No one is perfect, we all make mistakes and sometimes huge blunders. Business leaders and billionaire entrepreneurs are no different. In fact, legends like Bill Gates, Ratan Tata, Narayan Murthy, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk and others have not only made huge mistakes but also accepted them in public.
Here we share the biggest mistakes of business leaders across the world –
Bill Gates – American Business Magnate (Co-Founder Microsoft)
In forums and interviews (2019), Bill Gates have often admitted that is biggest mistake was missing the Android opportunity. Google acquired Android in 2005 and it ensured the end of Microsoft’s mobile computing market. Not only did Android killed Windows mobile but went on to become Windows equivalent in the mobile world. This happens to be Bill Gates greatest mistake ever – not buying Android and then not beating it in the mobile market. According to him, it was purely lack of maniacal focus and mismanagement.
Ratan Tata – Indian Industrialist (Former Chairman of Tata Group, Tata Sons and Tata Trusts)
While addressing students in a convocation in 2015, Rata Tata admitted his biggest mistake was branding Nano as the cheapest car instead of going by ‘most affordable’ which was actually the intention of the TATA group along with the purpose to reach out to people across India who never had a car. Ratan Tata after stepping down as the head of Tata Sons in 2012 have been investing in startups and mainly in the e-commerce segment.
Also Read: 10 Inspirational APJ Abdul Kalam Quotes
Warren Buffet – American Business Investor and Magnate (CEO – Berkshire Hathaway)
Warren Buffet’s annual letters to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders often narrate his mistakes. Besides his 3 major buying mistakes – Conoco Philips (for buying at a very high price), U.S. Air (Revenue Growth is not equal to successful business) and Dexter Shoes (no sustainable competitive advantage), he even said how the dumbest stock he ever bought was Berkshire Hathaway. Admitting his biggest mistake, Warren Buffet said he bought the shares only because it was cheap and it was a monumentally stupid decision.
Mark Zuckerberg – American Media Magnate (Founder & CEO – Facebook)
Zuckerberg’s regret came after the Cambridge Analytica scandal where the company misused data to influence elections – exposing data of millions of people across the globe. In a conference call with reporters, Mark Zuckerberg admitted that he and Facebook both made a huge mistake of not digging more about Cambridge Analytica scandal and failing to look at Facebook’s responsibility towards the World. Post which, the company faced its worst privacy scandal.
Narayan Murthy – Indian Billionaire Businessman (Founder – Infosys)
In one of his interviews, Narayan Murthy said how he regrets quitting as Chairman of Infosys in 2014 (after 33 years of Infosys) instead of staying on for a bit longer. Murthy admits that his biggest mistake was not to listen to his founding colleagues who asked him to stay on for a few more years.
Also Read: Best of the 2018 Billionaires Across the Globe!
Elon Musk – American Entrepreneur and Business Magnate (CEO of Tesla Motors)
In a WSJ summit, Elon Musk said the biggest mistakes he made as Business leader was spending too much time in boardroom meetings instead of being on the factor floor. This mistake he said was for both SpaceX and Tesla. He said things only got better when he started spending more time on the factory floor than the boardroom meetings.
These are the biggest mistakes of business leaders across the globe which was admitted by them over the years
