"There's no CEO for the government." But if you were CEO for a day at the government, would you have tools and reports and wherewithal to look at government the way a business would look at its lines of business, its spending, its revenue? I've actually been working, first by myself and then with a group of people, on then on and off, and now much more on, almost since the I time left Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer

The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.

Steve Ballmer

creativity learning technology

I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.

Steve Ballmer

condolences heart jobs

I like to tell people that all of our products and business will go through three phases. There's vision, patience, and execution.

Steve Ballmer

business leadership inspirational

You get some success. You run into some walls...it's how tenacious you are, how irrepressible, how ultimately optimistic and tenacious you are about it that will determine your success.

Steve Ballmer

running motivational inspirational

So, I think the output of our innovation is great. We have a culture of self-improvement. I know we can continue to improve. There is no issue. But at the same time, our absolute level of output is fantastic.

Steve Ballmer

issues self thinking

Great companies with the way they work, first start with great leaders.

Steve Ballmer

inspiration leadership way

Any idea that turns out to be truly great can be harvested for tens of years. On the other hand, if you want to continue to be great, you've got to bet on new things, big, bold bets.

Steve Ballmer

hands years ideas

There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.

Steve Ballmer

iphone learning knowledge

The way I do things I usually always prefer to have a very clear strategy and be very focused. At the same time to be very rock solid, and crisp in execution.

Steve Ballmer

execution rocks way

Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.

Steve Ballmer

linux cancer intellectual

Developers, developers, developers, developers.

Steve Ballmer

developers

I don't really know that anybody's proven that a random collection of people doing their own thing actually creates value.

Steve Ballmer

collections knows people

My wife spent a lot of time on what we do from a civic contribution giving perspective, for a number of years, I've really joined her in that. We're focused on issues in the United States, particularly issues with people who have been trapped in neighborhoods in what I might call intergenerational poverty.

Steve Ballmer

issues numbers years

Accessible design is good design.

Steve Ballmer

good-design design death

The world is changing, but so is Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer

microsoft world

I would love to see all open-source innovation happen on top of Windows.

Steve Ballmer

innovation source window

And then you take a look at Spaces, there is this great innovation that came out of nowhere. We have the number one blogging site in the world because of the innovation that's there.

Steve Ballmer

innovation space numbers

We don't have a monopoly. We have market share. There's a difference.

Steve Ballmer

differences humorous business

Our people, our shareholders, me, Bill Gates, we expect to change the world in every way, to succeed wildly at everything we touch, to have the broadest impact of any company in the world.

Steve Ballmer

impact people world

Whatever device you use, Windows will be there. Windows will be everywhere on every device without compromise.

Steve Ballmer

compromise use window