“When Paul Allen and Bill Gates started Microsoft over 30 years ago, they had big dreams about software,” recalls Gates. “We had dreams about the impact it could have. We talked about a computer on every desk and in every home. It’s been amazing to see so much of that dream become a reality and touch so many lives. I never imagined what an incredible and important company would spring from those original ideas.”

The statement by Bill Gates at the time was certainly a bold goal.  While I don’t have all of the statistics, I am reasonably certain, with the success of  Microsoft most households have some type of electronic device in their homes or in the workplace. Microsoft had a way to measure their success.  Here is another example:  Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s very successful CEO was one of the first adopters of a new way of measuring success and as a result has been ranked the number one CEO in the countryin 2012.  Bezos reiterates his mantra that CEO’s must have farsighted focus.  “If you’re long-term oriented,” he said, “customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned.”   “In the short-term that is not always the case.”

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