Bill Gates - Research Paper Example

In this regard, the essay aims to proffer Bill Gates’ influence and entrepreneurial contribution that have changed, not only America’s lives, but on the lives of people on global scale. A short biographic profile would initially be presented prior to delving into Gates’ remarkable contributions to human lives. The objective of the discourse is to determine how this person has made a difference, why that difference is important to society and how this all affected history and the lives of individual Americans.

Personal Profile The world knows him as Bill Gates but his full name is William Henry Gates, III and was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington (Biography.com, 1). From his school in Seattle’s Lakeside School, Gates have manifested genuine interest in the field of computer programming at the age of 13. The burning desire to create new things was explored with his friend, Paul Allen, who together designed various computer programs including “’Traf-o-Data’, a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle, and netted $20,000 for their efforts” (Biography.com, 2). Gates pursued a law degree from the Harvard University but his heart and mind remained to pursue his passion on computer programming. . It wouldn’t be rich, although he is the wealthiest man in the world.

It wouldn’t be powerful, although he has shaped the future of computing. It wouldn’t be nerdy, but some may describe him as such. It definitely wouldn’t be evil, although many people think that is the case, and in my Mac loving days, that thought probably crossed my mind. No, the word that I would use is ‘passionate’” (Gilgenbach, 1). Bill Gates exhibited immense passion as one of the characteristic of his leadership style that made a difference in his building a software empire. Together with Paul Allen, their design for a BASIC computer program for an Altair computer instigated the discovery of software programs for computers that revolutionized information technology.

As revealed in Biography.com, “his acumen for not only software development but also business operations put him in the position of leading the company and working as its spokesperson. He personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, often rewriting code when he saw it necessary. As the computer industry began to grow with companies like Apple, Intel, and IBM developing hardware and components, Bill was continuously out on the road touting the merits of Microsoft software applications” (3).

Gates’ prominent and distinguishing characteristics and traits differentiated him as an exemplary entrepreneur and leader, whose visionary talents set him apart from others. His dedication, commitment, high drive to achieve was combined to revolutionize applications in computer programming. His willingness to take calculated risks and the desire for innovation and improvement