A not so impressive quote

[BJCooperIT]

From an article entitled "What Is Bill Gates Thinking?"
Bill Gates said:

"Those are in part probably the funnest part of my job, seeing some of the research work coming out of universities, getting very up to date on the research inside Microsoft, and then I'll pick some areas of things I need to understand, like where are microprocessors going."

Besides the fact that "funnest" is not a word (according to yourdictionary.com), and several other errors, I find this quote to be something I would expect from an eighteen year-old. How strange that he is where he is...

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8i & 9i - Windows 2000

 

[rosieb]

It's English, BJCooperIT, but not as we know it!

Horrible. But when you're where he is, I suppose you can get away with it - he needs an editor! I wouldn't expect it from an eighteen year old.

However, there is (possibly) some excuse if it's a direct quote, spoken English is often gramatically poor - ever listened to yourself on tape, frightening!

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[BJCooperIT]

Another tidbit from the article that made me shake my head sadly:
"And I knew I'm funding those guys and I like their stuff, but they've really made some progress and they showed results."

The mere fact that Bill Gates speaks in this fashion, and has been so tremendously successful, undermines the effort made by those in Information Technology to be perceived as professional non-geek adults.

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8i & 9i - Windows 2000

 

[LFCfan]

that's English from the school of UK premiership football (soccer) managers!

 

[David]

Most likely the quotes were taken out of context.

The author of the article could have been more kind. Typically when doing an oral interview the writer will show some "professional judgement" and clean up the grammar.

For this very reason, many people will only do written interviews and make themselves less accessable. I wouldn't blame Bill one bit for not giving that author another interview.

Dave

 

[bcastner]

I agree with Dave.

It often struck me as cruel the way some will take an extemporaneous reply to a question by a politician and criticize the grammar.

 

[sleipnir214]

I think Bill Gates bears some of the burden here, too.

I've heard and seen recordings of Bill Gates' speaking extemporaneously. He's simply not very good at it.

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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[rosieb]

sleipnir214

I've heard and seen recordings of Bill Gates' speaking extemporaneously. He's simply not very good at it.

Then maybe we should give him credit for effort! At least he's trying despite, presumably, knowing he'll be criticised.

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[BJCooperIT]

The interview in question does not appear to be taken out of context. It does not appear that there was any attempt on the part of the news service to place appropriate punctuation in the quotes, which is why I did not point out those flaws.

I firmly believe that when giving an interview or speaking in public, grammar makes or breaks the impression you give. When a speaker is going to be quoted/heard do they have a responsibility to represent themselves and their company well?

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant/Custom Forms & PL/SQL - Oracle 8i & 9i - Windows 2000

 

[sleipnir214]

BJCooperIT:
I could argue that if Bill Gates or any officer of a publicly traded company cannot present himself well in a public form, he would be remiss in his obligations to his stockholders if he didn't do his best to stay out of the lime-light. Because as you said, his performance could hurt the company's and the stockholders' interests.

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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[rosieb]

[Devil's Advocate]
a) As previously stated, direct quotes are usually edited for articles etc.

b) The main obligation of a publicly quoted company is profits / increase in share price. MS clearly do well on this - their shareholders are happy. By defenition Bill Gates is Microsoft, and whether he likes it or not , he has to perform. He does it, OK , not brilliantly, but acceptably.

Q. Does the share price suffer from his verbal ineptitude?

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[sleipnir214]

A. No. But then look at Microsoft's target market. For the most part, it's ignorant or inexperienced end users.

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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[sleipnir214]

<devil's advocate>
Then again, how would we know? Bill's always been there, so we have nothing to compare against.
</advocate>

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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[rosieb]

Is it? I don't know.

But I strongly suspect Microsoft's main target market for shares is the big pension providers. That's where the quotes come into play. (Actual purchasers are small beer.)

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[bcastner]

There is a context missing here as well.

I would sell my Microsoft stock if Gates and Balmer start sounding as polished as say, Clinton or Tony Blair off-the-cuff.

I would sell my Apple stock if Steve Jobs starts as polished.

For technology stocks that do not pay dividends, (growth stocks) the Nerd as public speaker and Chief Technology Officer is appropriate.

If you want perfect grammar, talk to their many PR reps on hand.

 

[David]

First off, I've never spoken with Bill Gates and can neither confirm or deny his oral sentence structure. For most of us, it depends on the situation how thoughtful we are in our sentence structure. We get many nice letters from members and include those in the "member feedback" panel (on the lower left hand side of every page). I do clean up some grammar items, but leave most of what people wanted to say untouched.

From the two quotes above it sounds like Bill is meeting with smart people he has given money to, getting up to speed on their key new technical innovations, and trying to keep up on where technologies are going. It appears he is doing exactly what a CEO should do.

In terms of this thread and how critical it is of Bill Gates, if you are predisposed to NOT liking someone you will certainly find faults. And this thread seems to split this direction.

I wish people in this world would listen more to WHAT someone is trying to say and not HOW they are saying it. Same thing goes for this technical site. We need to offer polite constructive criticisms of improper English usage to help the member the NEXT post they make. The more we can all understand one another, the more we can all get along.

This Group started by CajunCenturion will help.

Dave

 

[CajunCenturion]

This discussion is not, nor will it be about Mr. Gates.

It's hard to find the right balance between what someone says and how they say it because both are integral parts of successful communication. You certainly want to convey the right message (the what), but at least to me, not in a self-deprecating manner (the how). If anyone is in a similar position, properly engaged in discussions and dialogue to protect their investment, or speak of other mutual issues, if they speak in grade school English, it may not alter your appreciation for what he or she has to offer, but it does influence you opinion of the person.

Both what you say, and how you say it, do “Make an Impression.”

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[sleipnir214]

<facetious>
I figure that if Mr. Gates was admitted to Harvard, he must be pretty bright.

But he's had kids since then. And just ask anyone who's had kids -- they do unkind things to your intelligence.
</facetious>

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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[Dimandja]

I fail to see the connection between corporate ladder or bank account and English as a mean of communication.

I am sure Bill can hire someone to fluently and flowerly speak for him: many head honchos in his position do that as a matter of fact. The fact that Bill is willing to subject himself to this kind of ridicule speaks highly of him.

Dimandja

 

[sleipnir214]

I don't think it necessarily speaks well of him.

If he understands his limits yet thinks its in the best interests of Microsoft that he speak in public, I agree.

But if he does it because he thinks he's a great public speaker and no one else can do as good a job, I disagree.



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TANSTAAFL!!