.
He may be a college drop-out and “computer geek” but rivals have often underestimated his abilities in the cut throat world of business.
Despite the wealth and ruthless domination of the global computer industry, Gates maintains it is the programming itself which is his abiding passion.

He stood down as chief executive of Microsoft in 2000, to focus on software development and the new challenges of the mobile internet age.
The one-time high school computer enthusiast – whose worth
passed the $100bn mark in 1999 – said he wanted to immerse
himself again in the work he loves most.
Early fascination
Gates has come to be known for his aggressive business
tactics and confrontational style of management.
He, and his company, have attracted a vast army of critics and enemies in recent years as their domination of the IT world has grown.
He was born on 28 October, 1955, growing up with two sisters in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney, and their late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher.
Gates began computing as a 13-year-old at the city’s Lakeside school.
By the age of 17, he had sold his first program – a timetabling system for the school, earning him $4,200.
It was at Lakeside that he met fellow student Paul Allen, who shared his fascination with computers.
During Gates’ stint at Harvard, the two teamed up to write the first computer language program written for a personal computer.
The PC’s maker, MITS, liked their work and the two friends established Microsoft in 1975, so-called because it provided microcomputer software.
Self-made billionaire
A year later, Gates dropped out of Harvard, once it became clear that the possibilities for Microsoft were bright.
The big break came in 1980 when an agreement was signed to provide the operating system that became known as MS-DOS, for IBM’s new personal computer.
In a contractual masterstroke, Microsoft was allowed to license the operating system to other manufacturers, spawning an industry of “IBM-compatible” personal computers which depended on Microsoft’s operating system.
That fuelled further growth, prompting the company to float in 1986, raising $61m.
Now a multi-millionaire, Allen had already stepped back from the frontline. But Gates continued to play the key role in the company’s growth, with his vision for networked computers proving central to Microsoft’s success.
However, his judgment has not always appeared flawless.
While sales and profits rocketed in the early 1990s, he was seen to have misjudged on a grand scale the possibilities and growth of the internet.
Outside of Microsoft he also has interests in biotech companies, sitting on the board of the Icos Corporation and has a stake in Darwin Molecular, a subsidiary of British-based Chiroscience.
Family man
He founded Corbis Corporation, which is developing a digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe.
His books, The Road Ahead and Business @ the Speed of Thought have both hit the best seller lists.
Gates married Melinda on New Year’s Day 1994.Together they have three children – Jennifer Katharine, born in 1996, Rory John, born in 1999, and Phoebe Adele, born in 2002
He met his wife in 1987 at a Microsoft press event in Manhattan. She was working for the company and later became one of the executives in charge of interactive content.
Other interests listed on his official website are reading and playing golf and bridge.
Gates and Melinda have been giving increasing amounts of money to charity, with his father running a foundation.
It has been endowed with billions to support initiatives in the areas of global health and education.
It is the world’s second richest philanthropic organization, and within shouting distance of the world number one, The Welcome Trust in the UK.
Bill Gates
Business Personality
Name at birth: William Gates III
Bill Gates is the head of the software company Microsoft and is one of the world’s wealthiest men. Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in the 1970s, though Allen left the company in 1983. Gates oversaw the invention and marketing of the MS-DOS operating system, the Windows operating interface, the Internet Explorer browser, and a multitude of other popular computer products. Along the way he gained a reputation for fierce competitiveness and aggressive business savvy. During the 1990s rising Microsoft stock prices made Gates the world’s wealthiest man; his wealth has at times exceeded $75 billion, making Gates a popular symbol of the ascendant computer geek of the late 20th century. In June of 2006, Gates announced that he would step down from day-to-day involvement in Microsoft by July of 2008. He said he would then remain chairman of the Microsoft board while focusing on his charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Extra credit: Gates married Melinda French, a Microsoft employee, on 1 January 1994. The couple have three children: daughters Jennifer Katharine (b. 1996) and Phoebe Adele (b. 2002) and son Rory John (b. 1999)… Gates’s personal chartiable initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has focused on global health issues, especially on preventing malaria and AIDS in poor countries; in 2005, ABC News reported that he had given away over six billion dollars in the previous five years… For their philanthropic activities, Time magazine named Bill and Melinda Gates (along with rock star and activist Bono) its Persons of the Year for 2005.

