比尔盖茨哈佛毕业演讲.docx

比尔盖茨哈佛毕业演讲.docx

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比尔盖茨哈佛毕业演讲

PresidentBok,formerPresidentRudenstine,incomingPresidentFaust,membersoftheHarvardCorporationandtheBoardofOverseers,membersofthefaculty,parents,andespecially,thegraduates:

I’vebeenwaitingmorethan30yearstosaythis:

“Dad,IalwaystoldyouI’dcomebackandgetmydegree.”

IwanttothankHarvardforthistimelyhonor.I’llbechangingmyjobnextyear…anditwillbenicetofinallyhaveacollegedegreeonmyresume.

Iapplaudthegraduatestodayfortakingamuchmoredirectroutetoyourdegrees.Formypart,I’mjusthappythattheCrimsonhascalledme“Harvard’smostsuccessfuldropout.”Iguessthatmakesmevaledictorianofmyownspecialclass…Ididthebestofeveryonewhofailed.

ButIalsowanttoberecognizedastheguywhogotSteveBallmertodropoutofbusinessschool.I’mabadinfluence.That’swhyIwasinvitedtospeakatyourgraduation.IfIhadspokenatyourorientation,fewerofyoumightbeheretoday.

Harvardwasjustaphenomenalexperienceforme.Academiclifewasfascinating.IusedtositinonlotsofclassesIhadn’tevensignedupfor.Anddormlifewasterrific.IlivedupatRadcliffe,inCurrierHouse.Therewerealwayslotsofpeopleinmydormroomlateatnightdiscussingthings,becauseeveryoneknewIdidn’tworryaboutgettingupinthemorning.That’showIcametobetheleaderoftheanti-socialgroup.Weclungtoeachotherasawayofvalidatingourrejectionofallthosesocialpeople.

Radcliffewasagreatplacetolive.Thereweremorewomenupthere,andmostoftheguyswerescience-mathtypes.Thatcombinationofferedmethebestodds,ifyouknowwhatImean.ThisiswhereIlearnedthesadlessonthatimprovingyouroddsdoesn’tguaranteesuccess.

OneofmybiggestmemoriesofHarvardcameinJanuary1975,whenImadeacallfromCurrierHousetoacompanyinAlbuquerquethathadbegunmakingtheworld’sfirstpersonalcomputers.Iofferedtosellthemsoftware.

IworriedthattheywouldrealizeIwasjustastudentinadormandhanguponme.Insteadtheysaid:

“We’renotquiteready,comeseeusinamonth,”whichwasagoodthing,becausewehadn’twrittenthesoftwareyet.Fromthatmoment,IworkeddayandnightonthislittleextracreditprojectthatmarkedtheendofmycollegeeducationandthebeginningofaremarkablejourneywithMicrosoft.

WhatIrememberaboveallaboutHarvardwasbeinginthemidstofsomuchenergyandintelligence.Itcouldbeexhilarating,intimidating,sometimesevendiscouraging,butalwayschallenging.Itwasanamazingprivilege–andthoughIleftearly,IwastransformedbymyyearsatHarvard,thefriendshipsImade,andtheideasIworkedon.

Buttakingaseriouslookback…Idohaveonebigregret.

（0507）IleftHarvardwithnorealawarenessoftheawfulinequitiesintheworld–theappallingdisparitiesofhealth,andwealth,andopportunitythatcondemnmillionsofpeopletolivesofdespair.

IlearnedalothereatHarvardaboutnewideasineconomicsandpolitics.Igotgreatexposuretotheadvancesbeingmadeinthesciences.

Buthumanity’sgreatestadvancesarenotinitsdiscoveries–butinhowthosediscoveriesareappliedtoreduceinequity.Whetherthroughdemocracy,strongpubliceducation,qualityhealthcare,orbroadeconomicopportunity–reducinginequityisthehighesthumanachievement.

Ileftcampusknowinglittleaboutthemillionsofyoungpeoplecheatedoutofeducationalopportunitieshereinthiscountry.AndIknewnothingaboutthemillionsofpeoplelivinginunspeakablepovertyanddiseaseindevelopingcountries.

Ittookmedecadestofindout.

0630YougraduatescametoHarvardatadifferenttime.Youknowmoreabouttheworld’sinequitiesthantheclassesthatcamebefore.Inyouryearshere,Ihopeyou’vehadachancetothinkabouthow–inthisageofacceleratingtechnology–wecanfinallytakeontheseinequities,andwecansolvethem.

0655Imagine,justforthesakeofdiscussion,thatyouhadafewhoursaweekandafewdollarsamonthtodonatetoacause–andyouwantedtospendthattimeandmoneywhereitwouldhavethegreatestimpactinsavingandimprovinglives.Wherewouldyouspendit?

ForMelindaandforme,thechallengeisthesame:

howcanwedothemostgoodforthegreatestnumberwiththeresourceswehave.

Duringourdiscussionsonthisquestion,MelindaandIreadanarticleaboutthemillionsofchildrenwhoweredyingeveryyearinpoorcountriesfromdiseasesthatwehadlongagomadeharmlessinthiscountry.Measles,malaria,pneumonia,hepatitisB,yellowfever.OnediseaseIhadneverevenheardof,rotavirus,waskillinghalfamillionkidseachyear–noneofthemintheUnitedStates.

