Steve Ballmer 2014 UW Commencement Speech

well thanks I have to say I'm a little fired up to be here today this hat gets in the way sorry about that I if you never told me in my wildest dreams that I'd be in the endzone at Husky Stadium lower B full 40,000 people I would have told you no way so I have exactly two thoughts for you one touchdown Washington and two go dogs I want to congratulate everybody who's graduating today it's been a little lowkey in here for my casaste I want actually all the graduates every one of you to get up and give yourself a round of applause [Applause] congratulations actually for me you may not know this this is a special class the class of folks graduating this year are the age of my oldest son and the notion that some of his friends are in this audience graduating today just gives me a little extra special oomph Hank Justin others you know who you are but congratulations to all and the surprise of seeing one of my son's mothers here Melissa woo congratulations great job Michael and Chris made I think a wonderful Point neither one of them knows what the heck at age 22 or 30 life holds for them and you know what it's okay it's okay this class is graduating at perhaps the best time in history a time and if you don't remember anything else from this speech this is it you have the greatest opportunities in front of you of any class ever to graduate from University you have the opportunities to go out and change the world in so many ways I've had an amazingly fortunate and lucky Journey I was born at the right time and the right place to be able to participate in the launching of the information age and if you only take the perspective Information Technology the impact you all can have on the world the world of business the world of science the world of Education the world of Health Care there has never been a better time opportunity opportunity opport Unity it awaits you it's there for you you have an extra blessing you're graduating from one of the best universities bar none in the entire world the University of Washington this University is unbelievable Mike and I were actually talking up on stage and some of the various departments but I certainly know the medical school here and and Dean Ramsey I've gotten some exposure to the School of Social Work uh under Dean uara certainly the computer science department will all the computer science graduates please stand up [Applause] yeah but there are countless of wonderful departments here at the University University of Washington and to graduate from here means you have opportunity sitting in front of you for the taking I want to give you three principles to think about as you look at the opportunities that you have to make a difference and it can be a difference in one or two people's lives a hundred people's lives a difference in the world a difference in a difference in arts or letters or science or business I'll give you three things to think about first there's a Latin expression which I think is great I love it it was in a now very old movie called The Dead Poet Society but the line of the movie was carpedm sees the day the opportunities are there but you got to reach out and pick them up you've got to grab at them some of you may have already done that at the U and your classes in other students that you met in your extracurricular activities but grab them don't be afraid to make a mistake because you know what you can do if you grab the wrong one drop it and pick up another one it's okay seize the day I think back of all of the the the the luck but also the times that were in front of me to seize the day I don't know what got me to drop out of business school and come to Microsoft my parents thought I was a whack job neither one of them graduated college and they thought this was really a wild idea I was lucky I seized the day Microsoft one day some guys fly in from from IBM and all of a sudden we figure out we could actually provide all the software they need for this thing that became the personal computer people Bill Paul they had the wisdom to seize the day when that opportunity presented itself and yet when you think of all the opportunities when I think back of all the opportunities I've had the one that was most important was an opportunity I got in 1969 sitting in my junior high school class I was in a public Junior High not very stimulated at the time and over the loudspeaker they said that what a private high school in our area that I never heard of was giving scholarship tests that weekend I told my mother I wanted to take them she said that's fine as long as you get a scholarship because we can't afford to send you there but that's really where I got switched on Switched on in math switched on personally energized in a way that never never could be turned back and I am very thankful for that opportunity yes there's 's a lot of luck in opportunity but there's a lot of seizing the day and I encourage you all to reach out and carp a DM really seize the opportunities that are in front of you number two on opportunities have a point of view sometimes it will be your point of view that creates opportunities and sometimes you will pick up an opportun unity and it'll give you a chance to build a point of view if you're art levenson if you're Paul Allen and Bill Gates you may have a point of view on what will happen in the world of of of genetics and what what can be invented or the fact that software would be the most powerful force on the planet and what it can do to change the world points of view do matter if you're like me you might not have a point of view before you get started but I had the privilege then to learn and all of you will from somebody and you will develop your own point of view on how to develop and shape and bring those opportunities to the four one of the favorite stories I have to tell tell kids is the story of the the guy who founded both Twitter and square a guy named Jack dorsy I barely know the guy but I am in awe of his story he's a guy who was writing software to to help taxi cab dispatch in the city of St Louis and he discovered that blowing out small messages was a really powerful force for taxi cab scheduling and the taxi cab drivers needed to be paid and out of that experience he developed the point of view that allowed him to create both Twitter and square which is now the most popular way that people get paid so point of view creates opportunity and you need to be a person who takes a point of view with the opportunities that you're given third message be hardcore hardcore is really hard to Define but it is my favorite expression hardcore hardcore means tenacious hard core means longterm hardcore means determined I don't care what you do you're going to have to be patient and industrious and really stay after things when Microsoft first decided it wanted to sell software into businesses people told us we couldn't this was in the 1980s they told us in 1989 we couldn't they told us in 1995 we couldn't 2000 20 05 today if you look at Microsoft's enormous success 70 or 80% of it comes from selling the software that really automates the Way businesses and and institutions like the University of Washington automate tenacity sticking with things outside the business realm think of Nelson Mandela just think about that case the constant non-stop long-term fight against a part hiide that finally paid off opportunity is about seizing seizing what's there it is about what's having a having a point of view but it's also about patience and determination things will not necessarily come to you poof immediately and overnight you're going to have to be determined in long term my wife about seven years ago uh got started with some folks here at the University of Washington on something called partners for our children it's a center based here at the University that works in partnership with both private sources and the state of Washington on ideas to reform child welfare 7 years some progress seven years a lot more to go and whether you're choosing careers in business or the Arts or uh in areas in which you will do service you will need to put in long-term effort and be hardcore in order to seize the opportunities that are in front of you seize the personal opportunities that are in front of you too I really believe that people need to have more than one thing in their life I feel fortunate I have a a life partner I have kids I have a family and you need to seize those opportunities in addition to the ones that you will find in front of you absolutely professionally the two of you guys said you are respectively 22 and 30 and don't know what you're doing I am 58 years old and I too don't know what I'm doing again I retired from Microsoft earlier this year it's a wonderful opportunity frankly for Microsoft fresh blood fresh fresh ideas fresh thinking a fresh leader who's outstanding in SAT nadela but new opportunities for the company and I look forward to new opportunities for me uh one of those I'm afraid to admit I might be pursuing down in Los Angeles please forgive me that that's a passion for sports yeah I knew I had to take a little bit of that but anyway but I also looking for what's next how would I serve going forward government other service not not as a politician that's certainly not me you can tell that but the search for opportunity doesn't stop it's there in front of you at all times you will face times where you want to renew yourself seize the opportunity AR adum develop a point of view and then stay and really work on things in a very hardcore and determined way you all in an amazing spot at an amazing time and able to make an amazing difference I have a lot of faith particularly as a citizen of Seattle who loves living in the Northwest is committed to being here for the rest of my life the fate of of Seattle the fate of Washington the fate of the world is in the hands of the class of 2014 of the University of Washington please do a good job with it we need you thank you all and congratulations

Channel: UW Video

Views: 22,031

Keywords: UW, Commencement Speech, University Of Washington (College/University), Graduation (Field Of Study), Speech (Activity), Steve Ballmer (Billionaire), Microsoft (Business Operation), 2014 Commencement, UW Commencement, UW Graduation, arts and humanities, social sciences, k-12 and education, students, UW Students, UW Commencement Speech, 2014 UW Commencement

Id: FCdOhnVjobU

Length: 14min 37sec (877 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 17 2014