Bill Gates praises Steve Jobs, says he 'cast spells' to bring back Apple from the dead

Bill Gates may be a self-made billionaire and the co-founder of software giant Microsoft, but it is this tech boss who managed to cast a spell on him. The Microsoft co-founder, an avid reader himself, drew a reference from 'Harry Potter', while talking about Steve Jobs.
The Microsoft boss spoke at length about Apple Inc's late co-founder, Steve Jobs, in an interview to CNN. Looks like, Gates was not the only one who was in awe of Jobs. Taking a cue from 'Harry Potter', Gates compared Jobs to be a wizard, someone who effectively 'cast spells' on everyone. He was quick to add that the spells did not work on him because he himself is a minor wizard.

Apple’s Steve Jobs had a leadership style which set him apart from the others. “I have yet to meet any person who” could rival Jobs “in terms of picking talent, hyper-motivating that talent, and having a sense of design of, ‘Oh, this is good. This is not good,” Gates added of his sometime collaborator and competitor.


Gates, the second-richest person in the world, also said that Jobs had the uncanny ability to succeed, even when he failed. When in 1988, Apple introduced NeXT, the computer that “completely failed, it was such nonsense, and yet Jobs managed to mesmerise people." NeXT stopped making hardware five years later, and in 1996 was bought by Apple.

While Gates said that Jobs often received criticism for his strict working style and leaders often fall prey to imitating the bad parts of Jobs, but he also brought about a whole lot of positivity amidst all the toughness. He quite literally managed to wow people with what he did at Apple. Gates particularly pointed out that Jobs not only was a powerhouse of talent himself, but also managed to sift the best out of people, he had a keen eye for spotting talent.

The American investor, author, and humanitarian says that there is no rival for Steve Jobs, and the way he managed to magically 'cast spells' on leaders and employees both, matches none other.

On being asked about his own leadership style, Gates quipped that he also has a reputation of being a hard task master. He says, "Other than a DOJ (Department of Justice) deposition I gave, no one ever said that when I went out to talk to the press or customers, that I was rude or abrupt or commanding.” Things were pretty tough inside Microsoft, and Gates admits that they sometimes went a bit too far.

The business magnate acknowledged that in the early years at Microsoft 'a self-selected set of people who were mostly males' were pretty tough and counted on each other to work 'very long' hours. He added that even though he feels the intensity went 'too far', but it was great for his 20s, 30s, 40s.

However, the philanthropist who runs the Gates Foundation, said that while he does not push 'quite as insanely' now, he still retains that focus.