Wewereshocked.Wehadjustassumedthatifmillionsofchildrenweredyingandtheycouldbesaved,theworldwouldmakeitaprioritytodiscoveranddeliverthemedicinestosavethem.Butitdidnot.Forunderadollar,therewereinterventionsthatcouldsavelivesthatjustweren’tbeingdelivered.

Ifyoubelievethateverylifehasequalvalue,it’srevoltingtolearnthatsomelivesareseenasworthsavingandothersarenot.Wesaidtoourselves:

“Thiscan’tbetrue.Butifitistrue,itdeservestobethepriorityofourgiving.”

Sowebeganourworkinthesamewayanyoneherewouldbeginit.Weasked:

“Howcouldtheworldletthesechildrendie?

”

Theanswerissimple,andharsh.Themarketdidnotrewardsavingthelivesofthesechildren,andgovernmentsdidnotsubsidizeit.Sothechildrendiedbecausetheirmothersandtheirfathershadnopowerinthemarketandnovoiceinthesystem.

ButyouandIhaveboth.

Wecanmakemarketforcesworkbetterforthepoorifwecandevelopamorecreativecapitalism–ifwecanstretchthereachofmarketforcessothatmorepeoplecanmakeaprofit,oratleastmakealiving,servingpeoplewhoaresufferingfromtheworstinequities.Wealsocanpressgovernmentsaroundtheworldtospendtaxpayermoneyinwaysthatbetterreflectthevaluesofthepeoplewhopaythetaxes.

Ifwecanfindapproachesthatmeettheneedsofthepoorinwaysthatgenerateprofitsforbusinessandvotesforpoliticians,wewillhavefoundasustainablewaytoreduceinequityintheworld.

Thistaskisopen-ended.Itcanneverbefinished.Butaconsciousefforttoanswerthischallengewillchangetheworld.

Iamoptimisticthatwecandothis,butItalktoskepticswhoclaimthereisnohope.Theysay:

“Inequityhasbeenwithussincethebeginning,andwillbewithustilltheend–becausepeoplejust…don’t…care.”

Icompletelydisagree.

Ibelievewehavemorecaringthanweknowwhattodowith.

AllofushereinthisYard,atonetimeoranother,haveseenhumantragediesthatbrokeourhearts,andyetwedidnothing–notbecausewedidn’tcare,butbecausewedidn’tknowwhattodo.Ifwehadknownhowtohelp,wewouldhaveacted.

Thebarriertochangeisnottoolittlecaring;itistoomuchcomplexity.

Toturncaringintoaction,weneedtoseeaproblem,seeasolution,andseetheimpact.Butcomplexityblocksallthreesteps.

EvenwiththeadventoftheInternetand24-hournews,itisstillacomplexenterprisetogetpeopletotrulyseetheproblems.Whenanairplanecrashes,officialsimmediatelycallapressconference.Theypromisetoinvestigate,determinethecause,andpreventsimilarcrashesinthefuture.

Butiftheofficialswerebrutallyhonest,theywouldsay:

“Ofallthepeopleintheworldwhodiedtodayfrompreventablecauses,onehalfofonepercentofthemwereonthisplane.We’redeterminedtodoeverythingpossibletosolvetheproblemthattookthelivesoftheonehalfofonepercent.”

Thebiggerproblemisnottheplanecrash,butthemillionsofpreventabledeaths.

Wedon’treadmuchaboutthesedeaths.Themediacoverswhat’snew–andmillionsofpeopledyingisnothingnew.Soitstaysinthebackground,whereit’seasiertoignore.Butevenwhenwedoseeitorreadaboutit,it’sdifficulttokeepoureyesontheproblem.It’shardtolookatsufferingifthesituationissocomplexthatwedon’tknowhowtohelp.Andsowelookaway.

Ifwecanreallyseeaproblem,whichisthefirststep,wecometothesecondstep:

cuttingthroughthecomplexitytofindasolution.

Findingsolutionsisessentialifwewanttomakethemostofourcaring.Ifwehaveclearandprovenanswersanytimeanorganizationorindividualasks“HowcanIhelp?

”thenwecangetaction–andwecanmakesurethatnoneofthecaringintheworldiswasted.Butcomplexitymakesithardtomarkapathofactionforeveryonewhocares—andthatmakesithardfortheircaringtomatter.

Cuttingthroughcomplexitytofindasolutionrunsthroughfourpredictablestages:

determineagoal,findthehighest-leverageapproach,discovertheidealtechnologyforthatapproach,andinthemeantime,makethesmartestapplicationofthetechnologythatyoualreadyhave—whetherit’ssomethingsophisticated,likeadrug,orsomethingsimpler,likeabednet.

TheAIDSepidemicoffersanexample.Thebroadgoal,ofcourse,istoendthedisease.Thehighest-leverageapproachisprevention.Theidealtechnologywouldbeavaccinethatgiveslifetimeimmunitywithasingledose.Sogovernments,drugcompanies,andfoundationsfundvaccineresearch.Buttheirworkislikelytotakemorethanadecade,sointhemeantime,wehavetoworkwithwhatwehaveinhand–andthebestpreventionapproachwehavenowisgettingpeopletoavoidriskybehavior.

Pursuingthatgoalstartsthefour-stepcycleagain.Thisisthepattern.Thecrucialthingistoneverstopthinkingandworking–andneverdowhatwedidwithmalariaandtuberculosisinthe20thcentury–whichistosurrendertocomplexityandquit.

Thefinalstep–afters