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Bill Gates explaining his interest in Leonardo Da Vinci's diaries on 60 Minutes

Last evening’s 60 Minutes show on CBS gave a fascinating insight into Bill Gates’ second career  – as the world’s leading philanthropist.

While, outwardly,  he appears to have mellowed somewhat, from his hard-charging Microsoft days – inwardly,  the same old competitive streak still beats away.

One gets the impression that his exacting standards haven’t waned one iota – though he readily concedes that he is now more wont to teach than to criticise when he engages with colleagues.

This teaching trait is noted by his wife, Melinda, who stresses that: “he loves to teach”.

Hence his voracious reading (all manner of books on the subject of fertilisers are a current favourite, apparently) – together with the attention he devotes to spreading his message through his thegatesnotes blog.

A second trait of his that is also very much on view in this 60 Minutes’  interview is that of the impatient optimist – the title of his 2012 book.

This optimism is born out of his deep belief that science and innovation will deliver the big goals he has set for himself in terms of Third World development – eg. to eradicate, from the face of the earth, polio & tuberculosis by 2020 and malaria by 2030.

The impatience part of his optimism is painstakingly project managed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, comprising 1,200 executives organised with the same corporate precision as if it were  just another Microsoft.

This enables a laser-like focus on bringing forth practical solutions within the timeframes set – in true venture capitalist style, seeking out & funding the potentially transformative innovations that will eradicate, once and for all, the underlying problems of the Third World.

Some of the enabling technologies that he is especially excited about here, include:

– a low temperature thermos container capable of storing/transporting vaccines for up to 50 days without any external energy source

– a toilet that works without plumbing, to alleviate a major source of pollution in poverty stricken countries

– a laser-based  bug-zapper designed to shoot down malaria-carrying mosquitos in mid-air

– a nuclear reactor capable of running on depleted uranium & needing to be refueled just once every 60 years.

These are just some of the building blocks he is betting on to transform the lives of the world’s bottom 2 billion inhabitants, as he puts it.

All in all, this 60 Minutes’ interview is well worth a watch – not just because of the generosity & dedication to a great cause depicted, but also (from the viewpoint of career planning) for the spotlight it turns on second careers & post-retirement years, in general.

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