创业与商业philip.greenspun.com
如何像比尔·盖茨一样富有
How to Become as Rich as Bill Gates
2009 — 2015，它一次次回到首页
黑点是上首页（≥ 50 分）的那次投稿，空心点是没冲上去的投稿，点越大分数越高。
导读
Philip Greenspun 的经典讽刺文章《如何变得像比尔·盖茨一样富有》，以半开玩笑的口吻分析盖茨的成功路径：富裕的家庭背景、人脉关系、时机运气，以及微软的商业策略。文章看似调侃，实则引导读者反思对'成功'的常见假设。
为什么经久不衰：它用反讽方式挑战'努力就能成功'的叙事，指出背景、人脉与运气的作用，这一话题历久弥新，因此多年间反复登上 HN 首页。
HN 评论精选
盖茨的成功是运气、背景与商业才能共同作用的结果，缺一不可
我认为这是关于盖茨如何赚钱最接近真实的叙述之一。是的，他家境富裕、父母人脉广泛（大多数人讲故事时都略过了'盖茨能接到 IBM 的电话是因为他母亲在 IBM 董事会'这一点）。是的，他运气好得难以置信（他拒绝了 IBM、把对方介绍给 QDOS 的作者，结果在 QDOS 搞砸之后还是做成了交易）。是的，他算不上伟大的黑客（第一代微软员工说他编程很一般）。但即便如此，如果没有敏锐的商业嗅觉和技术判断力，他还是会失败。成为世界首富大概既需要运气也需要实力——但我敢打赌，光靠实力也能让你相当富有。
TomOfTTB查看英文原文
I think this is about as accurate an account as you'll get in regards to how Bill Gates made his money. Yes, his entire family was rich and his parents were well connected (when most people tell the story they leave out "Bill Gates got the call from IBM because his mother was on their board") Yes he got unbelievably lucky (so much so that he turned down IBM, sent them to the makers of QDOS, and still made the deal after QDOS blew it) and Yes, he's not a great hacker (he's smart and knows enough about technology but the couple Gen 1 Microsoft employees I've met say he can't code worth a darn) But even with all that he would have failed if not for his keen business insight and technical accumen. I guess you need both luck and skill to become the richest man in the world (but I'm betting skill can still get you pretty rich)
这是一篇故意挑衅的文章，论据真实，目的是打破读者对成功的固有认知
这不是 Philip Greenspun 最好的文章，但它是一次刻意为之的 Gladwell 式'钓鱼'，让你意识到自己对成功的假设未必准确。他做出的论断大多在事实上是正确的，其余部分则是引你思考微软的管理与决策如何成为成功策略的框架。
triplesec查看英文原文
This isn't one of Philip Greenspun's better articles, but it's a deliberate troll of the Gladwellian kind to make you see that your assumptions of success may not be entirely accurate. Where he makes assertions, most of them are factually correct. The rest is a trolling frame to get you to think about the question of Microsoft's management and decisionmaking as a strategy for success. Which you may be doing.
反方观点：文章低估了盖茨的努力与才能，成功并非靠出身
我觉得这对盖茨有点冒犯。这算讽刺还是只是品味差？文章完全没考虑盖茨在发展微软过程中付出的艰辛、承担的风险和使用的聪明策略。别忘了乔布斯出身平凡得多，却是盖茨和微软的强劲对手。我担心读者会当真，意识不到让盖茨成功的不是他的出身，而是他的直觉和驱动力。
pedalpete查看英文原文
I find this somewhat offensive for Bill Gates. Is this considered satire? Or just poor taste? Of course, this fails to take into account the damn hard work, risks, and clever strategies used in growing Microsoft. Let's not forget that Steve Jobs came from a much more modest background and was a great competitor to Bill Gates and Microsoft. It wasn't all about having the background of a trust fund to fall back on. I fear that people will take this article to heart without realising that it wasn't Bill Gates background that allowed him to succeed, but it was his instinct and drive.
轶事展示盖茨的领导风格：允许犯错，重视从错误中学习
我最喜欢的盖茨故事（我工作过的创业公司 CEO 讲的，后来在 Google 上找到了原版）。1984 年初，我们在产品中发现了一个会导致数据崩溃的 bug，我担心会被开除，就和开发主管一起去见盖茨。我解释说可能得召回产品，要花几十万美元，还会损害声誉。盖茨坐在沙发上低着头，摇摇晃晃，一言不发，我的焦虑不断加剧。最后他抬起头说：'你今天来损失了几十万美元，明天来的时候希望你做得更好。'他的期望不是我们不犯错，而是我们认真对待错误并从中学习。这非常激励人。
wallflower查看英文原文
My favorite BillG story (told by the CEO of a startup I worked for - and just found the real version via Google). Yes, it is a standard business koan (e.g. why would I fire you because we just spend X amount educating you) but can you imagine any average CEOs doing that? "What are the greatest business lessons Bill has taught you over the years? Very early in my career at Microsoft, around February 1984, we found a data-crashing bug. I wondered if I would get fired over it. I went to Bill with the head of development. I was then the product manager. It was a classic meeting. Bill was on the couch looking down. I explained that we found this bug and that we thought we were going to have to recall the product. He nodded, did his rocking thing and kept looked down. We were both wondering if we would get fired. Bill wasn't saying anything so my anxiety was growing. I explained that we're going to have to recall the product, and that it's going to cost several hundred thousand dollars and be a hit to our reputation. Bill rocks and looks down. We didn't have anything else to say. I thought: Is this when the ax comes? Then Bill looks up and says: "You came in today and lost a few hundred thousand dollars. You come in tomorrow and hope you do better." His expectation wasn't that we weren't going to make mistakes. He wanted to know that we took it seriously and learned from our mistakes. That's very motivating." http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/25/raikes-bill-gates-tech-cz_vb_0625techraikes.html
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