About the Author:

Article Source: ArticlesBase.comBill Gates Profile

Policy Debate in the News


Harvard University Professor Father Georges Florovsky Reading in One of Harvard's Libries


Harvard University Professor Father Georges Florovsky Reading in One of Harvard’s Libries


$79.99


Harvard University Professor Father Georges Florovsky Reading in One of Harvard’s Libries – Premium Photographic Print

Speed Reading for Success (Unabridged)


Speed Reading for Success (Unabridged)


$11.99


Speed Reading for Success will show you how to read faster – and understand and recall what you have read….

Triple Your Reading Speed


Triple Your Reading Speed


$14.38


A complete program of practice exercises designed to improve reading speed and comprehension includes tips on study habits and test-taking skills. Reprint.

Speed Reading for Dummies (Paperback)


Speed Reading for Dummies (Paperback)


$19.81


A guide for time-pressed students and employees reveals how to change reading methods in order to process information more quickly and accurately while improving retention and recall, in a guide that outlines the latest speed-reading techniques for a variety of media. Original.

Member Reading Newspaper in Smoking Room at the Harvard Club Beneath a Rhino Head Trophy


Member Reading Newspaper in Smoking Room at the Harvard Club Beneath a Rhino Head Trophy


$69.99


Alfred Eisenstaedt Member Reading Newspaper in Smoking Room at the Harvard Club Beneath a Rhino Head Trophy – Photographic Print

Speed Reading For Professionals


Speed Reading For Professionals


$23.03


Barron`s Business Success books offer useful advice to career-minded men and women who are looking to get ahead in the business and corporate world. Titles touch on all levels of management, marketing, organization, and related business operations. Reading and comprehending a large number of documents and reports—many of them specialized and technical—is a vital task that is intrinsic to fulfilling management and executive responsibilities. The authors of this practical book recommend techniques and exercises designed to increase reading speed dramatically and to retain important information more easily. They also offer tips on methods for comprehending dry and often difficult reading matter.

A Guide to Speed Reading (Unabridged)


A Guide to Speed Reading (Unabridged)


$5.89


Do you ever find yourself wishing you could save time by reading faster? The author of this program felt exactly the same way just a few short months ago….

Buzan Bites: Speed Reading: Accelerate your speed and understanding for success


Buzan Bites: Speed Reading: Accelerate your speed and understanding for success


$4.89


This bite-size version is of one of Tony Buzans most enduring topics; Speed Reading. Tonys innovative approach to this subject makes speed reading easy to understand, enabling you to apply it immediately to all aspects of your life. Its fun as well! An ideal tool for students, teachers, executives indeed, anyone eager to improve the speed, comprehension and quality of their reading. This book offers a swift introduction to Tony Buzans tried, tested and very successful techniques.

Guided Meditation for Speed Reading


Guided Meditation for Speed Reading


$15.19


Do you have unread books piling up because you think you just don’t have the time to read them? Here’s help….

Tony Buzan: Speed Reading Book (New)


Tony Buzan: Speed Reading Book (New)


$8.99


Imagine the time you could save, and all the amazing new information you could consume, if you were able to read at speeds of over 1000 words per-minute. And we don�t mean just simple skim-reading, but also properly and completely comprehending, understanding and retaining the information you�ve read. This fully revised and updated edition of the powerful book from the world-renowned authority Tony Buzan, will show you exactly how you can quickly start to read at amazing speeds. Speed Reading is simple to follow, easy to understand and fun too. You�ll find out how fast your reading speed is now and then discover how you could be reading dramatically faster in no time. And you won�t just improve your reading speed, but your concentration and comprehension levels will soar too. The techniques in the book are ideal for teachers, students or executives � indeed, anyone who wants to improve the speed, comprehension and quality of their reading. The benefits of speed reading are numerous, no matter where or why you read. You�ll be able to zip through whole novels in one sitting; you�ll speed through newspapers and magazines in minutes; you�ll be the envy of your colleagues as you consume and understand business reports in record time. Speed Reading will revolutionise the way you read. You�ll save days, weeks even months of your precious time; you�ll learn more efficiently and quickly; and you�ll be left marvelling at your new-found speed-reading abilities.

Harvard Gate Harvard University Massachusetts


Harvard Gate Harvard University Massachusetts


$19.99


Harvard Gate Harvard University Massachusetts – Premium Poster

Stealing Harvard


Stealing Harvard


$19.99


Stealing Harvard – Poster

Harvard Plane


Harvard Plane


$24.99


Harvard Plane – Photographic Print

Harvard Commencement


Harvard Commencement


$79.99


Harvard Commencement – Premium Photographic Print


Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Blogplay

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.