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Dear Mr. Gates
By Peter de Jager
pdejager@year2000.com
First published in the August 1997 issue of Datamation.
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The problem is one you're familiar with, Mr. Gates. It's called the Year 2000 computer problem. I know in the past you've been asked about it. I know in the past you've responded to the questions with respect to Microsoft and Microsoft products. But today I'd like you to consider it from another, more global, perspective.
In the past, you said that Microsoft applications are Year 2000 compliant. Whether they are or not isn't the issue, though. The issue is that the world is facing a problem--some folks, including myself, call it a crisis--a problem many people just don't understand. A problem many people want guidance on.
You and I both know we live in the "Age of Computers." Everything in society depends on applications running smoothly--not just Microsoft products, but all computer applications, whether they're on PCs or mainframes, whether they're used in business or in government.
You and I also know that computers affect more aspects of society than most people realize. Computers are everywhere. While we were taking care of business, ubiquitous computing arrived quietly at the loading dock, thanks in large part to Microsoft and Intel. Ubiquitous computing is what makes the Internet--and large, successful software companies, like yours--possible.
You and I both agree that since computers are everywhere and because we depend on them so much, we cannot allow them to fail.
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I don't believe you must be a leader in the Year 2000 problem. But I do believe you could be.
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Unfortunately, the Year 2000 problem is real; our systems are already broken because they are, for the most part, not Y2K compliant. We must fix them before the potential undesirable consequences become reality. To deny this is to deny that we've seen two-digit years used in calculations fail when they encounter 00.
So what can companies do?
Many companies, smaller companies in particular, are doing nothing. They expect someone to ride in on a white horse and save the day. They expect a silver bullet.
The bad news is, they expect you, Bill Gates, to deliver it.
Now you and I know this is just plain silly. Nobody is going to come up with a silver bullet that will eliminate this problem overnight. The thing is, though, while they won't believe me when I say it's silly, they would believe you.
Each day, reporters interview me about the Year 2000 problem. Journalists are a reasonably smart bunch of people. They're certainly no less educated or computer savvy than the average citizen. Yet about eight out of 10 of these reporters insist we're making too much of this problem. They insist that someone will come up with a solution. And the first person they mention is you. "Bill Gates will solve this," they contend.
Strangely enough, they don't believe me when I say that nobody--not Microsoft, not IBM, not the government--is going to make this problem go away. They leave, still convinced we're making too much of it and that you are going to ride in on that white horse and save the day.
Some people have expressed the strong opinion that you have a responsibility to inform the public, that you must take a leadership role in this situation.
I disagree.
You are a visionary. The products of your vision have changed the world, made it more productive, made computers more accessible, and made Microsoft one of the strongest companies in history.
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All you would have to do is come forward and make two statements in a loud, clear voice.
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For someone to say that you must take a leadership role is to somehow suggest that you, personally, are more responsible for the problem than anyone else. That's nonsense. You are no more responsible than any programmer who created a two-digit year field, or any manager who decided in 1993 that it was too early to start fixing a problem that would not affect us for several years.
So I don't believe you have a responsibility for the Year 2000 problem that extends beyond your own products. And I don't believe you must be a leader in the Year 2000 problem. I do, however, believe you could be.
You see, leadership can't be thrust upon an individual. Leadership is an assumed role, one you decide to take on as appropriate and proper for a person of your stature, talents, resources, and credibility.
But could you be a leader in this area? Absolutely. All you'd have to do is come forward and make two statements in a loud, clear voice. The first is "No silver bullet is possible." The second is "All companies are at serious risk and must solve this Year 2000 problem in time."
That's it. Coming from you, those 20 words would be repeated around the world and would do more to get people working on the problem than the combined efforts of all the Year 2000 consultants over the past decade.
Could you do more? With your stature, talents, resources, and credibility, of course you could. But all I'm asking for is 20 words.
I believe strongly that those 20 words, if communicated clearly and with conviction by someone with credibility, will literally save companies. I cannot see how these words could have a negative effect on either the speaker or the listener.
If I thought that begging you for your help would succeed, I'd beg.
If I thought that offering to pay for your help would succeed, I'd offer.
I believe that asking you to help might bring it about--so I'm asking.
Bill, we need your help. Just 20 words.
Yours truly,
Peter de Jager //