abtravels

Why I read this book

Source Code is the book I’ve been looking forward to for years — not because it’s a tech manual, but because it tells the human story behind a figure who shaped my childhood fascination with computers.

I’m an avid reader of Gatesnotes.com , the personal blog of Bill Gates and once I heard he was working on this a few years ago, I immediately added it to my reading list. I’m sure you know who Bill Gates is – but a quick intro nonetheless. He is the founder of Microsoft and a pioneer in the digital revolution. He is also a remarkable philanthropist with billions donated to leading projects through the Gates Foundation. 

I’ve always had a huge respect for Bill Gates since I was a boy and this book did not disappoint.

What the Book is about (No Spoilers)

Not technical or business like but a detailed memoir of his childhood. From doing hiking treks at an early age as a teenager to Micro-Soft dropping the hyphen and making the move to Seattle. I won’t detail the entire story but instead some of the key lessons I learned from reading this fantastic memoir which I highly recommend reading.

Microsoft and the journey of its founders were really a series of small achievements with working and developing new solutions with existing programming languages that ended up changing the world. It wasn’t a miraculous piece of code that reshaped the industry as I had come to believe ever since my Dad bought our first Dell personal computer over 20 years ago. Ok yeah I guess you could argue that the BASIC programming language was a revolution in a way but this was predicated on work/programs that existed before. 

This ties in with The Innovators by Walter Isaacson in that innovation rarely is when someone has a eureka moment but it is typically the work of a group of people improving current ways to create something that society values to create a form of synergy. 

This is what smart people do. They get together with other smart people and solve really tough problems. That sounds perfect to me. 

Gates, Bill. Source Code: My Beginnings (p. 81). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition. 

This is one thing that was really quite obvious from reading the book. That Microsoft was a series of small wins by a group of people not just Bill Gates creating one piece of code – although in a big way that was a part.

Key Lessons I Took Away

Bill Gates himself and his own growth was again a series of experiences that shaped him as a leader. From both his parents who I have so much respect for, his grandmother “Gami”, his sisters as well as the people and firms he worked with. One key lesson in business which came out really strong is when working with anyone or any business, to create a mutually beneficial relationship that is grounded in mutual respect and trust, each party should principally apply their best efforts in that relationship and the contract. 

I’d like to think that that’s always how I’ve operated myself. I never try to end up making decisions which leads me to somehow “win” over another person. I always pride myself in working collaboratively to solve a problem or create added value. 

I’ve dealt with a few people in my life who effectively sell you out so they can increase their own wealth or otherwise. I tend to distance myself from these types as it never ends well and it’s just very narrow minded and narrow judgement. So best efforts for me is doing all you can to meet the requirements/demands of what’s been agreed even though it might not be explicitly written or expected. You do your best. This book clearly demonstrates this which was captivating.

I have a bit of a confession. Like a lot of teenagers in my high school I frequently downloaded pirated movies, songs and software growing up. You remember those torrent files which were peer to peer file sharing and that dreaded Limewire? A lot of kids used these to download movies, songs and other digital media. 

I haven’t for two decades now and one of the reasons is that once I actively started to read consistently my respect for this industry and the authors grew immensely. Reading the acknowledgements at the end books made me see how many people were actually involved and the work that book actually took. I refused to basically steal their work and not pay for it. I think that it’s the same with any movies or software. Who would be able to spend that much time on it and just give it away? 

Bill Gates’ open letter to the Homebrew Computer Club (you can read here) and to its hobbyists is a letter etched in my memory and quite a historic letter in my opinion that was much needed. I tell my nephews and siblings similar messages. I will offer to buy for them any games, or anything digital that is for sale. But don’t do any piracy. It’s theft – and I can see this very strongly now having read so many books and also using Github to acquire some coding from hobbyists themselves. They deserve the recognition and I always make sure to give them credit within the programming modules.

Personal Reflections & Final Thoughts

This memoir is the first in a series of three – 2 more to be released. I’m really looking forward to the next one. There were so many events, so many stories and key lessons that Bill shared along the way including from both his parents who despite how challenging he may have been as a boy, stuck with him. 

They never directed what he should do with his life although like many parents had their expectations. They just provided the guidance and implicit mentoring so that he could develop himself as an individual.

I’m very grateful for this book as I grew up witnessing the majority of Microsoft’s development as a software organisation. I used a Honeywell PC in primary school – not sure if anyone remembers these. But reading about Honeywell in Source Code was really insightful and it made me realise how in a relatively short space of time, the digital age and personal computing industry really blew up. 

And Bill Gates will go down in history as one person who changed the world. So this book is definitely one to read. It’s well written, easy to read, and very enjoyable.