“Take our 20 best people away, and I will tell you that Microsoft will become an unimportant company.”

The vision is really about empowering workers giving them all the information about what’s going on so they can do a lot more than they’ve done in the past.

Legacy is a stupid thing! I don’t want a legacy.

It’s hard to improve public education – that’s clear.

The first five years have so much to do with how the next 80 turn out.

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.

Great organizations demand a high level of commitment by the people involved.

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

Life’s not fair, get used to it.

The greatest thing you can do for your competition – hire poorly.

Technology is unlocking the innate compassion we have for our fellow human beings.

I read an hour almost every night. It’s part of falling asleep.

If your business is not on the Internet, then your business will be out of business.

Life is not a continuous process, there’s some sort of finite number of achievements that defines your life.

I believe innovation is the most powerful force for change in the world.

There’s a lot that can be done for people who are using technology in a better way.

I went public too soon. Stay private as long as you can.

Building your own business is the best way to become rich. Then you can begin investing in other assets.

Often, the more money you make the more money you spend; that’s why more money doesn’t make you rich – assets make you rich.

When you are young, work to learn, not to earn.

Economy is the method by which we prepare today to afford the improvements of tomorrow.

Haste in every business brings failures.

Some call it bootlegging. Some call it racketeering. I call it a business.

As a female I think it’s a terrible hindrance in business. I think it’s a terrible hindrance for any female to have a lot of intelligence in private life, but I think in business sometimes it’s even worse because there’s deep resentment.

Opportunities, many times, are so small that we glimpse them not and yet they are often the seeds of great enterprises. Opportunities are also everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging. When you least expect it, a great fish will swim by.