Finally Read "Idea Man" - well worth the wait.

I have been spending good part of my holiday break catching up on reading. I've got such the backlog. I finally crossed this one off my list as it had been lingering in my Kindle for some time now. There’s no doubt, I am a fan of Microsoft history. Going into 2025; Microsoft is about to celebrate a major milestone - 50 years. Couple that with a huge backlog of Microsoft-related historical and biographical unread books that remain in my Kindle and on my bookshelf - "Idea Man" by Paul Allen made sense to finally get around to reading. While he has passed on, there’s no doubt his legacy and the permanent marks he has made all across society. “Idea Man” is an easy-to-absorb memoir that delves into the life of the co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen, satisfying both the technical reader and the not so technical.?

I was initially most interested in his formative years from childhood to the early days of personal computing and Microsoft. Paul Allen's love for programming began at an early age. He met Bill Gates at Lakeside School, where their shared interest in computers laid the foundation for their future partnership at Microsoft, highlighting Allen's role in conceiving the idea and recruiting Gates to join him. I like how he revisited both the positive and negatives aspects of their personal and professional relationship even acknowledging his own shortcomings. The older I get, the more I understand that reflection of this type requires decades of distance. He also “nerds out” a lot in those chapters which I found to be one of my favorite parts of the book.?

But after Microsoft, beyond the Microsoft chapters, each chapter serves as a separate tome relating to the other passions, projects, and ventures including investments in sports teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, as well as founding the Allen Institutes for Brain Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Cell Science even spending an entire chapter on a pleasantly surprising topic: Hendrix. Allen was a fan of Jimi Hendrix and played the guitar, even forming a “supergroup” of famous people who also happened to be musician hobbyists.

The health struggles were a little difficult to read in 2024. As many know, Allen was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2009, which brought a renewed sense of urgency to his life and work. His battle with cancer is a poignant part of his story. You read it and are really rooting for the guy in spite of knowing the outcome.

I also appreciated his humility, especially discussing his personal and professional failures. Subtlety, you get the impression that he lost his chance with the love of his life. And in business, not all of Allen's ventures were successful. He faced significant losses, including an $8 billion setback on a bad cable TV move.

Overall, "Idea Man" is an honest and inspiring account of Paul Allen's life, filled with lessons on innovation, resilience, and the complexities of personal and professional relationships.

Originally published at Book Review: “Idea Man” – Paul Allen – Executing Order 66