Bill Gates’ Harvard Speech Transcript: Recommended Read

19 Jun 2007

The Harvard University Gazette has posted a transcript of BillG’s commencement speech.

It carries an important and motivating message with some self-deprecating humour thrown in for good measure (see below :)).

Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives. Where would you spend it?

This message particularly rings home. I was involved with the 2nd annual Canary (Soap Box) Derby held this past weekend in Victoria, BC. It was held in support of the Canary Foundation, who shares a vision of **A world of simple blood tests which identify and isolate cancer at its earliest most curable stage. It’s amazing what communities of like minded people can accomplish when adequately motivated to work towards a common cause (in this case, raising $100k+ and purchasing a piece of equipment for the BC Cancer Agency).

Obviously discovering a cure for cancer is society’s ultimate BHAG, but there’s something about a simple blood test that makes it both an attainable and stretch goal. Attainable in the sense that a blood test to many is just a fact of life, yet we haven’t (yet) discovered or validated any appropriate markers in our blood that are positively indicative of cancer). It’s important that there’s an ability to track progress towards a goal to help keep everyone involved (particularly the commercial entities) motivated.

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Radcliffe was a great place to live. There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types. That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean. This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn’t guarantee success. – Bill Gates